Hatherleigh is a small

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

in west

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. St John the Baptist's Church, Hatherleigh - geograph

It hosts an arts festival in July, and a carnival in November featuring two flaming tar barrel runs. The Walruses meet on New Year's Day to jump into the

River Lew A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wa ...

to raise money for local good causes, this tradition which started in the 1980s came to end on January 1, 2018. An annual half-marathon called the Ruby Run takes place usually in June between Holsworthy and Hatherleigh, starting from each town in alternate years. Hatherleigh Market has weekly sales of sheep, cattle and poultry with increased sales on Tuesdays. It is the smallest town in Devon. The market formally closed in February 2018 due to the site being sold to make way for a new housing development, the Tuesday panier market continues and there will be provision and a new building in the development. In September 2019 the demolition of the site began as of March 2020 only one building of the market remains to temporary house the panier market, the new development is moving at pace with many of the new building now rising from the ground. Hatherleigh is home to two pubs, The Tally Ho and The George. The George was burned down in an arson attack on 23 December 2008 and has subsequently been rebuilt and re-opened in 2010. More than 100 firefighters from across the county were drafted in to help fight the blaze which was still burning well into the early hours of Christmas Eve. Hatherleigh also contains hairdressers, craft shops, a beauty salon, a butcher, a newsagency, a bakery and a convenience shop and a petrol station. The parish church is dedicated to St John the Baptist and has a western tower topped by a shingled spire. The spire was destroyed in the Burns' Day Storm of 1990 and a replica of the original now stands in its place. The nave and aisles are divided by granite arcades. The font is Norman and the original wagon roofs remain. An impressive obelisk one mile (1.6 km) east of the town commemorates Lt Col.

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

(d. 1858 in India): it was built in 1860. Hatherleigh was the beginning of the 7th stage of the

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after the S ...

in September 2009 and record numbers turned out to watch the famous race begin. Hatherleigh had often been on the course of the Tour but this was the first time a stage had started in the town. Hatherleigh saw the Olympic torch pass through the town on 21 May 2012. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The population at the 2011 census was 2,218. There is no railway station within Hatherleigh's boundaries. However residents can use the nearby railway station in

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based in the town (east and west) ...

now that the Dartmoor Line has reopened with regular services to Exeter. The village is part of the Ruby Country which covers 45

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

es around the

market towns A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Torridge District, Torridge district of Devon, England, some west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the paris ...

and Hatherleigh. These two towns were at the centre of the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak, and although

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

was directly affected, most local businesses suffered considerable financial hardship. As a result, the Ruby Country Initiative was established, a

not for profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...

, to help create a more robust and sustainable local economy, and to create an identity for the area.

References

External links

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Hatherleigh Community Web Site
{{authority control Towns in Devon Market towns in Devon Borough of West Devon