Sheepstor

Village of Sheepstor
Village of Sheepstor
	; View of Sheepstor village
	Village of Sheepstor Location within Devon
Population	53 (Census 2001)
OS grid reference	SX560676
• London	184 miles (296 km)
District	West Devon ;
Shire county	Devon ;
Region	South West ;
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	YELVERTON
Postcode district	PL20
Dialling code	01822
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	South West Devon ;
Website	Sheepstor community page
	List of places UK England Devon 50°29′27″N4°01′55″W / 50.490847°N 4.032040°W Coordinates: 50°29′27″N4°01′55″W / 50.490847°N 4.032040°W

Last updated March 27, 2023

Sheepstor is a village, civil parish and former manor on the western side of Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. In 2001, its population was 53, down from 95 in 1901.^[1] For administrative purposes the parish is grouped with the parishes of Meavy and Walkhampton to form Burrator Parish Council,^[2] and for electoral purposes it is grouped with the same two parishes to form Burrator Ward.^[3] Burrator Reservoir, constructed in 1898, is to the north of the village and forms part of the northern boundary of the parish.^[1]

The name Sheepstor has evolved considerably since the first reference to a settlement here which was recorded in a pipe roll of 1168 as Sitelestorra. In a document of 1262, it was Skytelestor, Shittestorre in 1474, Shistor in 1547 and in c. 1620 Tristram Risdon called it Shetelstor now Shepstor.^[4] The name probably derives from the Old English scyttel(s) meaning a bar or bolt, reflecting the shape of the nearby Sheeps Tor.^[4]

Manor

Arms of Elford of Sheepstor: Per pale argent and azure, a lion rampant gules ElfordArms.png — Arms of Elford of Sheepstor: *Per pale argent and azure, a lion rampant gules*

The manor of Sheepstor was held by the Scudamore family, whose heirs were the Elford family.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Sheepstor Church

The village church, dedicated to St Leonard, is built of granite and dates from the 15th century,^[1] though a chapelry was first documented here in 1240.^[8] The church contains a fine rood screen which was reconstructed in 1914 by the then vicar Hugh Breton from drawings made of the original that had been removed in a 19th-century restoration.^[1] Buried in the churchyard are James Brooke, Charles Brooke and Charles Vyner Brooke, the three White Rajahs of Sarawak (now part of Malaysia), as well as Bertram Willes Dayrell Brooke, another member of the family. The graves of the Rajahs have been designated Grade II listed monuments by English Heritage.^[9]

There are currently six bells in the church tower, five of which were cast in 1769, with a sixth hung in 1904; one of the older bells has inscribed on it the words 'I call the quick to church and the dead to grave'.^[8] A local legend tells that the bell ropes of the church were once tied together and lowered into Crazywell Pool, 3.6 km to the north east of Sheepstor, in order to determine the depth. According to the legend the ropes descended as much as 90 fathoms without reaching the bottom,^[10] causing people to believe the pool is bottomless.

The church has been renovated several times, the most thorough of which was in 1861 at a cost of £590.^[8]

Sheeps Tor

Sheeps Tor, from which the village is named, is a prominent outcrop about half a mile north east of the village. The summit is 369m above sea level and it is one of the area's most prominent tors.

Sheepstor in popular culture

In 2010 Sheepstor was one of the filming locations for the Steven Spielberg film War Horse , and the village with its prominent church tower features in an aerial shot in the trailer for the film which was released on 29 June 2011.^[11]^[12]

Related Research Articles

Childe's Tomb is a granite cross on Dartmoor, Devon, England. Although not in its original form, it is more elaborate than most of the crosses on Dartmoor, being raised upon a constructed base, and it is known that a kistvaen is underneath.

Crazywell Pool or Crazy Well Pool is a large pond situated about 3 km (1.9 mi) south of Princetown just off the path between Burrator and Whiteworks on the western side of Dartmoor, Devon, England at grid reference SX582705. It is about 100 metres (110 yd) long and has a surface area of about 3,500 square metres.

Yealmpton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is located in the South Hams on the A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about 8 miles (13 km) from Plymouth. Its name derives from the River Yealm that flows through the village. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,923, falling to 1,677 at the 2011 census. There is an electoral ward of the same name. The population of this ward in 2011 was 2,049.

South Tawton is a village, parish and former manor on the north edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. An electoral ward bearing the same name exists. At the 2011 census the population was 1,683.

Bovey Tracey is a small town and civil parish in Devon, England, on the edge of Dartmoor, its proximity to which gives rise to the "slogan" used on the town's boundary signs, "The Gateway to the Moor". It is often known locally as "Bovey". It is about 10 miles south-west of Exeter and lies on the A382 road, about halfway between Newton Abbot and Moretonhampstead. The village is at the centre of the electoral ward of Bovey. At the 2011 census the population of this ward was 7,721.

Burrator Reservoir is a reservoir on the south side of Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. It is one of a number of reservoirs and dams that were built over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries in the area now covered by Dartmoor National Park to supply drinking water to the city of Plymouth and other rapidly growing towns in the surrounding lowlands.

Meavy is a small village, civil parish and former manor in the English county of Devon. Meavy forms part of the district of West Devon. It lies a mile or so east of Yelverton. The River Meavy runs near the village. For administrative purposes the parish is grouped with the parishes of Sheepstor and Walkhampton to form Burrator Parish Council, and for electoral purposes it is grouped with the same two parishes to form Burrator Ward.

Membury is a village three miles north west of Axminster in East Devon district. The population at the 2011 Census was 501.

Ashbury is a village in Devon, England. It is 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Hatherleigh. Its population is 65.

Bratton Clovelly is a village, parish and former manor in the west part of Devon, England. It is situated about 8 miles (13 km) south-west of Okehampton immediately north of the A30 road. The manor of Bratton Clovelly was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. The parish church dedicated to St Mary is 15th-century, with many Norman features. The former village stocks are kept in the belfry. The parish is thought to have been the birthplace of influential 13th-century jurist Henry de Bracton; however, this claim is also made for at least two other places.

Brixton is a village, parish and former manor situated near Plymouth in Devon, England. It is located on the A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Plymouth. Its population is 1207.

Burrator is a grouped parish council in the English county of Devon. It is entirely within the boundaries of the Dartmoor National Park and was formed in 1973 as a result of the Local Government Act 1972 from the older councils of Meavy, Sheepstor and Walkhampton.

Walkhampton is a village and civil parish on the western side of Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. The village lies on the Black Brook, a tributary of the River Walkham, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south-east of Tavistock, near the villages of Horrabridge, Yelverton and Dousland. Burrator Reservoir, constructed in 1898, is to the south-east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir Edmund Fowell, 1st Baronet</span>

Sir Edmund Fowell, 1st Baronet of Fowelscombe in the parish of Ugborough in Devon, was a Member of Parliament for Ashburton in Devon from 1640 to 1648.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sir John Fowell, 3rd Baronet</span> English politician (1665-1692)

Sir John Fowell, 3rd Baronet of Fowelscombe in the parish of Ugborough in Devon, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1689 to 1692.

Roborough is a village and civil parish 5.5 mi (8.9 km) from Great Torrington, in Devon, England. Situated topographically on the plateau between the Torridge and Taw Rivers, the parish covers 1,258 ha and contains a population of some 258 parishioners. It is surrounded by a pastoral landscape of rectangular fields, high hedges and scattered farmsteads.

Mount Wise is a historic estate situated within the historic parish and manor of Devonport and situated about one mile west of the historic centre of the city of Plymouth, Devon. It occupies "a striking waterfront location" with views across Plymouth Sound to Mount Edgcumbe and the English Channel. Until 2004 it was a headquarters for senior Admiralty staff and was inaccessible to the public.

Milton Abbot is a village, parish, and former manor in Devon, 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Tavistock, Devon, and 6 miles (9.7 km) south-east of Launceston, Cornwall.

Sherford is a village and former civil parish and manor, now in the parish of Frogmore and Sherford, in Devon, situated about 2 1/2 miles east of the town of Kingsbridge. It should not be confused with the new town Sherford to be built on the outskirts of Plymouth, about 18 miles to the north-west. The parish church is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. In 1961 the parish had a population of 258. The parish was abolished in 1986 and merged with parts of South Pool and Charleton to form "Frogmore and Sherford".

South Milton is a village and civil parish in Devon, England, situated on the south coast about 2 miles south-west of Kingsbridge. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Sutton, south of the village, and Upton, north of the village.

References

1 2 3 4 Harris, Helen (2004). A Handbook of Devon Parishes. Tiverton: Halsgrove. p. 148. ISBN 1-84114-314-6.
↑ "Burrator Parish Council" . Retrieved 5 July 2010.
↑ "Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2473". HMSO. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
1 2 Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M (1931). "The Place-Names of Devon". English Place-Name Society. Vol Viii. Part I. Cambridge University Press: 238–239.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
1 2 Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.329
↑ Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p.338
↑ Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.195
1 2 3 Sandles, Tim. "Sheepstor Church". Legendary Dartmoor. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
↑ Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1326418)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 20 April 2015.
↑ Sandles, Tim. "Crazywell Pool". Legendary Dartmoor. Retrieved 30 June 2010.
↑ "War Horse". War Horse official website. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
↑ Child, Ben (29 June 2010). "War Horse trailer: is Spielberg's thoroughbred on track for an Oscar?". The Guardian . Retrieved 29 June 2011.

External links

Media related to Sheepstor at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[H-1] 1 2 3 4 Harris, Helen (2004). A Handbook of Devon Parishes. Tiverton: Halsgrove. p. 148. ISBN 1-84114-314-6.

[2] "Burrator Parish Council" . Retrieved 5 July 2010.

[3] "Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 2473". HMSO. Retrieved 5 July 2010.

[GMS-4] 1 2 Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M (1931). "The Place-Names of Devon". English Place-Name Society. Vol Viii. Part I. Cambridge University Press: 238–239.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Vivian_1531,_p.329-5] 1 2 Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.329

[6] Pole, Sir William (d.1635), Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon, Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791, p.338

[7] Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.195

[SC-8] 1 2 3 Sandles, Tim. "Sheepstor Church". Legendary Dartmoor. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

[9] Historic England. "Details from listed building database (1326418)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 20 April 2015.

[CP-10] Sandles, Tim. "Crazywell Pool". Legendary Dartmoor. Retrieved 30 June 2010.

[11] "War Horse". War Horse official website. Retrieved 29 June 2011.

[12] Child, Ben (29 June 2010). "War Horse trailer: is Spielberg's thoroughbred on track for an Oscar?". The Guardian . Retrieved 29 June 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]