Walkhampton is a village and
civil parish on the western side of
Dartmoor in the county of
Devon, England. The village lies on the Black Brook, a tributary of the
River Walkham, about south-east of
Tavistock, near the villages of
Horrabridge
Horrabridge is a village in West Devon, England with a population of 2,115 people in 2006, down from 2,204 in 1991. It is located approximately north of the city of Plymouth and south of Tavistock and is within the Dartmoor National Park. ''Ho ...
,
Yelverton and
Dousland
Dousland is a small settlement in Devon, England. It is near the A386 road and is northeast of the city of Plymouth - by road. Dousland is within the boundary of Dartmoor National Park.
Dousland had a Dousland railway station, railway statio ...
.
Burrator Reservoir
Burrator Reservoir is a reservoir on the south side of Dartmoor in the English county of Devon. It is one of a number of reservoirs and dams that were built over the course of the 19th and 20th centuries in the area now covered by Dartmoor Nati ...
, constructed in 1898, is to the south-east.
In 2001 the population of the parish was 863.
For administrative purposes the parish is grouped with the parishes of
Meavy
Meavy is a small village, civil parish and former manor in the English county of Devon. Meavy forms part of the district of West Devon. It lies a mile or so east of Yelverton. The River Meavy runs near the village. For administrative purposes ...
and
Sheepstor
Sheepstor is a village, civil parish and former manor on the western side of Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. In 2001, its population was 53, down from 95 in 1901. For administrative purposes the parish is grouped with the parishes of ...
to form
Burrator Parish Council, and for electoral purposes it is grouped with the same two parishes to form Burrator
Ward.
The village has a
pub, the Walkhampton Inn, dating from the 17th century, and a
primary school named Lady Modiford's School which was founded in 1719, though the present building with its distinctive bell and clock tower dates from the second half of the 19th century.
In 2004 the school had 119 pupils in four classes.
Walkhampton church, which is
Grade I listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
, is on an ancient elevated site about half a mile north-west of the village. Unlike most churches which face east, it faces north-east, the direction of the rising sun on the longest day.
The present building, which is built of granite and has a tower with four prominent pinnacles, dates from the 15th century, with much later alteration,
including
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
...
in 1860–61.
For 400 years until 1985 the church had no dedication and was known simply as "Walkhampton Church", but in that year it was dedicated to St Mary the Virgin. Research has indicated that it may have been originally dedicated to St Dionisius of Walkynton.
Church House, bearing the date 1698, but substantially 16th century in construction, is near the church. It was once an
inn.
Also nearby is an ancient stone cross which was reconstructed from parts found in a hedge. The base and shaft were re-erected in 1984 by relatives of the Lieutenant Goldsmith who in 1903 had
discovered a cross on the moor; a head was added in 1991.
On the moorland above the village is Walkhampton Common which contains many important archaeological sites including at least eight
stone row
A stone row or stone alignment is a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones set at intervals along a common axis or series of axes, usually dating from the later Neolithic or Bronze Age.Power (1997), p.23 Rows may be in ...
s, many
cairn
A cairn is a man-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the gd, càrn (plural ).
Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehis ...
s,
cists,
hut circles and
reave
A reave is a long and generally straight boundary wall made of stone that was built during the Bronze Age. Reaves were identified as prehistoric features on Dartmoor in Devon, England in 1972, and although they had been described by antiquarians ...
s dating to the
Bronze Age. There is also much evidence of
tin mining from medieval times and later.
References
External links
*
{{authority control
Villages in Devon
Dartmoor
