Torbryan is a village near

Ipplepen Ipplepen is a village and civil parish located within the Teignbridge district of the county of Devon in south-west England. A priory was located there. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The population at the 2011 census is 2,469 ...

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. Devo ...

, England. In the Domesday Book it was listed as Torre Braine in 1238. The de Brian family were Lords of the manor for 250 years.

Church

Holy Trinity Church is situated at the head of the village. It is thought that the original church of Sir Guy de Brian burnt down in about 1360. The present church was constructed in 1400. The church currently houses a colony of lesser horseshoe bats. The church houses a medieval rood screen constructed in about 1430, the lower panels having a unique series of coloured paintings depicting 36 saints. The screen is a rare survivor of the reformation and survived because the panels were whitewashed. These screens made national headlines when they were stolen in 2013 but later recovered by the police, restored and reinstalled.

Caves

The Torbryan caves located in the valley were largely excavated by Edward Widger who lived in the village. The bones of many extinct animals were found in the excavations including those of the mammoth, cave hyena and cave bear. These remains are displayed at the

Natural History Museum, London The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...

Notable inhabitants

* Sir

William Petre Sir William Petre (c. 1505 – 1572) (pronounced ''Peter'') was Secretary of State to three successive Tudor monarchs, namely Kings Henry VIII, Edward VI and Queen Mary I. He also deputised for the Secretary of State to Elizabeth I. Educated ...

, born at Tor Newton. He was a Tudor Secretary of State and agent of Thomas Cromwell. He served from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I. There is a monument to him on the north wall of the chancel.

References

Villages in Devon Teignbridge {{Devon-geo-stub