Woodleigh is a village, parish and former manor located in the

South Hams South Hams is a non-metropolitan district, local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Totnes, although the largest town is Ivybridge. The district also contains the towns of Dartmouth, ...

region of the county

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. In 2011 the parish had a population of 171.

Etymology

The name is derived from the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

'leah', meaning a clearing in a forest.

History

The manor is listed 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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

of 1086 as ''Odelie'' and was the 13th of the 17 holdings of Robert of Aumale ( Latinised to ''Robertus de Albemarle''). It then formed part of his

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

lands. Wood Barton on the northern edge of Woodleigh was built as a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery before being converted to apartments. Woodbarton and 1200+ acres of surrounding land was once owned by racehorse trainer and farmer David barons.. https://www.racingpost.com/news/grand-national-winning-trainer-david-barons-dies-at-age-of-81/320277

Demographics

The population of Woodleigh is approximately 150.

Amenities

Whilst there was once a small school in the village now this has been converted into a house so that the children of the village must travel to the much larger village of

Loddiswell Loddiswell is a parish and village in the South Hams district of Devon, England. It lies on the west side of the River Avon or Aune and is three miles NNW from Kingsbridge. There is evidence of occupation going back to Roman times. The villages ...

to receive their education. Woodleigh has no shops, pubs or sports facilities but it does have a

postbox A post box (British English; also written postbox; also known as pillar box), also known as a collection box, mailbox, letter box or drop box (American English), is a physical box into which members of the public can deposit outgoing mail intend ...

Historic estates

The parish includes the following historic estates:

Wood

Wood was held by a junior branch of the Fortescue family whose earliest known seat in Devon was Wympstone in the parish of

Modbury Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish council has ...

. Sir Henry Fortescue (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1426), Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland, married as his first wife Jane Bozun, daughter of Edmond Bozun of Wood, and Wood became the residence of his son and heir John Fortescue, and passed to his male descendants for three generations. The only daughter and heiress of John's great-grandson Anthony Fortescue of Wood was Joan Fortescue, who married her cousin John Fortescue (d.1587) of Preston, Devon. The Fortescue Baronetcy, "of Woodleigh in the County of Devon", was created in the Baronetage of England on 29 January 1667 for Peter Fortescue (1620-1685) of Wood in the parish of Woodleigh, 3rd son of Francis Fortescue (d.circa 1649) of

Preston, Devon Preston is a suburb located in the northern part of Paignton in Devon. Preston is a popular destination for family holidays and has two main beaches; Hollicombe, a red sandy beach with cliffs and rock pools, and Preston Sands with rock pools, b ...

, descended from John Fortescue (d.1479) of Wympstone in the parish of

, Devon, MP for Totnes, Tavistock and Plympton. Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, pp.353, 357 The title became extinct on his death in 1685.

References

Villages in Devon Deaneries of the Church of England {{Devon-geo-stub