Abbotsham (pronounced Abbotsam) is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. In 2001 its population was 434 increasing at the 2011 census to 489.

Amenities

Abbotsham no longer has a Post Office and General Store but remains a vibrant community. There is a primary school, a Pre-School, a church a Chapel and a pub. There is also a village hall where a large range of activities take place. One bus service serves Abbotsham; the Stagecoach 319 from

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

to Hartland. From May to October 2007,

Stagecoach Devon Stagecoach South West is a bus operator providing services in Devon and East Cornwall along with coach services to Bristol. It is a subsidiary of Stagecoach. History Devon General The Devon General Omnibus and Touring Company commenced operat ...

ran a commercial service, the 21B, from

to Westward Ho! via Abbotsham. However, this service was later withdrawn.

The Big Sheep The Big Sheep is an amusement farm park located in Abbotsham, Devon, England. The site was originally Barton Farm, a busy sheep farm owned by six generations of the same family. Due to challenges in the farming community, owner Rick Turner decid ...

amusement farm park is located in Abbotsham.

History

The name Abbotsham is derived from 'Ham held by the abbot'

f Tavistock F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. Hi ...

(Old English ''abbodes'' + placename ''Ham''). The area was called ''Hame'' in the Domesday Book and was later recorded as ''Ab(b)edisham'' in 1193 and 1269, and ''Abbodesham'' in 1282. The village formed part of the original endowment of Tavistock Abbey in the late tenth century, from which it takes its name. St. Helen parish church, originally built by the Normans, was rebuilt in the thirteenth century and features many carved statues and bench-ends. A mile to the north of the village is Kenwith Castle, built c. 1760 in the Georgian Gothic style and now part of a retirement complex with 31 stand alone bungalows and sheltered accommodation.

Abbotsham Village School

The local village school St Helen's C of E Primary School has been in existence for over 150 years. There is a wealth of information on the School's past available in the Abbotsham Archives including the School Register back to 1894 and many pictures of pupils, staff and villagers.

People

There are a number of valuable sources for family historians on the Village Website looking for references to particular families. These include the School Register from 1894 to 1997 listing pupils in alphabetic order, a transcription of the 1842 Tithe Register and a complete collection of press cuttings referring to the village from 1860 to 1978. Thomas Arthur VC (real name McArthur), 1835–1902, recipient of the Victoria Cross during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

, was born in Abbotsham.

Abbotsham Road Station

Abbotsham once had its own railway station at Abbotsham Road on the Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway, which was built entirely on this peninsula with no direct connection across the River Torridge to the British railway network. The locomotives were furnished with skirts to protect pedestrians as at one point the line ran along the quay at Bideford. The line had eleven halts which largely served visitors visiting the coast or travelling to swim off the beaches around Westward Ho!. The railway, authorised in 1896, was opened as far as Northam by 1901 and to Appledore in 1908. It closed in 1917.

Abbotsham Court and Racecourse

Outside of the village there was Shebbertown or Abbotsham Racecourse which was a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

greyhound racing Greyhound racing is an organized, competitive sport in which greyhounds are raced around a track. There are two forms of greyhound racing, track racing (normally around an oval track) and coursing; the latter is now banned in most countries. Tra ...

and whippet racing course built by Skidmore Ashby on his Abbotsham Court property in 1922. The course ran along the valley of Abbotsham Court and Cornborough Cliffs and closed in 1930.

References

External links

Community website
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Village School
{{authority control Villages in Devon Civil parishes in Devon Torridge District