Jacobstow
Encyclopedia
Jacobstow is a civil parish and village in north Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. The village is located east of the A39 road
approximately seven miles (11 km) south of Bude
.
Penhallym in the north of the parish is mentioned (as Penhalun) in the Domesday Book
; nearby is Penhallam
, site of a medieval manor.
The name Jacobstow originates from Saxon times and derives from St James (Latin Jacobus) and holy place. As well as the church town
, other settlements in the parish include Southcott and those parts of Canworthy Water
north of the River Ottery
.
Jacobstow parish is on high ground and is entirely rural in character. It is bounded to the northwest by Poundstock
parish, to the east by Week St Mary
parish, to the west by St Gennys
parish, and to the south by Warbstow
parish. The southwest boundary of the parish follows the River Ottery for approximately two miles.
The parish is in the Stratton Registration District and had a population of 421 at the 2001 census
.
church on the same site. The present church is of the 15th century with a nave and chancel and north and south aisles. The three-stage battlemented granite tower houses a ring of six bells. The font is Norman of the Altarnun type and the altar is an Elizabethan communion table. An ancient altar stone is in the south aisle chapel: it was the main altar stone up to about 1550 in the reign of Edward VI
when the Church of England
was becoming more Protestant and an act required that all altar stones should be removed. This one became a footbridge over a stream. It was found and moved back to the churchyard as a seat in the 1800s, and installed in the south aisle chapel in 1972. The nails that form the cross on the base of the altar are 15th century, and were saved from roof restoration work in 1970.
Jacobstow Community Primary School is situated in the village. The school caters for up to 90 children aged 4–11 years in three classes. Its catchment area includes most of Jacobstow parish as well as parts of Poundstock, St Gennys and Week St Mary parishes.
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The village is located east of the A39 road
A39 road
The A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Bridgwater. It then follows the north coast of Somerset and Devon through Williton, Minehead, Porlock, Lynmouth, Barnstaple, Bideford, Stratton, Camelford, Wadebridge and St...
approximately seven miles (11 km) south of Bude
Bude
Bude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
.
Penhallym in the north of the parish is mentioned (as Penhalun) in the Domesday Book
Domesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
; nearby is Penhallam
Penhallam
Penhallam is the site of a medieval manor house surrounded by a protective moat. It was designated as a Scheduled Monument in 1996 and is now in the guardianship of English Heritage....
, site of a medieval manor.
The name Jacobstow originates from Saxon times and derives from St James (Latin Jacobus) and holy place. As well as the church town
Churchtown, Cornwall
In Cornwall, the churchtown is the settlement in a parish where the church stands, for example,*Churchtown Mullion,*Churchtown Redruth,*Churchtown St Hilary,*Churchtown St Merryn,*Churchtown St Minver,*Gorran Churchtown,*Gulval Churchtown,...
, other settlements in the parish include Southcott and those parts of Canworthy Water
Canworthy Water
Canworthy Water is a settlement in northeast Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated beside the River Ottery at approximately seven miles northeast of Camelford....
north of the River Ottery
River Ottery
The River Ottery is a small river in northeast Cornwall, United Kingdom. The river is approximately twenty miles long from its source southeast of Otterham to its confluence with the River Tamar at Nether Bridge, two miles northeast of Launceston.The headwaters of the River Ottery are within the...
.
Jacobstow parish is on high ground and is entirely rural in character. It is bounded to the northwest by Poundstock
Poundstock
Poundstock is a civil parish and a hamlet on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The hamlet is situated four miles south of Bude half-a-mile west of the A39 trunk road about one mile from the coast....
parish, to the east by Week St Mary
Week St Mary
Week St Mary is a civil parish and village in northeast Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated south of Bude close to the River Tamar and the border between Cornwall and Devon in the Hundred of Stratton....
parish, to the west by St Gennys
St Gennys
St Gennys is a coastal civil parish and small settlement in north Cornwall, United Kingdom.The hamlet of St Gennys is situated approximately seven miles southwest of Bude. It is on high ground half-a-mile north of the coastal village of Crackington Haven, the major settlement in the parish...
parish, and to the south by Warbstow
Warbstow
Warbstow is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish has a population of 439 according to the 2001 census.The parish is one of the few left in England to still have an exclave...
parish. The southwest boundary of the parish follows the River Ottery for approximately two miles.
The parish is in the Stratton Registration District and had a population of 421 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...
.
Churches and schools
Jacobstow parish church is dedicated to St James and there is evidence of a former SaxonAnglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England, and parts of Wales, from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with thatch for roofing...
church on the same site. The present church is of the 15th century with a nave and chancel and north and south aisles. The three-stage battlemented granite tower houses a ring of six bells. The font is Norman of the Altarnun type and the altar is an Elizabethan communion table. An ancient altar stone is in the south aisle chapel: it was the main altar stone up to about 1550 in the reign of Edward VI
Edward VI of England
Edward VI was the King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death. He was crowned on 20 February at the age of nine. The son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Edward was the third monarch of the Tudor dynasty and England's first monarch who was raised as a Protestant...
when the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
was becoming more Protestant and an act required that all altar stones should be removed. This one became a footbridge over a stream. It was found and moved back to the churchyard as a seat in the 1800s, and installed in the south aisle chapel in 1972. The nails that form the cross on the base of the altar are 15th century, and were saved from roof restoration work in 1970.
Jacobstow Community Primary School is situated in the village. The school caters for up to 90 children aged 4–11 years in three classes. Its catchment area includes most of Jacobstow parish as well as parts of Poundstock, St Gennys and Week St Mary parishes.