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 Yealmpton

from

A Topographical Dictionary of England

by

 Samuel Lewis (1831)

Transcript copyright Mel Lockie (Sep 2016)

 

YEALMPTON, a parish in the hundred of PLYMPTON, county of DEVON, 3¾ miles (S. E. by S.) from Earl's Plympton, containing 1235 inhabitants. The living is a vicarage, with the perpetual curacy of Revelstoke annexed, in the archdeaconry of Totness, and diocese of Exeter, rated in the king's books at £35.19. 4½., and in the patronage of the Prebendary of Kingsteinton in the Cathedral Church of Salisbury. The church, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, is partly in the early, and partly in the later, style of English architecture, with two stone stalls enriched with trefoil arches. Near it are the ruins of a building, once, probably, the residence of the prebendary: according to tradition, it was a palace of the Saxon kings, having been occupied by Ethelwold, whose lieutenant, Lipsius, was buried here. The navigable river Yealm, which gives name to the town, here flows through much pleasing scenery, and is crossed by a bridge at the village. Yealmpton was anciently denominated a borough; it is now much decayed, though still a very genteel place, the neighbourhood being adorned by some elegant seats. A great cattle market is held on the fourth Wednesday in every month. National and Sunday schools are supported by voluntary subscription. At Kitley, the fine mansion of the family of Bastard, is a collection of the most valuable productions of Sir Joshua Reynolds.