Horrabridge is a village in
West Devon
West Devon is a local government district and borough in Devon, England. Towns and villages in the district include Chagford, Okehampton, Princetown and Tavistock, where the council is based.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the ...
, England with a population of 2,115 people in 2006, down from 2,204 in 1991. It is located approximately north of the city of
Plymouth and south of
Tavistock
Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13 ...
and is within the
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 P ...
National Park. ''Horrabridge'' is a major part of Walkham
electoral ward. The population at the 2011
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
was 3,115.
It sits on the
River Walkham
The Walkham is a river whose source is on Dartmoor, Devon, England. It rises in the wide gap between Roos Tor and Great Mis Tor and flows almost due south for approximately leaving the tors and thus National Park behind then south-west for pa ...
, a fishing river famous for its salmon. The village's name may have been taken from the 15th century pack-horse bridge which remains the only vehicular route from one side of the village to the other, and featured in the children's television programme
Bagpuss
''Bagpuss'' is a British animated children's television series which was made by Peter Firmin and Oliver Postgate through their company Smallfilms. The series of thirteen episodes was first broadcast from 12 February to 7 May 1974. The title ch ...
. The bridge is a
Grade I listed building.
Horrabridge has two pubs the London Inn and The Leaping Salmon but has lost many of its shops over the last 20 years including a draper, television shop and a general store. The village does however retain its post office, family bakery, hairdresser, florist and newsagent.
Until the beginning of the 20th century, the main industry was the mining of
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...
and
tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn (from la, stannum) and atomic number 50. Tin is a silvery-coloured metal.
Tin is soft enough to be cut with little force and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, t ...
. This industry has completely disappeared, leaving a legacy of unmapped mineshafts in the village and the surrounding area. It is a popular starting point for walks on Dartmoor and has become a
dormitory village for the adjoining towns.
Horrabridge has a
football club associated with it; Horrabridge Rangers Sports Association. The football club has 2 adult teams and 20 youth teams of boys and girls. The football club has been around for over 100 years and provides a useful activity for the children of Horrabridge and the surrounding villages of
Yelverton,
Buckland Monachorum
Buckland Monachorum is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of Devon, England, situated on the River Tavy, about 10 miles north of Plymouth.
In 2006 the neighbourhood had an estimated 1,511 residents and 654 dwellings. The elect ...
,
Crapstone
Crapstone is a village in the county of Devon. The village is located on the edge of Dartmoor, in the parish of Buckland Monachorum and is approximately from the village of Yelverton, from the city of Plymouth and from Tavistock.
History
Du ...
,
Meavy
Meavy is a small village, civil parish and former manor in the English county of Devon. Meavy forms part of the district of West Devon. It lies a mile or so east of Yelverton. The River Meavy runs near the village. For administrative purposes ...
and
Walkhampton
Walkhampton is a village and civil parish on the western side of Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. The village lies on the Black Brook, a tributary of the River Walkham, about south-east of Tavistock, near the villages of Horrabridge, ...
.
Musician
Seth Lakeman
Seth,; el, Σήθ ''Sḗth''; ; "placed", "appointed") in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Mandaeism, and Sethianism, was the third son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, their only other child mentioned by name in the Hebrew Bible. Ac ...
recorded his album ''
Kitty Jay'' in Horrabridge.
Horrabridge is twinned with
Tilly-sur-Seulles
Tilly-sur-Seulles (, literally ''Tilly on Seulles'') is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France.
Population
Events
Each year, the international motocross takes place.
See also
*Communes of the Cal ...
in Normandy and the Twinning Association has existed since 1974.
References
External links
Bagpuss Opening Credits
{{authority control
Villages in Devon
Dartmoor