Sheepwash 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 ...

on the southern border of the

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

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 ...

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, which lies about nine miles ENE of the town of

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Cor ...

, about eight miles south of

Great Torrington Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same region) is a market town in Devon, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to ...

and about ten miles north-west of

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based i ...

, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of

Buckland Filleigh Buckland Filleigh is a village, civil parish and former manor in the Torridge district of North Devon, England, situated about 8 miles south of the town of Great Torrington. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 170. It ...

Highampton Highampton is a parish in Devon spread over approx. 4½ miles. It stands on a ridge with views of Dartmoor and Exmoor. Highampton is about 10 miles from Holsworthy, 9 miles from Okehampton and 3½ miles from Hatherleigh. The A3072 runs through ...

and

Black Torrington Black Torrington is a village and civil parish in mid Devon, England, situated between the towns of Holsworthy and Hatherleigh. It is located on and named after the River Torridge. Within the village is a small but well maintained 15th-century ...

. Its southern boundary follows the

River Torridge The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristo ...

and most of its other boundaries are along watercourses too. In 2001 its population was 254, lower than the 326 residents it had in 1901. The name ''Sheepwash'' is first documented in 1166 (as ''Schepewast'') and means, as it sounds, a place where sheep were washed before shearing. St Lawrences church, Sheepwash (geograph 3235803)

St Lawrences church, Sheepwash (geograph 3235803)

The parish church, which is in the village, is dedicated to

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...

. It was completely rebuilt in 1880 and was described by W. G. Hoskins in 1954 as "dull". Other buildings worthy of notice in the parish are Newcourt Barton, about a mile north-east of the village, which dates from the late 16th century with 18th-century and later alterations; and Totleigh Barton which mostly dates to the 16th and 17th centuries, but has surviving medieval features. It once had a private

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

. The Half Moon Inn in the village is a traditional fishing inn with rights to the fishing on several miles of the River Torridge.

References

{{authority control Villages in Devon Torridge District