Ashill is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
located in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
of
Uffculme, in the
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
.
It has a small
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* Chris ...
, a community village hall and small
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
.
In the early 20th Century it had one or two shops, plus beer and cider houses. Later came a small garage with petrol pump, and a post office. None of these now survive. Towards the end of the century the character of the village changed, moving from a predominantly farming community to more of a residential character, with several new homes and a mini-estate and starter-home development built during the 1980s and 1990s. Nevertheless, a few historic farms remain active into the early 21st century, along with the more recently arrived alpaca breeders.
St. Stephen's Church is part of the parish of St. Mary's, Uffculme. Ashill Inn was built in 1835.
One of the more visible features is a 3-storey Victorian red-brick dwelling at the lower end of the village. Legend has it that it began life as a 2-storey building (which would have been rather more in keeping with the character of the rest of the village), but during its construction the woman to whom the new owner was betrothed left him, and in order to win her back the man tried to impress her by commissioning an extra storey to his new home, thus assuring her of a greater status as the wife of a 'property owner'. As the story goes, he was unsuccessful in this, and she never returned to him.
Ashill lies approximately two miles from
Uffculme and
Kentisbeare.
It was
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...
/
R&B singer
Joss Stone
Joscelyn Eve Stoker (born 11 April 1987), known professionally as Joss Stone, is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to prominence in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, ''The Soul Sessions'', which made the 2004 Merc ...
's teenage home (specifically, the hamlet of Rull, approximately half a mile away).
References
External links
Village website
Villages in Mid Devon District
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