Loddiswell is a

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 ...

and village 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 ...

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. It lies on the west side of the River Avon or Aune and is three miles NNW from

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town and tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population at the abo ...

. There is evidence of occupation going back to Roman times. The villages most famous son and benefactor was Richard Peek who retired here after being one of the

Sheriffs of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

. The name Loddiswell is a corruption of Saint Loda's well, named after one of the many saints that occurred all over the westcountry, especially in Cornwall.

History

There is evidence at the northern end of this parish that Blackdown hill was used by the Romans,Morris and Co.'s Commercial Directory and Gazetteer
1870, accessed April 2009 on the hill Blackdown Rings, a ring-and- bailey

hill fort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

, may be the remains of a wooden fortress of the 12th century, not otherwise documented. The hill itself gives a commanding view of the area. Loddiswell was mentioned 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 ...

in 1086 when the manor was valued at 100 shillings. The manor then belonged to

Juhel of Totnes Juhel de Totnes (died 1123/30) (''alias'' Juhel fitz Alfred, Juhel de Mayenne, Judel, Judhel, Judael, Judhael, Joel, Judhel de Totenais), Latinised to Judhellus filius Aluredi, "Juhel son of Alured") was a soldier and supporter of William the Con ...

, but had belonged to an Anglo Saxon called Heca before 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 ...

. Domesday recorded that there was a fishery that gave 30 salmon as

geld Geld may refer to: * Gelding, equine castration * Danegeld Danegeld (; "Danish tax", literally "Dane yield" or tribute) was a tax raised to pay tribute or protection money to the Viking raiders to save a land from being ravaged. It was calle ...

.''Domesday Book: A Complete Translation''. London: Penguin, 2003. p.306 The parish church of St. Michael's and All Angels, is of the 14th century, enlarged in the 15th century; its

font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a typeface. Each font is a matched set of type, with a piece (a "sort") for each glyph. A typeface consists of a range of such fonts that shared an overall design. In mod ...

is Norman. The source of the village's medieval prosperity was

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

. Woolston House, the

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

of Staunton manor, is a 17th-century house built near the foundations of an earlier structure; rebuilt in the 18th century, it passed from the Wise/Wyse family to the Weymouth and Allin families. A copper mine opened in the parish in 1825. In 1848, the congregationists built a chapel funded by Richard Peek. This locally born philanthropist who retired to Loddiswell and built Hazlewood House (1830). also funded a local school (The British School), a reading and news room (1838) as well as giving to various other nearby chapels. In 1850, the village had a population of 1,013 and the church (St Michaels) was then described as ancient.

Yellow ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

was collected here for resale complementing the employment at the mine and the mill. The

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

Kingsbridge branch line Kingsbridge branch line was a single track branch line railway in Devon, England. The railway, which became known as the Primrose Line, opened in 1893 and, despite local opposition, closed in 1963. It left the Exeter to Plymouth line at Brent ...

arrived in 1893 with a stop at Loddiswell station. It was said that Loddiswell was a "brisk walk away" as in fact the station was closer to the less well known and smaller village of Woodleigh.Loddiswell station
, Nostagia site, accessed April 2009 The railway station continued through the steam age but by 1961 it was an unmanned halt and in 1963 it closed for ever. Today the remains of the track is used as a walking route. Modern Loddiswell is well served for a small village. There is still a post office, Mini Supermarket and village public house, the Loddiswell Inn. The South Devon Chilli Farm can be found just to the north of the village. Near the village is

Fosse Copse Fosse Copse is a woodland in Devon, England, near the village of Loddiswell. It covers a total area of on the west facing slope of the Avon Valley. It is owned and managed by the Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland co ...

a woodland on the west facing slope of the Avon Valley owned and managed by the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland Natural heritage, heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972 ...

Famous residents

* Richard Peek, tea merchant and philanthropist was born here in 1782.Peek of Hazwlwood
, accessed April 2009

References

{{South Hams parishes Villages in South Hams Civil parishes in South Hams Former manors in Devon