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Widecombe
Widecombe in the Moor () is a village and large civil parish in Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. Its church is known as the Cathedral of the Moors on account of its tall tower and its size, relative to the small population it serves. It is a favourite tourist centre, partly for its scenic character and partly for its connection to the popular song “Widecombe Fair”. History The name is thought to derive from 'Withy-combe' which means Willow Valley. According to Widecombe's official website, there are 196 households in the village, although its large and sprawling parish stretches for many miles and encompasses dozens of isolated cottages and moorland farms. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Manaton, Ilsington, Ashburton, Buckland-in-the-Moor, Holne and Dartmoor Forest. Tourism is a major source of income for Widecombe today, and within a small area of the village there are several gift shops (including a general store), one cafe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Widecombe Fair
Widecombe Fair is an annual fair in England, held in the Dartmoor village of Widecombe-in-the-Moor on the second Tuesday of September. It is well known as the subject of the folk song of the Widecombe Fair (song), same name, featuring Uncle Tom Cobley and his friends. History The earliest written record was in 1850, when it was described in the ''Plymouth Gazette'' as a cattle fair. It soon became an opportunity to show and sell other livestock, particularly locally bred sheep and Dartmoor pony, Dartmoor ponies, and by the 1920s it had also become a sports day for local schoolchildren. In 1933, stalls were introduced, selling rural arts and crafts. World War I saw a cancellation of the Fair between 1915 and 1918. Widecombe Fair was suspended during the Second World War, but reinstated in 1945 with new attractions, including a Gymkhana (Equestrian), gymkhana and tug of war. All profits were donated to the 'Local Welcome Home Fund' for returning soldiers, sailors and airmen. I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Widecombe Fair (song)
"Widecombe Fair", also called "Tom Pearce" (sometimes spelt "Tam Pierce"), is a Devon folk song about a man called Tom Pearce, whose horse dies after someone borrows it to travel to the Widecombe Fair, fair in Widecombe with his friends. Its refrain, chorus ends with a long list of the people travelling to the fair: "''Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davy, Dan'l Whiddon, Harry Hawke, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all''." Some research suggests that the names originally referred to real people. As the last name in a long list, "Uncle Tom Cobley and all" has come to be used as a humorous colloquialism meaning "anyone and everyone". The surname is spelt as "Cobleigh" in some references. History The song was published by Sabine Baring-Gould in the book ''Songs and Ballads of the West'' (1889–91) (referring to the West Country in England), though it also exists in variant forms. The title is spelt "Widdecombe Fair" in the original publication, though "Widecombe" is now the sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Thunderstorm, Widecombe
The Great Thunderstorm of Widecombe-in-the-Moor in Dartmoor, Kingdom of England, took place on Sunday, 21 October 1638, when the church of St Pancras was apparently struck by ball lightning during a severe thunderstorm. An afternoon service was taking place at the time, and the building was packed with approximately 300 worshippers. Four of them were killed, around 60 injured, and the building severely damaged. Eyewitness accounts Written accounts by eyewitnesses, apparently published within months of the catastrophe,''A trve relation of those strange and lamentable Accidents happening in the Parish Church of Widecombe in Devonshire, on Sunday the 21. of October, 1638.'' and ''A second and most exact relation of those sad and lamentable Accidents, which happened in and about the Parish Church of Widecombe neere the Dartmoores in Devonshire, on Sunday the 21. of October last 1638.'', Wykes and Rothwell, G.M. and R. Harford, London 1638, later reprinted in Devon Notes and Queries ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uncle Tom Cobley
The phrase Uncle Tom Cobley and all is used in British English as a humorous or whimsical way of saying '' et al.'', often to express exasperation at the large number of people in a list. The phrase comes from a Devon folk song, "Widecombe Fair", collected around 1890 by Sabine Baring-Gould. Its chorus ends with a long list of people: "Bill Brewer, Jan Stewer, Peter Gurney, Peter Davy, Dan'l Whiddon, Harry Hawke, Old Uncle Tom Cobley and all." The surname is spelt as "Cobleigh" in some references. The historical Tom Cobley Whether Tom Cobley, or the other characters from the song, ever existed is uncertain. Local historians have attempted to trace them in and around Dartmoor (for if they did ride to the fair at Widecombe, they may have travelled some distance). There is some suggestion that his relatives have been traced to a family which had moved to Plymouth in the early 1900s, but that no longer hold the name Cobley. The strongest claim is held by the village of Spreyton, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous Period of geological history. The landscape consists of moorland capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The highest point is High Willhays, above sea level. The entire area is rich in antiquities and archaeology. Dartmoor National Park is managed by the Dartmoor National Park Authority, whose 22 members are drawn from Devon County Council, local district councils and Government. Parts of Dartmoor have been used as military firing ranges for over 200 years. The public is granted extensive land access rights on Dartmoor (including restricted access to the firing ranges) and it is a popular tourist destination. Physical geography Geology Dartmoor includes the largest area of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Three Hares
The three hares (or three rabbits) is a circular motif or meme appearing in sacred sites from East Asia, the Middle East and to the churches of Devon, England (as the " Tinners' Rabbits"), and historical synagogues in Europe. It is used as an architectural ornament, a religious symbol, and in other modern works of art or a logo for adornment (including tattoos), jewelry, and a coat of arms on an escutcheon. It is viewed as a puzzle, a topology problem or a visual challenge, and has been rendered as sculpture, drawing, and painting. The symbol features three hares or rabbits chasing each other in a circle. Like the triskelion, the triquetra, and their antecedents (e.g., the triple spiral), the symbol of the three hares has a threefold rotational symmetry. Each of the ears is shared by two hares, so that only three ears are shown. Although its meaning is apparently not explained in contemporary written sources from any of the medieval cultures where it is found, it is thought to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ball Lightning
Ball lightning is a rare and unexplained phenomenon described as luminescent, spherical objects that vary from pea-sized to several meters in diameter. Though usually associated with thunderstorms, the observed phenomenon is reported to last considerably longer than the split-second flash of a lightning bolt, and is a phenomenon distinct from St. Elmo's fire. Some 19th-century reports describe balls that eventually explode and leave behind an odor of sulfur. Descriptions of ball lightning appear in a variety of accounts over the centuries and have received attention from scientists. An optical spectrum of what appears to have been a ball lightning event was published in January 2014 and included a video at high frame rate. Laboratory experiments have produced effects that are visually similar to reports of ball lightning, but how these relate to the supposed phenomenon remains unclear. Scientists have proposed a number of hypotheses to explain reports of ball lightning over ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beatrice Chase
Beatrice Chase (5 July 1874 – 3 July 1955) was the pen name for a British writer known during the first half of the 20th century for her Dartmoor-based novels. Her real name was Olive Katharine Parr, and she claimed to be directly descended from William Parr, the brother of Catherine, the sixth wife of Henry VIII. Biography Beatrice Chase was born as Olive Katherine Parr in Harrow on the Hill in 1874. Her father, Charles Parr, apparently died when she was young, and her mother was a lapsed Catholic.Chard (1994), p.1.Laver (1989), p.88. Both Olive and her younger sister Hilda were educated at the Convent of the Holy Child in Cavendish Square, and both were baptised Catholics and became Dominican Tertiaries. Olive also took the nun's vow of chastity. Around 1900 she was helping the poor in London,Milton (2006), p.191. when she contracted a lung disease, and her younger sister died. In 1901 she travelled to Devon to convalesce and spent time with her mother in the Dartmoor villag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dartmoor Tin-mining
The tin mining industry on Dartmoor, Devon, England, is thought to have originated in pre-Roman times, and continued right through to the 20th century, when the last commercially worked mine (Golden Dagger Mine) closed in November 1930 (though it saw work during the Second World War). From the 12th century onwards tin mining was regulated by a stannary parliament which had its own laws. Tin is smelted from cassiterite, a mineral found in hydrothermal veins in granite, and the uplands of Dartmoor were a particularly productive area. The techniques used for the extraction of tin from Dartmoor followed a progression from streaming through open cast mining to underground mining. Today, there are extensive archaeological remains of these three phases of the industry, as well as of the several stages of processing that were necessary to convert the ore to tin metal. Stannary law Mining became such an important part of life in the region that as early as the 12th century, tin miners ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teignbridge
Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Newton Abbot. Other towns in the district include Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish and Teignmouth. It is named for the old Teignbridge hundred. The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, as a merger of the Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Newton Abbot and Teignmouth urban district Urban district may refer to: * District * Urban area * Quarter (urban subdivision) * Neighbourhood Specific subdivisions in some countries: * Urban districts of Denmark * Urban districts of Germany * Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland) (hist ...s along with Newton Abbot Rural District and part of St Thomas Rural District. Politics Elections to the borough council are held every four years, with all of the 46 seats on the council being elected at each election. The council had been under no overall control since the 1983, until the Conservatives gained a major ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ilsington
Ilsington is a village and civil parish situated on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is one of the largest parishes in the county, and includes the villages of Ilsington, Haytor Vale, Liverton and South Knighton. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Bovey Tracey, Teigngrace (a short border only), Newton Abbot, Ogwell (another short border), Bickington, Ashburton, Widecombe-in-the-Moor and Manaton. In 2001 the population of the parish was 2,444, greatly increased from the 886 residents recorded in 1901. The parish is represented in parliament by Mel Stride, as part of the Central Devon constituency. History The village is believed to be an ancient settlement – probably existing 200 to 300 years before the Norman Conquest. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ilestintona, and there is known to have been a church there since at least the 11th century. St. Michael's parish church, as seen today, dates back to the 15th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dartmoor Forest
Dartmoor Forest is a civil parish in Devon, England. It was formed in 1987 by the splitting of the former parish of Lydford. It covers about entirely within Dartmoor, Dartmoor National Park, and is the largest parish in Devon. Despite its size its population in 2001 was only 1,619. Due to its large size it is surrounded by many other parishes: these are, clockwise from the north, Belstone, South Tawton, Throwleigh, Gidleigh, Chagford, North Bovey, Manaton, Widecombe in the Moor, Holne, West Buckfastleigh, Dean Prior, South Brent, Ugborough, Harford, Devon, Harford, Cornwood, Shaugh Prior, Sheepstor, Walkhampton, Whitchurch, Devon, Whitchurch, Peter Tavy, Lydford, land common to the parishes of Bridestowe and Sourton, and Okehampton Hamlets. The principal settlement in the parish is Princetown. Other settlements include Bellever, Hexworthy, Postbridge and Two Bridges, Devon, Two Bridges. References Dartmoor Civil parishes in Devon {{Devon-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
