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Chagford
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Chagford is a small town and civil parish on the northeast edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign. The name Chagford is derived from the word chag, meaning gorse or broom, and the ford suffix indicates its importance as a crossing place on the River Teign. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,470.
aeological remains confirm that a community has existed here for at least 4,000 years.
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Encyclopedia
Chagford is a small town and civil parish on the northeast edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, England, close to the River Teign. The name Chagford is derived from the word chag, meaning gorse or broom, and the ford suffix indicates its importance as a crossing place on the River Teign. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,470.
History
Archaeological remains confirm that a community has existed here for at least 4,000 years. In historical times, Chagford grew due to the wool trade and from tin mining in the area, and in 1305 was made a stannary town where tin was traded. A cattle market in the town survived until the 1980s.
Today Chagford is a thriving community with an unusually wide range of shops for a town of this size. The two large hardware stores in the town square have been run by the same two families for many years. There are four pubs and hotels within the town - the Globe, the Bullers Arms, the Ring O'Bells and the Three Crowns Hotel - and the Sandy Park Inn lies a mile or two outside the town, within the parish. The town has two restaurants - Whiddons and 22 Mill Street. There are numerous guest houses and hotels in the surrounding countryside, including Mill End Hotel within Chagford parish and Gidleigh Park Hotel in the adjacent Gidleigh parish. These provide accommodation for the large influx of visitors during the year.
The 20th century Castle Drogo lies nearby in Drewsteignton parish, and overlooks Chagford.
Governance
The town has a Parish Council.
In 1976 Chagford was twinned with:
Bretteville-sur-Laize, France
Regular twinning activity was sustained for over 20 years, but has now lapsed. Chagford retains its "Bretteville Close", and Bretteville its "Rue de Chagford".
Landmarks
A 16th century building called Endecott House, on the edge of the town square, was given this name in the early 1990s in honour of Pilgrim Father and governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, John Endecott, or Endicott, who lived in Chagford before leaving for the New World. This building was possibly built as a 'church house', and has certainly been in community use for many years including use as a village school. It now serves as a meeting hall.
One of the social centres of Chagford is the village hall, the Jubilee Hall which sits on the south-east corner of the town next to the public car park. Built in 1936 by public subscription it also houses the library (which opens three part-days a week). It provides a venue for the regular Friday morning flea markets as well as a whole host of other activities: badminton, table tennis, parties, discos, comedy nights, kung fu, Pilates, etc. The town is beginning to outgrow this Hall, and the 21st century has seen lively debate as to whether it should be extended or replaced with a new building.
Religion
The parish church of St Michael the Archangel was dedicated in 1261, although little remains from this period. The tower dates back to the 15th century. The Grade I listed building was restored in 1865 and extended during the 20th century. It features carved roof bosses, similar to those found at St. Pancras station, Widecombe-in-the-Moor, including the tin miners’ emblem of three rabbits.
Chagford forms part of a 'united benefice' of seven ecclesiastical parishes, known as The Whiddon Parishes of Dartmoor, the others being Throwleigh, Gidleigh, Drewsteignton, Spreyton, Hittisleigh and South Tawton.
St Michael's church contains a memorial to Mary Whiddon, dated 11 October 1641, whose death is thought to have been one of the inspirations behind R D Blackmore’s novel, Lorna Doone. Although his novel is set on Exmoor, the author may have been moved by a local legend about Mary who, it is claimed, was shot dead on her wedding day as she came out of church. The climax of Lorna Doone involves such a shooting, but in this case the heroine survives.
Whether this actually happened is unclear. Mary's tomb records that she died "a matron, yet a maid" ("a married woman, yet a virgin"). On the other hand, "maid" is a common term in Devon for a "girl" and the inscription may just mean that Mary died young ("although married, still just a girl"). The only contemporaneous record is her undated will. It mentions no husband, but as her maiden name is also thought to have been Whiddon (i.e. she married a cousin), it might have been written before her marriage.
A Wesleyan Chapel (est. 1834) was replaced by a Methodist church built in 1861; it closed in the 1990s and is now in secular use. Victorian era directories list a Baptist church (established 1829), but long since disappeared. However, the Bible Christian Chapel (est. 1844) continues to flourish as Chagford Gospel Church, and a purpose-built Roman Catholic church was founded in 1963.
Sports
Chagford's War Memorial Playing Fields were redeveloped in the late 1980s to provide one of the finest cricket grounds in the South West, overlooked by a modern clubhouse. The facility attracts top-class touring teams. In the winter, the ground provides two football (soccer) pitches.
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