South Tawton is a village,

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 or m ...

and former manor on the north edge of

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous ...

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. Devon is ...

, England. An

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

bearing the same name exists. At the 2011

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

the population was 1,683.

Historic estates

Located in the parish of South Tawton are various historic estates including:

North Wyke

North Wyke was long a possession of the Wykes family. Worthy (1896) suggested this family, Latinized to ''de Wigornia'' ("from

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

"), was descended from a certain William de Wigornia, a younger sons of

Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan Robert de Beaumont, Count of Meulan (c. 1142 – 1204, Poitiers, France), was the son of Waleran IV de Beaumont and Agnes de Montfort. Family and children Around 1165 Robert married Maud of Cornwall, daughter of Reginald de Dunstanville, 1st E ...

(c. 1142-1204) and ''de jure''

Earl of Worcester Earl of Worcester is a title that has been created five times in the Peerage of England. Five creations The first creation came in 1138 in favour of the Norman noble Waleran de Beaumont. He was the son of Robert de Beaumont, 1st Earl of Leices ...

, by his marriage with Maud FitzRoy, daughter of

Reginald de Dunstanville, 1st Earl of Cornwall {{Infobox noble, type , name = Reginald de Dunstanville , title = Earl of CornwallHigh Sheriff of Devon , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more ...

. The manor of South Tawton was anciently a possession of the Beaumont family. The effigy of John Wykes (1520-1591) of North Wyke, known locally as "Old Warrior Wykes", survives in South Tawton Church, showing a recumbent figure dressed in full armour, under a low tester with three low Ionic columns. He married Mary Giffard, a daughter of Sir Roger Giffard (d. 1547) of

Brightley, Chittlehampton Brightley was historically the principal secondary estate within the parish and former manor of Chittlehampton in the county of Devon, England, situated about 2 1/4 miles south-west of the church and on a hillside above the River Taw. From the ea ...

, Devon.

South Zeal

The manor house of the Burgoyne family of

South Zeal South Zeal is a village on Dartmoor, in Devon, United Kingdom. It has a Church of England chapel and a Methodist chapel. The church is situated in the smaller South Tawton village, down the road, for which the parish is named. The differences h ...

survives as the ''Oxenham Arms''

Public House A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

, on the main street of the village of South Zeal, which is within the parish of South Tawton. A mural monument to Robert Burgoyne, dated 1651, survives in St Andrew's Church, South Tawton.Pevsner, p.752

Climate

Since 1990, the highest recorded temperature was 27 °C (81 °F) in June 2017 and the lowest was -6 °C (21 °F) in March 2018.

References

External links

South Zeal & its Dartmoor Environment

Listing in Villages of the UK website
{{authority control Dartmoor Villages in Devon