Ashprington 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 authorit ...

in the South Hams 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. Devo ...

, England. The village is not far from the

River Dart The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth. Name Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...

, but high above it, and is about three miles south of

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...

. There is a local pub, hotel and phonebox. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Bow, Painsford and Tuckenhay. Sharpham House is also within the parish and includes Sharpham Vineyard which produces good quality wines. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 428. Ashprington (AISBERTONE) is 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 manus ...

(1086) with four servants, seven villagers and eight smallholders, a total of 19 people. The church of St David is fifteenth century, although the font is Norman. There are many carvings within. The communion

chalice A chalice (from Latin 'mug', borrowed from Ancient Greek () 'cup') or goblet is a footed cup intended to hold a drink. In religious practice, a chalice is often used for drinking during a ceremony or may carry a certain symbolic meaning. R ...

is pre-

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

(13th century). The west tower is earlier than the rest of the church; it is tall and of four stages. The south aisle, south porch and the north side of the church are all battlemented. There are monuments to Sir John Kelland of Painsford (died 1679); John Kelland (died 1711); and Jane Pownoll (died 1778).

Historic estates

The parish of Ashprington includes various historic estates including: * Sharpham *

Bowden Bowden may refer to: Places Australia * Bowden Island, one of the Family Islands in Queensland * Bowden, South Australia, northwestern suburb of Adelaide * Bowden railway station Canada * Bowden, Alberta, town in central Alberta England * Bowde ...

* Painsford, a seat of the Somaster family, then from the 17th century of the Kellond family. Pevsner, Nikolaus & Cherry, Bridget, The Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p.136

Notable residents

* William Adams (MP) (1752–1811), MP, of Bowden House *

John Burton-Race John William Burton-Race (born 1 May 1957) is a British Michelin starred chef, television personality and celebrity chef, made famous by the Channel 4 series ''French Leave'' and its sequel ''Return of the Chef'' and '' I'm a Celebrity...Get Me O ...

, restaurateur and TV chef (from ?1995-2008) * David Llewellyn Novelist and Scriptwriter lived in Ashprington from 1998-1999, while a student at Dartington College of Arts

References

External links

*
Devon Local Studies - Ashprington community page

History of Ashprington
*
Ashprington & Tuckenhay Web-site
Civil parishes in South Hams Villages in South Hams {{Devon-geo-stub