MORETON-HAMPSTEAD

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

"MORETON-HAMPSTEAD, a parish, post and market town, in the hundred of Teignbridge, county Devon, 12 miles S.W. of Exeter. It is situated on the high road from Tavistock to Exeter, and close on the verge of Dartmoor Forest. The town, which has recently been sewered, has many old houses built in the cottage style with thatched roofs. It was formerly governed by a portreeve, &c. The woollen trade, which was formerly extensive, has disappeared, and only a few blankets and stockings are now made. There are rope-makers, tanning and malting establishments, and in the vicinity are quarries of granite. A new market-house and shambles were built at the expense of the Earl of Devon in 1827. The races, which were formerly held on the common, have been discontinued. Cranbrook and Wooston castles are two entrenchments situated on the N.W. border of the parish, projecting over the valley in which flows the river Teign. Fingle Mill is a place of great attraction during the summer season. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Exeter, value £401. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, stands on the summit of the hill on which the town is built. It is a large and ancient structure, with a tower containing a chimed clock and six bells. The interior of the church contains a carved screen separating the chancel from the body of the church. The parochial charities produce about £41 per annum. The tithes were commuted in 1839. There is a National school for both sexes. The Wesleyans, Baptists, Calvinists, and Unitarians, have each a place of worship. There are a good circulating library and a musical society, both of which are well patronised. The Earl of Devon is lord of the manor. Market day is Saturday. Fairs are held on the third Thursday in July and the last Thursday in November."