Petrockstowe

From Wikishire
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Petrockstowe
Devon

Cott Lane, Petrockstowe
Location
Grid reference: SS513091
Location: 50°51’42"N, 4°6’48"W
Data
Post town: Okehampton
Postcode: EX20
Dialling code: 01837
Local Government
Council: Torridge
Parliamentary
constituency: 		Torridge and West Devon

Petrockstowe (or Petrockstow) is a small village in the middle of Devon; a little place with a parish population recorded at just 379 in 2001; hardly different from the figure of 385 recorded in 1901.[1] The southern boundary of the parish lies on the River Torridge,[1] and it is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Peters Marland, Merton, Huish, Meeth, Highampton and Buckland Filleigh.[2]

The village is to be found among lanes about four miles north of Hatherleigh and is some two miles west of the A386 road.

Name

The place was called Petrocestoua in the Domesday Book in 1086, in 1150 Petrochestona, and in 1202 Petroc. By 1272 the place was called Patrichestowe and Petrokestowe in 1297. In 1535 it was called Stowe S"e'i Petroci. All the names mean 'Petroc's place', after the local saint, Petroc, after whom many churches and villages are named in Cornwall and in Devon.[3]

The village's name is rendered today by both spellings of 'Petrockstowe' and 'Petrockstow',[4] with two of the signs entering the village with the one spelling and two with the other.

Churches

Petrockstowe Church

The parish church, St Petroc's Church, is dedicated to Saint Petroc.[5] The church has diagonal buttresses, obelisk pinnacles and an old west tower. Within the church is a Normon font with a Jacobean cover.

The church has some late mediæval stained glass and a Jacobean pulpit. Two stained glass windows were made by Kempe Studios in 1891 and 1896.[6] The church was "largely rebuilt" in a Victorian restoration between 1878 and 1880, retaining the 14th century arcade, 15th century tower and features of an earlier Norman church.[7] Except for its north arcade tower, it was described by Hoskins as "dull".[5][8] It does, however, still have an early 14th-century font with a 16th-century cover, and in the vestry, some mediæval glass.[5]

The village also has a Methodist chapel which was built in 1933 to replace an earlier chapel of 1842, which is now used as a barn.[9]

History

There are Bronze Age burial mounds just outside the village,[10] but the first documentary mention of the place is in the Domesday Book. St Mary's Abbey of Buckfast was the lord of the manor in 1066 and in 1086 is recorded as the tenant-in-chief in 1086.[5][11]

At some time after 1086, Petrockstowe came into secular ownership, but in the 12th century, Robert Warelwast, Bishop of Exeter, restored the manors of Petrockstowe and Ash, also in Petrockstowe, to Buckfast Abbey.[12] Records show the manor still in the Abbey's ownership during the reign of King Edward I (1272-1307).[13] So it remained until the dissolution of the monasteries under King Henry VIII.

By 1822, records show the village know as both Stow St. Petrock and Petrockstow. In the 19th century the village had a school, funded by Lord Clinton, and many businesses such as a tannery, blacksmiths, shoemakers and wheelwrights.[10]

Petrockstow railway station was about a mile away from the village. The original Torrington and Marland Railway was built in the late 19th century to carry ball clay to Torrington from the Marland and Meeth clay pits.[14] In 1925 this became the basis of the northern section of the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway, which remained a private line until 1948 when it became part of the Southern Region of British Railways.[15] The Beeching Axe closed the line to passengers in 1965,[16] but it remained open for freight until 1982.

In the south-east of the parish, at Ash Moor, there are opencast workings for ball clay that extend into the neighbouring parish of Meeth; these clay deposits are in a geological feature known as the Petrockstow Basin,[1][17] and have been worked for hundreds of years.

Heanton Satchville

There are very few traces of the mansion of Heanton Satchville surviving today, but it was at one time "one of the most imposing houses ever to exist in Devon".[18] In 1674, it was the second largest house in Devon.[18] The manor was mentioned in the Domesday Book,[19] and was then owned by the Sachvilles and Kelligrews, before it passed into the hands of the Yeo family. By 1359 it was owned by William Yeo when he was Sheriff of Devon.[13][20][21] Margaret Yeo, the sole heiress of Robert Yeo, married Henry Rolle, (died about 1620),[20] and thus the manor passed to the Rolles, now represented by the Barons Clinton.[22] The house was destroyed by fire in 1795,[22] after which the Trefusis family purchased a mansion in nearby Huish, renamed it Heanton Satchville, and made it their seat.

Community facilities

The village pub, The Laurels Inn, dates to the 17th century when it was a coaching inn on the route between Launceston and Lynton. Since then, according to the village website, it has been used as a magistrate's court, a home for fallen women of the parish, a lodging house, a coffee tavern and a private house before re-opening as a pub in the 1970s.[23] Opposite the pub, on the site of the old village school, is the Baxter Hall, a modern village hall, opened by Lord Clinton in 1978 and refurbished in 1998. Baxter Hall, named after Ethel Baxter who donated the monies for its construction, is a multi-purpose hall for community social events. It has a stage, large hall, kitchen and skittles equipment.[24]

Recreation

The village also has a play area, an extensive recreation area and a cricket ground.[25] The Recreation Ground, covering 8.5 acres, has a nine-hole pitch and putt golf course, skate ramp, cricket pitch, field shelter, and pavilion with a clubroom, kitchen, changing rooms and toilet. It is located a short walk from the village centre, and is next to the Tarka Trail.[26]

The Tarka Trail, a 180-mile circuit, runs from Meeth to Braunton and in this area follows the route of the former North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway. The portion near Petrockstowe is generally flat. It comes within about a mile of the centre of the village, passing through the old Petrockstowe station.[27]

There are two nature reserves in the area, Meeth Quary and Ash Moor, both owned by the Devon Wildlife Trust. Meeth Quarry has wetland, open water and woodland habitats which support 18 species of national importance and six threatened wildlife habitats. Ash Moor, interlinked with Meeth Quarry, is on the Tarka Trail. Shallow scrapes and ponds support dragonflies, birds, butterflies and other insects.[28]

  • The Tarka Trail, combining footpath and cycleway (NCN route 3), follows the former track of the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway across Bury Moors.
    The Tarka Trail, combining footpath and cycleway (NCN route 3), follows the former track of the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway across Bury Moors.
  • Katy Hallet, The Guardian, mosaic sculpture. On the Tarka Trail by Ladywell Wood. The lettering includes quotes from "Tarka the Otter".
    Katy Hallet, The Guardian, mosaic sculpture. On the Tarka Trail by Ladywell Wood. The lettering includes quotes from "Tarka the Otter".
  • Ash Moor nature reserve
    Ash Moor nature reserve

Gallery

  • Across Patchill Plantation, looking across the top of the wood and the valley.
    Across Patchill Plantation, looking across the top of the wood and the valley.
  • Aish Lodge
    Aish Lodge
  • Farm buildings near Hook Farm
    Farm buildings near Hook Farm
  • Magpie Contrasting conditions of thatch, and contrasting ages of buildings. This little group is on the lane from Sheepwash to Patchel Cross.
    Magpie Contrasting conditions of thatch, and contrasting ages of buildings. This little group is on the lane from Sheepwash to Patchel Cross.
  • Westacott, a farm seen along the lane from Filleighmoor Gate to Patchel Cross.
    Westacott, a farm seen along the lane from Filleighmoor Gate to Patchel Cross.

Outside links

 ("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Petrockstowe)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Harris, Helen (2004). A Handbook of Devon Parishes. Tiverton: Halsgrove. pp. 133–4. ISBN 1-84114-314-6. 
  2. ↑ "Map of Devon Parishes". Devon County Council. http://www.devon.gov.uk/devon_districts_2002_.pdf. Retrieved 20 June 2013. 
  3. ↑ Bertil Blomé (1929). The place-names of North Devonshire. Appelbergs boktryckeri arktiebolag. p. 48. https://books.google.com/books?id=qWMDAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA48. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  4. ↑ Roger J. P. Kain; Rodney E. J. Fry; Sarah A. H. Wilmot (20 July 1995). The Tithe Maps of England and Wales: A Cartographic Analysis and County-by-County Catalogue. Cambridge University Press. p. 138. ISBN 978-0-521-44191-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=SeuA3zA6GJUC&pg=PA138. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Hoskins, W. G. (1972). A New Survey of England: Devon (New ed.). London: Collins. pp. 452–3. ISBN 0-7153-5577-5. 
  6. ↑ Nikolaus Pevsner: The Buildings of England: Devon, 1952; 1989 Penguin Books ISBN 978-0-300-09596-8page 627
  7. ↑ Church of St Petrock, Petrockstowe - British Listed Buildings
  8. ↑ "Saint Petroc's Church". Petrockstowe Village. http://www.petrockstowe.co.uk/church.html. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Methodist Chapel". petrockstowevillage.co.uk. http://petrockstowevillage.co.uk/our-village/methodist-chapel/. Retrieved 20 June 2013. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "History". petrockstowevillage.co.uk. http://petrockstowevillage.co.uk/history/. Retrieved 20 June 2013. 
  11. ↑ "Petrockstow". Open Domesday. http://opendomesday.org/place/SS5109/petrockstowe/. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  12. ↑ Karen Jankulak (2000). The Mediæval Cult of St Petroc. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 143–144. ISBN 978-0-85115-777-1. https://books.google.com/books?id=zY-CBHHw-lIC&pg=PA143. Retrieved 27 June 2013. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lysons, Daniel; Lysons, Samuel (1822). Magna Britannia: being a concise topographical account of the several counties of Great Britain. 6. Cadell. p. 387. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fMY_AAAAcAAJ&pg=PA387. 
  14. ↑ Farmer, R. (November 2005). "Petrockstowe Station railway premises". BackTrack 19: 649. 
  15. ↑ Mitchell, V.; Smith, K (1994). Branch Lines to Torrington. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 1-873793-37-5. 
  16. ↑ "Discovering Britain's lost railways" Atterbury, P: Basingstoke, AA Publishing ISBN 978-0-7495-6370-7
  17. ↑ "The Production and Properties of Devon Ball Clays". Watts Blake Bearne. 1984. http://www.clayheritage.org/pages/TheProductionandPropertiesofDevonBallclays.htm. Retrieved 20 June 2013. 
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Lauder, Rosemary (2005). Vanished Houses of North Devon (Revised ed.). North Devon Books. pp. 49–50. ISBN 0-95286-452-5. 
  19. ↑ "Heanton [Satchville"]. Open Domesday. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. https://archive.is/20120712040459/http://domesdaymap.co.uk/place/SS5311/heanton-satchville/. Retrieved 25 June 2013. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Vivian, Lt. Col. J.L., ed (1895). The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620. Exeter: For the author by H. S. Eland. p. 834. https://books.google.com/books?id=GmqlIibS95IC&pg=PA834. 
  21. ↑ Thomas Westcote (1845). A View of Devonshire in MDCXXX: With a Pedigree of Most of Its Gentry. William Roberts. pp. 592–593. https://books.google.com/books?id=WJGEAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA592. 
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lysons, p. xc-xci, xciii, xcix-c.
  23. ↑ "The Laurels Inn". petrockstowevillage.co.uk. http://petrockstowevillage.co.uk/our-village/the-laurels-inn/. Retrieved 20 June 2013. 
  24. ↑ "Baxter Hall". petrockstowevillage.co.uk. http://petrockstowevillage.co.uk/our-village/baxter-hall-2/. Retrieved 20 June 2013. 
  25. ↑ "Our Village". petrockstowevillage.co.uk. http://petrockstowevillage.co.uk/our-village/. Retrieved 20 June 2013. 
  26. ↑ "Recreation Ground". Petrockstowe Village. http://petrockstowevillage.co.uk/our-village/recreation-ground/. Retrieved 28 June 2013. 
  27. ↑ "Tarka Trail". Petrockstowe Village. http://petrockstowevillage.co.uk/our-village/tarka-trail/. Retrieved 28 June 2013. 
  28. ↑ "Nature Reserves: Meeth Quarry and Ash Moor". Petrockstowe Village. http://petrockstowevillage.co.uk/our-village/nature-reserves/. Retrieved 28 June 2013. 

Further reading

General
Ball clay
Geology
Retrieved from "https://wikishire.co.uk/w/index.php?title=Petrockstowe&oldid=60574"