Devonshire February March 17

Black Torrington & Lifton
Interesting Facts:
1. Holsworthy - derived from Old English, "Heald" or
"Healda" - a personal name, and "worpig" - an enclosure,
estate or farm.
2. Holsworthy was part of the Black Torrington Hundred
(Hundred being a Germanic term, which was described
by Tacitus in about AD 98 - essentially it meant and
adminsitrative division). Black Torrington was one of
thirty two ancient administrative units across Devon.
3. Holsworthy had a WWII prisoner of war camp situated
north of the town. German and Italian prisoners were
employed as farm labourers.
4. The population in Holsworthy in 1891 was 1,960 and a
hundred years later in 1991 it was lower at 1,892. In 2011
it increased to 2,651.
5. Holsworthy has an anaerobic digestion facility, the only
centralised one in the UK, turning dairy and farm slurry
into biogas, which is used to generate power.
6. Note the windmill on the map at Holsworthy.
7. Werrington used to lie in the county of Devon, now
Cornwall following boundary changes in 1966.
9. It's said that actor John Nettles is a resident of Pyworthy.
10. Newton St Petrock was the home to Prudence Abbott
Potter, England's first female physician.
11. Shipwash - you wouldn't think they'd wash ships so far
inland, but was actually Schepewast (as documented in
1166), meaning a place where sheep were washed prior
to shearing. The river is the Torridge.
12. Dunsland (just west of Cookbury), an historic manor
house (showing Bickford Esq as owner) is said to have
passed in an unbroken line from the time of the Norman
Conquest. The house was destroyed by fire in 1967, just
after extensive restoration by the National Trust.
13. Old Tetcott House at Tetcott was a Queen Ann style
building built by the Arscott family in about 1700,
later demolished in 1831. The Arscotts were a family
of ancient freeholders that rose through the ranks,
apparently, mostly through marriage. John Arscott
(1613-1675) was Sheriff of Devon.
14. John Arscott of Tetcott (1719-1788) died without issue
(children). He kept a dwarf jester as a member of the
household, in grand mediaeval style.
8. Pyworthy's St Swithin's Church is rare in that it has a
clerestory, which is a high section of wall that contains
windows above eye level to let in additional light.
EXPLANATION
Market and Borough Towns in Capitals as Tiverton
Annexed to a Town denotes it a Borough which retains its
Privilege of sending Representativesl to Parliament.
Villages.
Churches; but in the Plan of a Town where the Elevation
cannot be conveniently shewn, thus
Seats or Noted Houses.
Farms or Cottages.
Copper or Tin mines.
Roman or Danish Forts or Encampments.
Parks.
Turnpike Roads or intended to be made such.
Inclosed Roads.
Open Roads over Commons or Downs.
Distance (example Exeter to Topsham, 3 Miles, 3 Furlongs & 20 Poles)
Old Tetcott House, marked on the house as Arscott Esq - image
from a book by Sabine Baring-Gould - Devonshire Characters
Devon Rural Archive, Shilstone
The archive and document access is available as follows:
Open to the public on these days:
Mon, Tue & Thur 11am - 3pm
Admission is free, there is no requirement to book
The lovely Lewtrenchard Manor (map bottom right)
now a luxury hotel - see STAYCATION on the Devonshire
magazine website
www.devonruralarchive.com
71