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Kennerleigh is a village and civil parish in Devon, England.
The church is dedicated to St John the Baptist, which underwent significant restoration around 1847. There was previously a chapel dedicated to St. Clement which is first recorded in 1334.
The village, in ancient times known as Kynwarthlegh, was a parish of 
Polwhele, in his "History of Devon" states that Thomas Dowrich sold the manor to
Crediton Hundred
The hundred of Crediton was the name of one of thirty-two ancient administrative units of Devon, England.
The parishes in the hundred were: Colebrooke; Crediton; Kennerleigh; Morchard Bishop
Morchard Bishop is a village and civil parish in ...
. 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 seignor ...
included members of the Hidon and Dowrich/Dowrish families.
Polwhele, in his "History of Devon" states that Thomas Dowrich sold the manor to John Northcote
John Northcote (1570-1632) of Uton and Hayne, Newton St Cyres, near Crediton, Devon, was a member of the Devonshire gentry, lord of the manor of Newton St Cyres, who is chiefly known to history for his artistically acclaimed effigy and monument i ...
. According to tradition, however, memorialised in a family card table, he instead gambled away the manor to Sir Arthur Northcote, 2nd Baronet in a game of piquet. Sabine Baring-Gould describes the game in his 1898 book ''An Old English Home and its Dependencies'':
Mr. Dowrish, being eldest hand, held the four aces, four kings, and four queens, and promptly offered to bet his manor of Kennerleigh against £500, by no means its value even in those days, that he won the game. Sir Arthur took the bet, having a claim of carte blanche on his undiscarded hand. After Sir Arthur had discarded, he took up two knaves, and held two points of five each, each headed by the knave. Mr. Dowrish being about to declare, was stopped by Sir Arthur's claim for ten for carte blanche, which ruined his chances. The point fell to Sir Arthur, and two quints.
References
Villages in Mid Devon District {{Devon-geo-stub