Chagford
Encyclopedia
Chagford is a small town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 and civil parish on the north-east edge of Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...

, in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, close to the River Teign
River Teign
The River Teign is a river in the county of Devon, England.Like many Devon rivers, the Teign rises on Dartmoor, near Cranmere Pool. Its course on the moor is crossed by a clapper bridge near Teigncombe, just below the prehistoric Kestor Settlement. It leaves the moor at its eastern side, flowing...

. It is located off the A382, about 4 miles (6 km) west of Moretonhampstead
Moretonhampstead
Moretonhampstead lies on the edge of Dartmoor and is notable for having the longest one-word name of any place in England. The parish church is dedicated to St. Andrew. George Oliver and John Pike Jones , 1828, Exeter: E. Woolmer. Moretonhampstead is twinned with Betton in France.-History:The...

. The name Chagford is derived from the word chag, meaning gorse
Gorse
Gorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 plant species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae, native to western Europe and northwest Africa, with the majority of species in Iberia.Gorse is closely related to the brooms, and like them, has green...

 or broom, and the ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...

suffix indicates its importance as a crossing place on the River Teign
River Teign
The River Teign is a river in the county of Devon, England.Like many Devon rivers, the Teign rises on Dartmoor, near Cranmere Pool. Its course on the moor is crossed by a clapper bridge near Teigncombe, just below the prehistoric Kestor Settlement. It leaves the moor at its eastern side, flowing...

. At the 2001 Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

 it had a population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...

 of 1,470.

History

Archaeological remains confirm that a community has existed here for at least 4000 years. In historical times, Chagford grew due to the wool
Wool
Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

 trade and from tin mining
Dartmoor tin-mining
The Dartmoor tin mining industry is thought to have originated in pre-Roman times, and continued right through to the 20th century. From the 12th century onwards tin mining was regulated by a Stannary Parliament which had its own laws....

 in the area, and in 1305 was made a stannary town where tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...

 was traded. A cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 market in the town survived until the 1980s.

In 1987, the New Scientist reported that Chagford contained "the most radioactive loo in the world", a reference to the high levels of Radon gas
Radon
Radon is a chemical element with symbol Rn and atomic number 86. It is a radioactive, colorless, odorless, tasteless noble gas, occurring naturally as the decay product of uranium or thorium. Its most stable isotope, 222Rn, has a half-life of 3.8 days...

 in this granite area.

Today

Today Chagford is a thriving community with high property prices, busy streets, and an unusually wide range of shops for a village of this size. It is also known for its vibrant arts community, celebrated at the biennial Chagford Arts Festival, the annual Wonderworks crafts show, and other regular cultural events. The two large hardware stores in the town square have been run by the same two families for many years. There are several tea rooms and whole food cafés, one restaurant, and several pubs. There are numerous guest houses and hotels in the surrounding countryside. These provide accommodation for the large influx of visitors during the year.

The early 20th century Edwin Lutyens
Edwin Lutyens
Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, OM, KCIE, PRA, FRIBA was a British architect who is known for imaginatively adapting traditional architectural styles to the requirements of his era...

 house Castle Drogo
Castle Drogo
Castle Drogo is a country house near Drewsteignton, Devon, England. It was built in the 1910s and 1920s for Julius Drewe to designs by architect Edwin Lutyens, and is a Grade I listed building...

 lies nearby in Drewsteignton
Drewsteignton
Drewsteignton is a village and civil parish within the administrative area of West Devon, England, also lying within the Dartmoor National Park. It is located in the Teign valley, west of Exeter and south east of Okehampton...

 parish, and overlooks Chagford.

Governance

The town has a Parish Council.

In 1976 Chagford was twinned with: Bretteville-sur-Laize
Bretteville-sur-Laize
Bretteville-sur-Laize is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.The scene of heavy fighting following the Normandy landings, much of the town is of post-WW2 construction.-Population:-Twin towns:...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan 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
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...

, John Endecott
John Endecott
John Endecott was an English colonial magistrate, soldier and the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. During all of his years in the colony but one, he held some form of civil, judicial, or military high office...

, 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
Village hall
In the United States, a village hall is the seat of government for villages. It functions much as a city hall does within cities.In the United Kingdom, a village hall is usually a building within a village which contains at least one large room, usually owned by and run for the benefit of the local...

, the Jubilee Hall, in 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 market
Flea market
A flea market or swap meet is a type of bazaar where inexpensive or secondhand goods are sold or bartered. It may be indoors, such as in a warehouse or school gymnasium; or it may be outdoors, such as in a field or under a tent...

s as well as for a whole host of other activities: badminton
Badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

, table tennis
Table tennis
Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...

, parties, disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...

s, comedy nights, kung fu, Pilates
Pilates
Pilates is a physical fitness system developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates in Germany, the UK and the USA. As of 2005, there were 11 million people practicing the discipline regularly and 14,000 instructors in the United States....

, etc. The town is beginning to outgrow this Hall, and there are periodic debates as to whether it should be further extended or replaced with a new building.

The Three Crowns Hotel
The Three Crowns Hotel
The Three Crowns Hotel, also Three Crowns Chagford, is a historical hotel in Chagford, Devon, England. The building dates to the 13th century and was several centuries was a manor house before becoming an inn. The hotel, noted for its 13th century granite facade, has 16 en suite rooms...

 dates to the 13th century and is reportedly haunted by the ghost of the cavalier poet, Sidney Godolphin
Sidney Godolphin (poet)
Sidney Godolphin , was an English poet, courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1628 and 1643. He died fighting in the Royalist army in the English Civil War.-Biography:...

, who died in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

.

Religion

The parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....

 of St Michael the Archangel
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...

 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
Boss (architecture)
In architecture, a boss is a knob or protrusion of stone or wood.Bosses can often be found in the ceilings of buildings, particularly at the intersection of a vault. In Gothic architecture, such roof bosses are often intricately carved with foliage, heraldic devices or other decorations...

, similar to those found at St. Pancras' church, Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Widecombe-in-the-Moor is a small village located within the heart of the Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. . The name is thought to derive from 'Withy-combe' which means Willow Valley....

, including the tin miners’ emblem of three hares
Three hares
The three hares is a circular motif appearing in sacred sites from the Middle and Far East to the churches of southwest England , and historical synagogues in Europe....

.

Chagford forms part of a "united benefice" of seven ecclesiastical parishes, known as The Whiddon Parishes of Dartmoor, the others being Throwleigh
Throwleigh
Throwleigh is a village and civil parish located near the town of Okehampton and the A38 road, in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. Throwleigh has a church called St Mary the Virgin, Throwleigh.- External links :* *...

, Gidleigh
Gidleigh
Gidleigh is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of Devon, England. Gidleigh is located within Dartmoor National Park.Historically the parish consisted of a number of farmsteads and associated cottages scattered around the focal point of Holy Trinity church and the adjacent...

, Drewsteignton
Drewsteignton
Drewsteignton is a village and civil parish within the administrative area of West Devon, England, also lying within the Dartmoor National Park. It is located in the Teign valley, west of Exeter and south east of Okehampton...

, Spreyton
Spreyton
Spreyton is a small rural village just north of Dartmoor in Devon. Spreyton is famous for its connection to the tale of “Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all” who came from, and is thought to be buried in Spreyton...

, Hittisleigh
Hittisleigh
Hittisleigh is a small rural parish and village just north-east of Dartmoor in Devon. Once part of the ancient district of the Wonford Hundred, it is now administered by Mid Devon District Council and part of the Central Devon constituency. The name Hittisleigh may be derived from Hyttin's leah...

 and South Tawton
South Tawton
South Tawton, a village on the North edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England is an ancient demesne , going back at least to the time of the Saxons, if not to the Romans, who named the river Taw, the Tavus.-History:...

.

A Wesleyan
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 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
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 directories list a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

 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.

Legend

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
Lorna Doone
Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor....

. Although his novel is set on Exmoor
Exmoor
Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...

, 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 that 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.

Sports

Chagford's War Memorial Playing Fields were redeveloped in the late 1980s to provide a cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 ground to the south west of the village, overlooked by a modern clubhouse. In the winter, the ground provides two football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

pitches for the football club. There are public tennis courts in the town, with an associated Tennis Club, and an open-air swimming pool.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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