Lewtrenchard

Last updated

Lewtrenchard
Lew Trenchard House.jpg
Devon UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Lewtrenchard
Location within Devon
Population(2001 UK Census)
Civil parish
  • Lewtrenchard
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Okehampton
Postcode district EX20
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
List of places
UK
England
Devon
50°39′14″N4°11′06″W / 50.654°N 4.185°W / 50.654; -4.185

Lewtrenchard is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. Most of the larger village of Lewdown is in the parish. In the Domesday Book of 1086, a manor of Lew is recorded in this area and two rivers have the same name: see River Lew. Trenchard comes from the lords of the manor in the 13th century.

Contents

Lew House

Lew House (or Lewtrenchard Manor) was built in the early 17th century (a datestone says 1620) but was altered considerably by the Victorian squire and parson Sabine Baring-Gould who resided there for many years. In 1872 he inherited the family estates of Lew Trenchard, which comprised 3,000 acres (12 km2), and the gift of the living of Lew Trenchard parish. He was already in holy orders, so when the living became vacant in 1881, on the death of his uncle Charles Baring-Gould, he was able to appoint himself to it, becoming parson as well as squire. He did a great deal of work restoring St. Peter's Church and his home Lew House, which has been preserved as he rebuilt it and is now a hotel.

Parish Church

The Parish Church of St Peter (originally dedicated to St Petroc) is not of great architectural interest: the upper part of the tower is of granite ashlar and there is a fine series of benchends similar to those found in Cornish churches. These were returned to their original places when Sabine Baring-Gould replaced the deal box-pews that had been installed by his uncle. There are monuments of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries to many Goulds and Baring-Goulds, including that of Beatrice Gracieuse Baring-Gould (d. 1876, aged 3), 1879, by Knittel of Fribourg (many of the earlier ones were moved here from Staverton by the parson as part of his programme of restoration). There is a painting of the Adoration of the Magi by the mediocre artist (Melchior-)Paul von Deschwanden (another copy is at Fribourg). [1] The rood screen, carved by the Pinwill sisters, is impressive and was designed to resemble the one installed in 1523-24: it is adorned by 23 paintings, by Sabine Baring-Gould's daughter, Margaret (Daisy), 11 of the life of Jesus and 12 of Westcountry saints, and was completed in 1915.

Parish Church of St. Peter St Peter's church, Lewtrenchard - geograph.org.uk - 426881.jpg
Parish Church of St. Peter

Battle of Gafulford

Galford near Lewdown is assumed to be the site of the Battle of Gafulford in the 9th century. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states that in 825 (adjusted date) a battle was fought involving the "West Welsh" and the "Defnas". it states:- "The Westwealas (Cornish) and the Defnas (men of Devon) fought at Gafulforda". However, there is no mention of who won or who lost, whether the men of Cornwall and Devon were fighting each other or on the same side, and no mention of Egbert of Wessex. [2] Local vicar Sabine Baring-Gould was the first to suggest that Gafulforda should be identified as Galford on the banks of the River Lew. He gave the name Galford a Celtic origin (Gafi a holdfast, and ffordd a road), [3] though a more recent derivation is Gafol-ford meaning tax/tribute ford. [4] Others, however, have suggested that Gafulford should be placed at Camelford, some 60 km further west.

Notable residents

Thomas Wood of Lew Trenchard built a mansion at Trevillet, Tintagel, Cornwall, in the 16th century. His son John became member of Parliament for the borough of Bossiney in the parliaments of 1614 and 1621–22, and died in 1623. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bodmin</span> Town in east-central Cornwall, England

Bodmin is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabine Baring-Gould</span> English priest and scholar (1834–1924)

Sabine Baring-Gould of Lew Trenchard in Devon, England, was an Anglican priest, hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist, folk song collector and eclectic scholar. His bibliography consists of more than 1,240 publications, though this list continues to grow. His family home, the manor house of Lew Trenchard, near Okehampton, Devon, has been preserved as he had it rebuilt and is now a hotel. He is remembered particularly as a writer of hymns, the best-known being "Onward, Christian Soldiers", "Sing Lullaby", and "Now the Day Is Over". He also translated the carol "Gabriel's Message" from Basque to English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tintagel</span> Village in Cornwall, England

Tintagel or Trevena is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur and in recent times has become a tourist attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dumnonia</span> Historic kingdom in Sub-Roman Britain

Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, but also included modern Cornwall and part of Somerset, with its eastern boundary changing over time as the gradual westward expansion of the neighbouring Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex encroached on its territory. The spelling Damnonia is sometimes encountered, but that spelling is also used for the land of the Damnonii, later part of the Kingdom of Strathclyde, in present-day southern Scotland. The form Domnonia also occurs and shares a linguistic relationship with the Breton region of Domnonée.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camelford</span> Town in Cornwall, England

Camelford is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. Lanteglos-by-Camelford is the ecclesiastical parish in which the town is situated. The ward population at the 2011 Census was 4,001. The town population at the same census was 865.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Cornwall</span> County in England, United Kingdom

The history of Cornwall goes back to the Paleolithic, but in this period Cornwall only had sporadic visits by groups of humans. Continuous occupation started around 10,000 years ago after the end of the last ice age. When recorded history started in the first century BCE, the spoken language was Common Brittonic, and that would develop into Southwestern Brittonic and then the Cornish language. Cornwall was part of the territory of the tribe of the Dumnonii that included modern-day Devon and parts of Somerset. After a period of Roman rule, Cornwall reverted to rule by independent Romano-British leaders and continued to have a close relationship with Brittany and Wales as well as southern Ireland, which neighboured across the Celtic Sea. After the collapse of Dumnonia, the remaining territory of Cornwall came into conflict with neighbouring Wessex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesnewth</span> Human settlement in England

Lesnewth is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about six miles east of Tintagel Head and two miles east of Boscastle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Lew</span> Two rivers in Devon, England

The River Lew can refer to either of two short rivers that lie close to each other in Devon, England.

Juthwara or Jutwara was a virgin and martyr from Dorset. According to her legend, she was an eighth century Saxon, and sister to Sidwell, though some historians have theorised she was a Briton living in the sixth century. Her relics were translated to Sherborne during the reign of Ethelred the Unready. Nothing further is known with certainty about her life.

This timeline summarizes significant events in the History of Cornwall

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forrabury and Minster</span> Civil parish on the north coast of Cornwall, England

Saint Materiana is a Welsh saint, patron of two churches in Cornwall and one in Wales. Alternative spellings are Madrun and Madryn. The name was corrupted to "Marcelliana" in medieval times. Another spelling of her name sometimes used is "Mertheriana" or "Merthiana", resembling the Welsh merthyr - "martyr".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Materiana's Church, Tintagel</span> Church

The Parish Church of Saint Materiana at Tintagel is a Church of England parish church in the Church of England Diocese of Truro in Cornwall, England, UK. It stands on the cliffs between Trevena and Tintagel Castle and is listed Grade I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetcott</span> Village in Devon, England

Tetcott is a civil parish, small settlement and former manor in Devon, England. The parish lies about five miles south of the town of Holsworthy and is bordered on the north by the parish of Clawton, on the east by a small part of Ashwater, and on the south by Luffincott. It forms part of the local government district of Torridge, and its western boundary is the River Tamar which forms the Cornish border. In 2001 its population was 110, half that of a century earlier.

Gafulford is the site of a battle in South West England known from the first entry in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 823 AD : "Her waes Weala gefeoht Defna aet Gafulford". A translation is: "there was a fight between the Weala and the Defna at Gafulford".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forrabury and Minster parish churches</span> Churches in Cornwall, England

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johann Baring</span> German merchant (1697–1748)

Johann Baring, later anglicised to John Baring, was a German-British merchant. He came to England in 1717 as an immigrant, as the apprentice of a wool merchant. His decision to settle permanently in England started the Baring family on the road to becoming one of the leading family banking firms in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevillet</span>

Trevillet or Trevillett is a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located within the civil parish of Tintagel, to the east of Bossiney village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of Cornwall</span> Overview of and topical guide to Cornwall

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.

Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall:

References

  1. Pevsner, N. (1952) South Devon. Penguin Books; pp. 194-95
  2. Payton, Philip (1996) Cornwall. Fowey: Alexander Associates
  3. "The Book of the West". p. 70. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
  4. Higham, Robert (2008). Making Anglo-Saxon Devon. Exeter: The Mint Press. ISBN   978-1-903356-57-9.
  5. Canner, A. C. (1982) The Parish of Tintagel. Camelford: A. C. Canner; pp. 37-38