Drewsteignton

Holy Trinity

formerly St. Peter

Historical Overview

Drewsteignton is a  village in the Teign valley 13 miles west of Exeter and 9 miles south-east of Okehampton lying on the edge of Dartmoor National Park.  It includes the hamlet of Teignholt and also part of the village of Crockernwell.  

The fact that Drewsteignton was mentioned in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as Taintone, probably means that the parish was originally called Teignton.  Thus, derived from it being village (ton) that grew up by the River Teign, but its history inevitably dates back to the prehistoric settlements of the early farmers on Dartmoor.   Within the parish is another of Dartmoors landmarks, Spinster's Rock at Shilston, dating from the at least the Neolithic Age (3000BC) if not earlier according to archaeologists. (White, 2000)  Spinster's Rock is a chambered tomb, known formerly as "cromlechs" and would have once been covered with earth and/or stones.  Its existence is of course evidence of prehistoric settlement in the area.  Some believe that the Drews part of Drewsteignton came from the early Druid settlers, literally "the Druids on the River Teign".  However, manorial records show that in 1275 it was mentioned as "Teyngton Drue".  White (1850) tells us that during the reign of Henry II and Richard I, the manor at Drewsteignton was held by Drogo, also known as Drewe de Teignton.

Holy Trinity Church

A visit to the Devon Local Studies Page of William SPREAT's (1842) "Picturesque Sketches of the Churches of Devon" and you can see a sketch of what Drewsteignton Chuch looked like at that time.  Little did I realise when I visited the parish a while back that I had taken the same picture, so to the right you can compare and see that very little has changed in this part of the parish, in the last 160 years!

What has changed is that Drewsteignton church is listed in White's (1850) Directory of Devon as St. Peter's, but in Kelly's (1893) it was listed as being called Holy Trinity which is it's name today.  

Parish Life

White (1850) tells us that Drewsteignton had two annual cattle fairs, the first on the Thursday after Candlemas-Day (2nd February) and the second on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday.  Traditionally Trinity Sunday is the Sunday after Whit Sunday (7 weeks after Easter Sunday).  Kelly (1893) tells us that the main grain crop grown in the parish was wheat, but that the parish produced all kinds of root crops.

White (1850) mentions Drewsteignton Lime Rock Quarries operated by Messrs. Ponsford and Co. and Jas. Pitts, Esq.   This must have been quite a prominent company in the parish to be mentioned specifically.  The quarried lime was burnt and then used for agricultural purposes and also in cement in the masonry trade.

To the left, is a picture of Drewsteignton's pub, the "Drewe's Arms Inn", as it is today.  A comparison with the the picture on the Devon Local Studies site of this building and it looks as though it might have been a public house when the old photograph was taken.  In both pictures there is evidently a sign hanging outside the building.  However, neither White's (1850) or Kelly's (1893) list the Drew's Arms Inn.  Kelly (1893) lists a Druid's Arms, so perhaps this was its earlier name or miss-spelling.

Kelly (1893) tells us that a school was erected in the parish in 1875, to cater for the education of 140 children, although the average attendance was only about 100 pupils.  William PYM was the school-master and Miss Catherine BOWDEN, the mistress.  Another school was erected at Whiddon Down in 1880 for 50 children, with attendance figures averaging only about 25.  Miss Ada JAGO was the school-mistress at Whiddon Down.

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Sources

Historic Populations

Source: 1801-1991 Census ©Crown Copyright

Source: 2001 Registrar General Population Estimates

Data from Devon Facts and Figures part of the Devon County Council website, provided by Corporate Information Services

Map of the Area

Map showing Drewsteignton from Streetmap.co.uk 

Links

Drewsteignton in GENUKI giving information on the parish and a map of the old Parish Boundaries.

Drewsteignton in the Dartmoor Press Online Magazine

Back to Devon Parishes Index