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ASHTON

[Description(s) from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868)]

"ASHTON, a parish and township containing two villages called the Upper and Lower Town, in the hundred of Exminster, in the county of Devon, 3½ miles to the N.W. of Chudleigh, its post town, and 8 S.W. of Exeter. It is situated in a hilly and wooded country, on a branch of the river Teign, over which is a picturesque old stone bridge, built in 1604, and the view on either side is very charming. There are several manganese mines in the parish. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter, value £230, in the patronage of the Rev. G. Ware. The church is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, and contains a rood-loft and a screen of wood, beautifully carved. A national school has recently been erected. An almshouse here is endowed with £4 a year, the gift of John Stooke in 1691, and there is a small sum bequeathed by Jane Shepherd, for the instruction of two children. The parish has an area of 1, 709 acres, the sole property of Viscount Exmouth, who is lord of the manor, except only the glebe lands and one field called Chudleigh Scrimscratt, which tradition reports was lost at a game of cards by the former possessor of the manor, Sir Geo. Chudleigh. Barton in this parish was the original seat of the Chudleigh family, who were lords of the manor from 1320 to 1745, when Sir James Chudleigh was killed at Ostend, and the baronetcy became extinct."

Transcribed by Colin Hinson ©2003