GIDLEIGH

From White's Devonshire Directory of 1850

GIDLEIGH, or GIDLEY, a small scattered village, on the eastern declivities of Dartmoor Forest, near one of the tributary streams of the river Teign, 7½ S.E. of Okehampton, and 17 miles W. by S. of Exeter, has in its parish 182 souls, and 2435A. 3R. 30P. of land, more than half of which is open common, &c., in Dartmoor. It includes two small hamlets, called Chapel and Forder, and is watered by the Teign and two of its tributaries, which have their sources a few miles westward, among the rude hills and dales of Dartmoor. The manor belonged, from the reign of Wm. the Conqueror till that of Edward II., to the ancient family of Prouz or Prous, who had a castle here, and an extensive park. Some remains of the castle keep are still standing, near the church. With the heiress of the Prouz family, the manor passed to the Mules; and from them it passed the Damarells. It afterwards passed to the Coad, Gidley, and Rattery families, and was purchased with the advowson, under a decree of the Court of Chancery, by the late Rev. Thomas Whipham. The Rev. Arthur Whipham, M.A., is the present rector, patron, and lord of the manor, and has a handsome modern seat in GIDLEIGH PARK, which comprises in its ancient boundaries an extensive tract of rocky ground, "fruitful only in rabbits, but curious from its singular appearance." A steep descent from the park to the river Teign is studded by enormous rocky protuberances, whose level summits display many of the excavations called Rock-basins. The roaring stream at the bottom of this descent, the wooded front of the bold bank that rises on the opposite side, and the vast masses of rock on either hand, grey with moss, or dark with ivy, render this part of the park truly romantic. Mr. John Rowe, Mr. Wm. Brock, and several smaller owners have estates in the parish. In 1848, L. Prinsep, Esq., built a neat house and two towers on the highest hill in the parish. The Church (Holy Trinity,) is an antique structure, with a tower and four bells. Its fine old screen was cleansed and repaired in 1848. The rectory, valued in K.B. at £14. 19s., and in 1831 at £80, has 29A. 1R. 39P. of glebe, but the parsonage house is now only a cottage. The tithes were commuted in 1843 for £87. 10s. per annum. Two houses and 24A. of land have been vested from an early period, for the repairs of the church.

Finch Charles, parish clerk
Prinsep L. gentleman
Whipton Rev. Arthur, M.A., rector, Gidleigh Park

FARMERS.
Brock Wm., Chapel
Brunning Wm., Moortown
Endicott John Gidleiqh Mill
Endicott Wm. Forder
Rowe John
Newcombe John
Sampson Wm., Greenaway
Westcott Wm., Bothery

Brian Randell, 3 Jul 1998