Bickleigh 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 Mid Devon 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, about four miles south of Tiverton. It is in the former

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to des ...

of Hayridge. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 239. The village lies in the valley of the

River Exe The River Exe ( ) in England rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It flows for 60 mile ...

and there is an attractive medieval stone bridge across the Exe. Bickleigh, as ''Bicanleag'', is recorded as the location of a charter issued in 904 during the reign of King Edward the Elder. The village 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 ...

as ''Bichelei'', meaning "Bicca's meadow". Bickleigh Castle, the village

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 ...

formerly known as Bickleigh Court, has a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

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 ...

and baptismal font.

St Mary's Church

Bickleigh's church, dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, is a medieval church predominantly built in the 14th century, although it still contains a 12th-century south doorway and font. The subsequent

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

of 1843 detracted from its original form.Hoskins, W. G. (1954) ''Devon'' Its tower houses six bells. The church's history is closely bound with that of the Carew family, lords of the manor, and the church is noted for its Carew family monuments that date from the 16th and 17th century. The family's association continued until the manor's sale in 1922. The most notable member of the family was

Bampfylde Moore Carew Bampfylde Moore Carew (1690-1758) was an English rogue, vagabond and impostor, who claimed to be King of the Beggars. Life Baptized at Bickleigh, Devon, on 23 September 1690, Bampfylde Moore Carew was the son of Reverend Theodore Carew, rect ...

(1690–1758), the son of Theodore Carew, Bickleigh's rector. According to his own account, after a number of adventures, Carew became a gipsy and was subsequently elected their king. He was transported to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

but escaped back to Britain, and joined

Bonnie Prince Charlie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

's army on its 1745 march to

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, before returning to Bickleigh until his death. He is buried in the graveyard. The church is home to carved bench-ends depicting scenes of medieval life. Major

John Gabriel Stedman John Gabriel Stedman (1744 – 7 March 1797) was a Dutch-born Scottish soldier who wrote ''The Narrative of a Five Years Expedition against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam'' (1796). This narrative covers his years in Suriname as a soldier in th ...

, author of a ''History of Surinam'', d. 1797, was buried here in an unmarked grave near the vestry door.

Attractions

Farmer Nick Lees and his family have constructed several

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

mazes in a field near the village. The subjects include Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, the bicentenary of the birth of

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "on ...

and 100th anniversary of the Scouting movement. It is also the location of one of the biggest vineyards in the South West of England, Yearlstone, which has a state of the art winery,

wine bar A wine bar is a tavern-like business focusing on selling wine, rather than liquor or beer. A typical feature of many wine bars is a wide selection of wines available by the glass. Some wine bars are profiled on wines of a certain type of origin, ...

and cafe. Yearlstone is now 3.5 hectares, and hosts Devon Wine Week in the last week in May each year, a celebration of local food culture. To the northwest of the village on the River Exe is The Fisherman's Cot.

Popular culture

A persistent myth among the residents of the area is that the village's medieval bridge over the Exe inspired Paul Simon to write '' Bridge Over Troubled Water''; Simon is known to have stayed in the village in the mid-sixties. Although

Art Garfunkel Arthur Ira Garfunkel (born November 5, 1941) is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. Highlights of Garfunkel's solo music career include one top-10 h ...

denied the rumour in a 2003 interview, stating that Simon had taken the phrase from a Baptist hymn, it is entirely possible that Simon intended more than one allusion.

References

External links

The Bickleig
village website
{{Mid Devon Villages in Mid Devon District