Coffinswell is a small village in South
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
, England, just off the
A380The A380 is a trunk road in South West England, connecting the Torbay area to the A38, and hence to the rest of the United Kingdom's main road network.-Route:...
, the busy
Newton AbbotNewton Abbot is a market town in Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580 .Newton Abbot has a racecourse and boasts three country parks: Decoy, Stover and Bradley...
to
TorquayTorquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies miles south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998...
road. It lies within
TeignbridgeTeignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Newton Abbot.Other towns in the district include Ashburton, Dawlish and Teignmouth...
District Council.
Coffinswell has a church dedicated to Saint Bartholomew with a
NormanThe term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used for English Romanesque architecture...
fontA baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:The fonts of many Christian denominations are intended for baptisms using a non-immersion method, such as aspersion or affusion. The simplest of these fonts has...
. Near the church is Court Barton, a
manor houseA manor house or fortified manor-house is a country house, which has historically formed the administrative centre of a manor , the lowest unit of territorial organization in the feudal system...
of partly 16th century date; the southern part of which was used as a court house by
Torre AbbeyTorre Abbey comprises two Grade I listed buildings in Torquay. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons when William Brewer, lord of the manor of Torre, gave them the land...
.
The village lies in a rural valley surrounded by farmland, and has many traditional Devon cob and thatch cottages.
Coffinswell is a small village in South
DevonDevon is a large county in England. The county is also referred to as Devonshire, although that is an unofficial name, rarely used inside of the county itself and often indicating a traditional or historical context. The county shares borders with Cornwall to the west and Dorset and Somerset to...
, England, just off the
A380The A380 is a trunk road in South West England, connecting the Torbay area to the A38, and hence to the rest of the United Kingdom's main road network.-Route:...
, the busy
Newton AbbotNewton Abbot is a market town in Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580 .Newton Abbot has a racecourse and boasts three country parks: Decoy, Stover and Bradley...
to
TorquayTorquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies miles south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998...
road. It lies within
TeignbridgeTeignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Newton Abbot.Other towns in the district include Ashburton, Dawlish and Teignmouth...
District Council.
Coffinswell has a church dedicated to Saint Bartholomew with a
NormanThe term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is traditionally used for English Romanesque architecture...
fontA baptismal font is an article of church furniture or a fixture used for the baptism of children and adults.-Aspersion and affusion fonts:The fonts of many Christian denominations are intended for baptisms using a non-immersion method, such as aspersion or affusion. The simplest of these fonts has...
. Near the church is Court Barton, a
manor houseA manor house or fortified manor-house is a country house, which has historically formed the administrative centre of a manor , the lowest unit of territorial organization in the feudal system...
of partly 16th century date; the southern part of which was used as a court house by
Torre AbbeyTorre Abbey comprises two Grade I listed buildings in Torquay. It was founded in 1196 as a monastery for Premonstratensian canons when William Brewer, lord of the manor of Torre, gave them the land...
.
The village lies in a rural valley surrounded by farmland, and has many traditional Devon cob and thatch cottages. Lanes and tracks lead to the neighbouring hamlet of
Daccombe and over the ridge towards Haccombe and the
River TeignThe 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...
approximately 3 miles north over undulating land.
Surrounding places
Coffinswell is surrounded by several small villages and hamlets. Clockwise from the north-west these are:
- Milber
Milber is a housing estate at considered part of the town of Newton Abbot in south Devon. It is on the opposite side of the A380 road from the town centre. Milber contains mainly houses, but also a trading estate and some shops. Its unusual 20th-century church of St Luke was built as a result of a...
. This suburb of Newton AbbotNewton Abbot is a market town in Devon, England on the River Teign, with a population of 23,580 .Newton Abbot has a racecourse and boasts three country parks: Decoy, Stover and Bradley...
is mainly residential. On the hill above it is the Iron AgeIn archaeology, the Iron Age is the prehistoric period in any area during which cutting tools and weapons were mainly made of iron or steel. The adoption of this material coincided with other changes in society, including differing agricultural practices, religious beliefs and artistic styles.The...
hill fort of Milber DownMilber Down is an Iron Age hill fort on the hill above the suburb of Milber, Newton Abbot in Devon, England. The fort is situated on the north-western slope of Milber Down at about 110 metres above sea level, and is bisected by the minor ridge road that leads to Barton, Torquay. One Iron Age...
.
- Netherton. A small hamlet between Milber and Haccombe. A footpath leads to Coombe Cellars
Coombe Cellars Inn is a public house on the south bank of the estuary of the River Teign in south Devon, England. It is near the village of Combeinteignhead. The pub, owned by Brewers Fayre until 2006, is now owned by Mitchells & Butlers....
on the River Teign.
- Haccombe is a small hamlet below the St Marychurch road. Its small chapel is dedicated to Saint Blaise
Saint Blaise was a physician, and bishop of Sebastea, Armenia . According to his Acta Sanctorum, he was martyred by being beaten, attacked with iron carding combs, and beheaded...
. Haccombe House is a "nondescript Georgian structure" (Pevsner): built ca. 1800: the chapel is in the grounds. The benefice is occupied by an incumbent with the rare title of ArchpriestAn archpriest is a priest who has supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches, although it may be used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane.-History:Much as the archdeacon was...
. The archpresbytery was established in 1341 with six clergy: only the archpriest survived at the Reformation. The parish is combined with that of Stoke-in-Teignhead with Combe-in-Teignhead.
- Plant World. A garden centre and a large garden which is designed as a map of the world, with rare plants grown relevant to their location on the map. It is significant for the cultivation of giant Echium
Echium is a genus of 60 species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. The type species is Echium vulgare, viper's bugloss. Species of Echium are native to North Africa, Southern Africa, Europe, Madeira and the Canary Islands, as well as parts of East Asia. One species, Echium plantagineum...
s.
- Rocombe. A small hamlet at the bottom of the valley on the lane towards Stokeinteignhead.
- Maidencombe, about 2.5 miles distant, is the closest beach to Coffinswell. It is also a small hamlet on the coast of Lyme Bay
Lyme Bay is an area of the English Channel situated in the southwest of England between Torbay in the west and Portland in the east. The counties of Devon and Dorset front onto the bay....
.
- Daccombe. A small hamlet of thatched cottages and a campsite. It is at the head of the valley of the Aller Brook.
- Barton. A suburb of Torquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies miles south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998...
. Barton Hall, a former manor house, is here. In recent years it has been a holiday camp and adventure centre with a dry ski slope.
- Kingskerswell
Kingskerswell is a village located in Devon, England. It is situated between Torquay and Newton Abbot and the main road between the two runs through the village.-About the village:...
is a large village separated from Coffinswell by a hill. Mainly residential, it is on the main Torquay to Newton Abbot road.
Landscape
Most of the landscape around Coffinswell is hilly farmland. Traditional Devon hedgerows form field boundaries, and have existed at least since Norman times. Most of the flora is native, with the exception of cultivated or non-native flora in private gardens and horticultural sites, e.g. rhododendrons around Haccombe and
gorseGorse, furze, furse or whin is a genus of about 20 species of spiny 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 stems...
and
pinePines are coniferous trees in the genus Pinus , in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Distribution:...
s near Milber.
Water courses, rivers and hydrology
Coffinswell sits in the Daccombe or Aller Brook
drainage basinA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
. The Aller Brook flows west toward Aller, Newton Abbot, before entering the River Teign which empties into Lyme Bay at
TeignmouthTeignmouth is a town in Devon, England, situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign. In 1690, it was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power...
. Water collection on the east side of the Daccombe drainage basin or the Watcombe drainage basin flows through Barton and Watcombe into
Babbacombe"Babbacombe" may also refer to John 'Babbacombe' LeeBabbacombe is a district of Torquay, Devon, England. It is notable for Babbacombe Model Village, and its clifftop green, Babbacombe Downs, from which Oddicombe Beach is accessed via Babbacombe Cliff Railway....
bay at Watcombe beach. Likewise water collection on the north side of the drainage basin collects in Haccombe and flows toward the River Teign.
Notable resident
The Rev. W. Keble Martin was Rector here in the 1920s and studied the local flora.