Cornwood is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in the

South Hams South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Services divide between those provided by its own Council headquartered in Totnes, and those provided by Devon County Council headquartered in the city of Exete ...

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 parish has a population of 988. The village 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 ...

called ''Cornwood'' and

Sparkwell Sparkwell is a small village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon. Historically it was part of Haytor Hundred. Its local Anglican church is All Saints Church, Sparkwell. Its local non-conformist church is Lee Mill Congregation ...

. The ward population at the 2011 census was 2,321. Blachford House is a large grade II* listed country house standing in parkland on the northwest edge of the village. From 1852 to 1959 the village was served by

Cornwood railway station Cornwood railway station was a former railway station located in the village of Cornwood in Devon on the South Devon Main Line between Exeter and Plymouth. It was constructed a few years after the opening of the stretch of line. The station wa ...

on the

South Devon Main Line South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

between

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

and

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. The civil parish includes the villages and hamlets of Lutton, Yondertown, North Hele, South Hele, Corntown, Uppaton, Tor, East Rook and West Rook.

Religion

The Church of St Michael's is Cornwood's

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. It was from Cornwood vicarage, in 1785, that Reverend Thomas Vivian wrote ''Revelation explained'', a pioneering attempt by the Established Church to write about the

Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...

for a general audience. Thomas Vivian believed his subject matter fell naturally into three sections; the first dealt with verifiable historical events, the second dealt with contemporary and continuing events that characterised a church that had departed from "the Simplicity of the Gospel" and, finally, prophecies for the future. The book was dedicated to the Bishop of Exeter, published in Plymouth and distributed from London, Bath and Exeter.

References

Villages in South Hams Civil parishes in South Hams {{Devon-geo-stub