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

South Hams South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Services divide between those provided by its own Council headquartered in Totnes, and those provided by Devon County Council headquartered in the city of Exete ...

region of the county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England.

Etymology

The name is derived from the

Old English Old English (, ), 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 was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

"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 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manus ...

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

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 situated 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 co ...

. Sir Henry Fortescue ( fl. 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 {{Devon-geo-stub