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Yelverton | |
---|---|
St Pauls Church, Yelverton | |
Location within Devon | |
Population | 3,493 |
OS grid reference | SX5267 |
Civil parish | |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
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 | |
Yelverton is a large village on the south-western edge of Dartmoor, Devon, in England. [1] It is in the civil parish of Buckland Monachorum. [2]
When Yelverton railway station (on the Great Western Railway (GWR) line from Plymouth to Tavistock) opened in the 19th century, the village became a popular residence for Plymouth commuters. The railway is now closed, but the Plym Valley Railway has reopened a section of it.
The Anglican parish church of St Paul was built in 1910-1912 and is a grade II listed building. [3] [4] Yelverton is one of six parishes which form the West Dartmoor Mission Community, [5] within the Tavistock Deanery of the Diocese of Exeter. [6] Holy Cross Catholic Church was built as a chapel in the early 1920s and upgraded to a church in 1928. It is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth, [7] and is built in a "simplified Gothic style". [8] Rock Methodist Church is also in Yelverton. [9] [10]
Yelverton is well known for Roborough Rock - a prominent mass of stone close to the Plymouth road on the fringe of nearby Roborough Down, near the southern end of the airfield. It gave its name to the Rock Hotel, built as a farm during the Elizabethan period, but converted in the 1850s to cater for growing tourism in the area. The area to the south and west of the roundabout at the centre of the village was settled in late Victorian and Edwardian times, with many grand and opulent villas. An area developed at about the same time on an odd shaped piece of land to the south of the Tavistock road is known as Leg o' Mutton Corner.
At the beginning of the Second World War, an airfield (RAF Harrowbeer) was constructed at adjacent Harrowbeer as a fighter station for the air defence of Devonport Dockyard and the Western Approaches. A 19th century terrace of houses, now mostly converted into shops, had to have its upper storey removed to provide an easier approach. One tall building which was not altered was St. Paul's Church, but the tower was hit by a plane, resulting in a warning light being fitted. The layout of the runways is still very clear and although they are substantially grassed over, the many earth and brick protective bunkers built to protect the fighters from attack on the ground are all still in place. Some American airmen and anti-aircraft battery units were stationed here during the second half of the war. A plane carrying President Roosevelt landed here when its original destination was fogbound.
To the south of the village is Langton Park, home of Yelverton Bohemians Cricket Club, and about 0.5 km south is Moorland Garden Hotel, serving Yelverton Golf Club, where most of the holes run well down the open moorland to the east. There are several bed-and-breakfasts in Yelverton, serving the many walkers and visitors to National Trust properties in the area.
Yelverton used to have a railway station built in the 19th century. The line ran to Tavistock and Plymouth, but has closed.
Yelverton sits on the A386, which runs to Tavistock and Okehampton in the north and Plymouth in the south.
Yelverton is served by Stagecoach's service 1 between Tavistock and Plymouth. It also has Plymouth Citybus running a rural service towards Dartmoor.
Lomax Tours run coach excursions throughout the year from Yelverton to places of interest such as Bath Christmas Market, Lyme Regis, RHS Rosemoor flower shows etc.
Princetown is a village located within Dartmoor national park in the English county of Devon. It is the principal settlement of the civil parish of Dartmoor Forest.
Okehampton is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based in the town. Their joint population at the same census was 7,500.
Tavistock is an ancient stannary and market town in West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy, from which its name derives. At the 2011 census, the three electoral wards had a population of 13,028. The town traces its recorded history back to at least 961 when Tavistock Abbey, whose ruins lie in the centre of the town, was founded. Its most famous son is Sir Francis Drake.
Horrabridge is a village in West Devon, England with a population of 2,115 people in 2006, down from 2,204 in 1991. It is located approximately 12 miles (19 km) north of the city of Plymouth and 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Tavistock and is within the Dartmoor National Park. Horrabridge is a major part of Walkham electoral ward. The population at the 2011 census was 3,115.
Buckland Monachorum is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of Devon, England, situated on the River Tavy, about 10 miles north of Plymouth.
Ravenscroft School was an independent day and boarding school, initially for boys only, but from 1964 co-educational. From 1945 onwards its premises were in Somerset, England. It closed in July 1996, when most staff and pupils transferred to the new Farleigh College.
The South Devon and Tavistock Railway linked Plymouth with Tavistock in Devon; it opened in 1859. It was extended by the Launceston and South Devon Railway to Launceston, in Cornwall in 1865. It was a broad gauge line but from 1876 also carried the standard gauge trains of the London and South Western Railway between Lydford and Plymouth: a third rail was provided, making a mixed gauge. In 1892 the whole line was converted to standard gauge only.
Roborough is a village in the South Hams of Devon, England. Former home of Plymouth City Airport, Roborough lies just outside the northern boundary of the city of Plymouth on the main road to Tavistock, and is a popular dormitory village.
The River Meavy is a river in the southwest part of Dartmoor in Devon in south-west England. It runs entirely in the national park and connects Burrator Reservoir to the River Plym.
Woolwell is a suburb on the north-east fringe of the city of Plymouth, England, located just outside the city's boundaries in the district of the South Hams. It is situated along the A386, close to the boundary of Dartmoor National Park, with good views of the surrounding landscape. Housing development began in Woolwell in 1981 and there is now a population of slightly over 3000. For an area of its size, it has a large number of facilities, including its own primary school, a medical centre and several shops.
Crapstone is a village in the county of Devon. The village is located on the edge of Dartmoor, in the parish of Buckland Monachorum and is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) from the village of Yelverton, 9 miles (14 km) from the city of Plymouth and 5 miles (8 km) from Tavistock.
Milton Combe is a village in Devon approximately 2 mi (3.2 km) from Yelverton and 8 mi (13 km) from the city of Plymouth. The name Milton Combe is derived from the village's historic name, first mentioned in 1249, of 'Mile Cumbe' literally meaning 'Middle Valley'. The Post Office gave the village its current name in 1890, to distinguish it from the many other 'Miltons' in the nearby area.
Royal Air Force Harrowbeer or more simply RAF Harrowbeer is a former Royal Air Force station situated next to Yelverton in the parish of Buckland Monachorum, Devon, England
The Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway (P&DR) was a 4 ft 6 in gauge railway built to improve the economy of moorland areas around Princetown in Devon, England. Independent carriers operated horse-drawn wagons and paid the company a toll. It opened in 1823, and a number of short branches were built in the next few years.
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.
The Princetown Railway was a 10¼ mile single track branch railway line in Devon, England, that ran from Yelverton on the Plymouth to Tavistock line, to Princetown via four intermediate stations, Dousland, Burrator and Sheepstor Halt, Ingra Tor Halt and King Tor Halt. The line closed in 1956 and today forms part of a popular cycling and walking route.
Yelverton Rock is a tor-like igneous rock outcrop immediately south-west of Yelverton, Devon. It is located at the southern end of the former RAF Harrowbeer airfield on Roborough Down, next to the border with the A386. This location created problems for the airfield during the Second World War, as two runways were positioned in front of the rock.
Clearbrook is a village in the parish of Buckland Monachorum in West Devon district, Devon, England. The village lies on the River Meavy, south of Yelverton.