Stokenham
| Stokenham | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX803428 |
| Location: | 50°16’24"N, 3°40’47"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Hams |
Stokenham is a village in the south of Devon. To the east of the parish lies Start Bay, the great scoop in the east of Devon's south coast, opening into the English Channel.
The principal road in the parish is the A379 running between the nearest towns of Kingsbridge (to the west) and Dartmouth to the north.
The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 1,895.
Places in the parish
As well as Stokenham the civil parish includes the settlements of Torcross, Beesands, Hallsands, Kellaton, Kernborough, Dunstone, Beeson and Chillington and Bickerton.[1]
History
The village of Stokenham was known in Anglo-Saxon days as Stoc or Stoc Hamme ("meaning Stoc meadows").[2] By the 13th century the town was called Stoke in Hamme.[3]
In the Middle Ages, St Humbert the Confessor (d.1188)[4] was locally venerated as patron saint in the town.
The area was known in the 19th century for the fine crabs.
During the Second World War, local residents were evacuated from the area, as the whole area was taken over for practice and preparation for the Normandy Landings of June 1944.
Parish church
The present church dates from 1431;[5] an earlier Norman church predated it.[6]
The church as it stands today, is a fine example of the perpendicular style of mediæval architecture. It is built on the side of a hill so that its whole length can be seen from below and is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels, which was common practice for churches standing on elevated sites. It was, however, dedicated to St Barnabas and prior to that to St Humbert the Confessor.
About the village
Immediately to the east of the church is the site of Stokenham manor house, abandoned in 1585. It possibly dats back to at least the 12th century.[7]
The Tradesman's Arms is an imposing 14th-century, part-thatched pub and restaurant.
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Stokenham) |
References
- ↑ Stokenham Parish Council
- ↑ Stokenham Devon England Photos.
- ↑ Stokenham at Devon County Council website.
- ↑ Orme, Nicholas: 'English Church Dedications: With a Survey of Cornwall and Devon' (University of Exeter Press, 1996) page 24
- ↑ Stokenham Devon England Photos.
- ↑ Stokenham Parish Church
- ↑ Excavations and Survey around the Village of Stokenham, Devon Department of Archaeology, The University of Exeter.