Clovelly () is a privately-owned harbour village in the
Torridge
Torridge may refer to:
* Torridge District, a local government district in the county of Devon, England
* River Torridge, is a river in Devon in England
* Torridge Lass
Suffix beginning with F
''Empire Fabian''
''Empire Fabian'' was an E ...
district 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 ...
, England. The settlement and surrounding land belongs to John Rous who inherited it from his mother in 1983. He belongs to the Hamlyn family who have managed the village since 1738.
The village, which is built into the wooded
sea cliff
Seacliff or Sea Cliff or Sea Cliffe may refer to:
;Places
''Australia''
*Seacliff, South Australia, suburb of Adelaide
*Seacliff Park, South Australia, a suburb of Adelaide
*Sea Cliff Bridge, in Illawarra, New South Wales
''New Zealand''
*Seacli ...
s of the north Devon shore, has a steep pedestrianised
cobbled
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
main street with traditional architecture. Due to the gradients,
donkey
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
s (now mostly replaced with sledges) have been used to move goods and cargo from Clovelly Bay. Visitors to the village entering via the visitor centre are required to pay an entrance fee which covers parking, entrance to two museums,
Clovelly Court
Clovelly Court is a privately owned country house in Clovelly, Devon. The house and adjacent stable block are Grade II listed buildings. The gardens and parts of the estate are open to the public.
History
The manor of Clovelly was for over 600 ye ...
gardens, and an audiovisual history guide. The village is a tourist destination and is host to an annual Lobster and Crab festival.
At the 2011 census, the parish population was 443, a decrease of 50 on the 2001 census.
The island of
Lundy
Lundy is an English island in the Bristol Channel. It was a micronation from 1925–1969. It forms part of the district of Torridge in the county of Devon.
About long and wide, Lundy has had a long and turbulent history, frequently chang ...
is part of the
electoral ward
A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...
of Clovelly Bay.
History
![Clovelly - Harbour02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Clovelly_-_Harbour02.jpg)
The area has had human habitation since the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...
as there is a
hillfort at
Windbury Head
Windbury Head is the site of an Iron Age hill fort on the Hartland Peninsula, just north of Clovelly in North Devon, England. Most of the fort has been lost to coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the lon ...
northwest of the village. Following the
Norman conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conque ...
of England in 1066, the
Manor of Clovelly
The Manor of Clovelly is a historic manor in North Devon, England. Within the manor are situated the manor house known as Clovelly Court, the parish church of All Saints, and the famous picturesque fishing village of Clovelly. The parish church ...
was acquired by
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...
from its Saxon tenant. It was listed in the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
as "Clovelie". William would make a gift of the village to his wife
Matilda of Flanders
Matilda of Flanders (french: link=no, Mathilde; nl, Machteld) ( 1031 – 2 November 1083) was Queen of England and Duchess of Normandy by marriage to William the Conqueror, and regent of Normandy during his absences from the duchy. She was t ...
.
Two hundred years later during the reign of
King Richard II, the
Manor of Clovelly
The Manor of Clovelly is a historic manor in North Devon, England. Within the manor are situated the manor house known as Clovelly Court, the parish church of All Saints, and the famous picturesque fishing village of Clovelly. The parish church ...
was bought by the judge
Sir John Cary. The Church of All Saints contains several monuments to the
Cary family
The Cary family (also Carey) is an English aristocratic family with a branch in Ireland. The earliest known ancestor of the family is Sir Adam de Kari who was living in 1198. Sir John Cary (died 1395) purchased the Manor of Clovelly in the 14th ce ...
, who remained the
Lords of the Manor
Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...
for another 400 years. The village remained an agricultural parish until the late 16th century, when the
squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight.
Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...
, George Cary had the stone breakwater erected creating a harbour.
This provided the only safe haven for ships along this stretch of the Devon coast between
Appledore Appledore may refer to:
Places England
* Appledore, Kent
** Appledore (Kent) railway station
* Appledore, Mid Devon, near Tiverton
* Appledore, Torridge, North Devon, near Bideford U.S.A.
* Appledore Island, off the coast of Maine In fiction
* App ...
and
Boscastle. He also erected fish cellars and warehouses at the cliff base and cottages along the banks of the stream that provided the only route to the shore from the plateau above. Cary spent £2,000 turning Clovelly into a fishing village.
The privately-owned village has been associated with only three families since the middle of the 13th century. In 1738, the Clovelly Estate was acquired by the Hamlyn family. In 1901, the village had a population of 521. Clovelly's preservation owes much to Christine Hamlyn who dedicated herself to renovating and expanding the ancient cottages while beautifying the village.
Lifeboat station
![Clovelly Lifeboat Station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Clovelly_Lifeboat_Station.jpg)
The village has had an
RNLI lifeboat station since 1870. The boathouse cost £175 to build.
Between 1899 and 1931, the lifeboat saved 158 lives.
In 1988, the RNLI closed the station.
In response, the villagers operated their own rescue service.
In 1998 the RNLI reopened the station. An
Atlantic 85-class lifeboat, was installed in 2014. It was named in honour of Toby Rundle, an
Oxford student who took his own life in 2010.
Architecture
Almost all the terraced buildings along the village's cobbled street are
architecturally listed. More than 50 out of 71 are on the main street itself. Only seven buildings are not listed.
The village's only Grade I listed building is the Church of All Saints, parts of All Saints' Church might still have some late
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
.
[ Although its listing summary states, "Virtually all C15 and early C16, restored in 1843 and again in 1884". The Grade II* buildings are numbers 16, and 45–47, 53–54 (53 has the house name ''Crazy Kate's''), and 59–61.
]
Management
The Clovelly Estate Company owns all of the buildings in the village and is responsible for maintaining the village and preserving its character. The company is led by John Rous, a descendant of the Hamlyn family who lives at Clovelly Court
Clovelly Court is a privately owned country house in Clovelly, Devon. The house and adjacent stable block are Grade II listed buildings. The gardens and parts of the estate are open to the public.
History
The manor of Clovelly was for over 600 ye ...
. John Rous is the only son of Keith Rous, the 5th Earl of Stradbroke
Earl of Stradbroke, in the County of Suffolk, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1821 for John Rous, 1st Baron Rous, who had earlier represented Suffolk in the House of Commons.
He had already succeeded his ...
and Mary Asquith, granddaughter of former prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
H. H. Asquith
Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, (12 September 1852 – 15 February 1928), generally known as H. H. Asquith, was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom f ...
.[ As of 2021, Clovelly included approximately "80 cottages, two chapels, two hotels", woodlands and about 2000 acres of farmland. The village encourages tourism and has been financially successful in that endeavour as of 2019.
]
Access
The village main street is not accessible by motor vehicles.
The lack of vehicular access to the main street has led to deliveries being made by sledge.[ This is not done as a tourist attraction, but as a matter of practicality. Goods are delivered by being pulled down on a sledge from the upper car park, and refuse is collected by being pulled down the hill to a vehicle at the harbour.
The village is served by ]Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...
bus service 319; the route includes Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...
, Bideford and Hartland.[http://www.clovelly.co.uk Visitors' Website]
The South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...
National Trail runs from the top of the village.
Notable residents and cultural references
The 16th century Carys of Clovelly feature in the historical novel ''The Grove of Eagles'' by Winston Graham.
An 18th century chapbook
A chapbook is a small publication of up to about 40 pages, sometimes bound with a saddle stitch.
In early modern Europe a chapbook was a type of printed street literature. Produced cheaply, chapbooks were commonly small, paper-covered bookle ...
entitled ''The History of John Gregg and his Family of Robbers and Murderers'' explains that "Chovaley" (i.e. Clovelly) was once the home of a tribe of fictional cannibalistic bandits. It is alleged that Gregg and his extended family of dozens were eventually tracked down by bloodhounds and were burnt alive in three fires. They were said to have lived in "a cave near the sea-side" and had committed some 1,000 murders. Writer Daniel Codd observes that a stretch of Clovelly Bay is called "the Devil's Kitchen"—"an apt name indeed if there is any truth in the ghoulish story of the Gregg family".
The surgeon
In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...
Campbell De Morgan
Campbell Greig De Morgan (22 November 1811 – 12 April 1876) was a British surgeon who first speculated that cancer arose locally and then spread, first to the lymph nodes and then more widely in the body. His name is used to describe the non c ...
(1811–1876), who first speculated that cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
arose locally and then spread more widely in the body, was born here.
J. M. W. Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbulen ...
's painting of Clovelly Harbour around 1822 hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland
The National Gallery of Ireland ( ga, Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on ...
, Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
.
The novelist Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...
lived here as a child from 1831 to 1836, while his father, Rev. Charles Kingsley, served first as senior curate
A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...
then as rector. Later, in 1855, his novel '' Westward Ho!'' did much to stimulate interest in Clovelly and to boost its tourist trade.
On Sunday, 28 October 1838 twelve fishing vessels with a total of twenty-six men on board left Clovelly Harbour for the fishing grounds. Only one vessel and its crew ever returned after a ferocious storm in the Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
. This event led to the founding of the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society
The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society or the Shipwrecked Mariners for short, is a national charity founded in 1839, which operates throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland, whose purpose is to provide help to former merc ...
early the following year with the object of
Local resident Joseph Harvey Jewell and his wife Mary Ann Jewell were two of only ten passengers to survive the wreck of the General Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General of the United States ...
in 1866. Joseph described their experiences in a detailed letter to his father Captain John Jewell, "master mariner" of Clovelly.
The charity is active supporting the seafaring community suffering hardship and distress.
Clovelly is also described by Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
in " A Message from the Sea" and was painted by Rex Whistler, whose cameos of the village were used on a china
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
service by Josiah Wedgwood.
In Susan Coolidge's ''In the High Valley'' (1890), part of the Katy series, a walk into Clovelly is described: "...–surely a more extraordinary thing in the way of a street does not exist in the known world. The little village is built on the sides of a crack in a tremendous cliff; the 'street' is merely the bottom of the crack, into which the ingenuity of man has fitted a few stones, set slant-wise, with intersecting ridges on which the foot can catch as it goes slipping hopelessly down."
Clovelly is mentioned in passing by Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English novelist, short-story writer, poet, and journalist. He was born in British India, which inspired much of his work.
...
in '' Stalky & Co.'' as being located to the west of the boys' academy.
Actor Joss Ackland
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928) is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock Del ...
and his wife Rosemary bought a property in Higher Clovelly on the outskirts of the village in 1989. Ackland still lives there but Rosemary died in 2002 and is buried in the grounds of their home. Ackland has appeared in promotional videos for the town and has spoken often of his love of and connection to Clovelly.
In 1973 the film ''Malachi's Cove
''Malachi's Cove'' is a 1974 British-Canadian coming-of-age period drama film directed by Henry Herbert and starring Donald Pleasence, Veronica Quilligan and Dai Bradley. It is based on the short story ''Malachi's Cove'' by Anthony Trollope ...
'' was shot largely at Clovelly, with some scenes shot at Trebarwith Strand
Trebarwith Strand ( kw, Trebervedh Sian; locally sometimes shortened to ''The Strand'') is a section of coastline located near the coastal settlement of Trebarwith on the north coast of Cornwall, England, UK, south of Tintagel. It has 800m of san ...
.
See also
* North Devon Coast AONB
Notes
References
Further reading
* Charles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...
, '' Westward Ho!'', 1855
External links
Clovelly
- official site
Clovelly Parish
- Official Website, provided by Parish Council
Genuki Clovelly
Live webcams of the harbour, beach and main street
{{authority control
Villages in Devon
Car-free zones in Europe
Seaside resorts in England
Beaches of Devon
Fishing communities in England
Tourist attractions in Devon
Torridge District