Shillingford is a village two miles (3 km) northeast of Bampton on the River Batherm in

Mid Devon Mid Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in Tiverton. The district was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the borough of Tiverton and Crediton urban district ...

, England, close to the border with

West Somerset West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the least populous non- unitary district in England. According to f ...

. It is near the Exe Valley. Between 1826 and 1830, a

turnpike Turnpike often refers to: * A type of gate, another word for a turnstile * In the United States, a toll road Turnpike may also refer to: Roads United Kingdom * A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...

road was constructed from

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

to Bampton. This road later became the A361 (now the B3227), and is referred to by locals as the

Wiveliscombe Wiveliscombe (, ) is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The town has a population of 2,893. The Square, fronted by several listed structures, held the former ...

Road. Traffic levels on this road fell when the North Devon Link Road to Tiverton, from Junction 27 of the M5, was extended to Barnstaple in 1987, and was designated as the

A361 The A361 is an A class road in southern England, which at is the longest three-digit A road in the UK. History When first designated in 1922, the A361 ran from Taunton (Somerset) to Banbury (Oxfordshire). It was later extended west through B ...

, with the old A361 being reclassified as the B3227. Historically, the village had a post office, garage, chapel, saw-mill, water-mill and pub. Today, all of these have been sold off to private owners, with the garage closing in 2011 and the site scheduled for development as four homes. The village pub, The Barleycorn, reopened under new owners as the Barleycorn House Bed and Breakfast in 2006 with five bedrooms. The Devon & Somerset Railway ran behind the village until its closure in 1966, with a link to the

Exe Valley Railway The Exe Valley Railway was a branch line built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) in Devon, England, to link its Bristol to Exeter line with its Devon and Somerset Railway (D&SR), thereby connecting Exeter with (which is in Somerset). The li ...

running towards Tiverton and Exeter, branching off just beyond Morebath Junction Halt. Today, much of the track bed, along with bridges and other railway infrastructure, can be seen behind the village, and along the course of these lines. The village is sometimes confused with places of the same name, like

Shillingford St George Shillingford St. George is a village on the outskirts of Exeter, East Devon, England. It is about 3 miles south of the City A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: ...

and Shillingford Abbo
in

South Devon South Devon is the southern part of Devon, England. Because Devon has its major population centres on its two coasts, the county is divided informally into North Devon and South Devon.For exampleNorth DevonanSouth Devonnews sites. In a narrower se ...

and Shillingford, Oxfordshire.

References

* http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=101931 * http://www.itraveluk.co.uk/maps/england/1726/oxfordshire/shillingford.html

External links

Bampton.org - History of Bampton and surrounding area (incl. Shillingford)
Villages in Mid Devon District Civil parishes in Devon {{Devon-geo-stub