Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the

Teignbridge District Council Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Newton Abbot. The district also includes the towns of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Kingsteignton and Teignmouth, along with numerous villa ...

area of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England; it is sited between

Newton Abbot Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish on the River Teign in the Teignbridge, Teignbridge District of Devon, England. Its population was 24,029 in 2011, and was estimated at 26,655 in 2019. It grew rapidly in ...

and

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. The

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

with the same name had a population of 5,919 at the 2021 census.

Geography

Chudleigh is located in the Teign Valley and is close to the edge of

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...

. Nearby

Castle Dyke Castle Dyke is an Iron Age hill fort situated between Chudleigh and Dawlish in Devon, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of whi ...

is an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

hillfort A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...

which demonstrates far earlier settlement in the area. It is also near to Haldon Forest, a Forestry Commission property. The town has been bypassed by the A38 road since 1972.

Great Fire of Chudleigh

The weather conditions in Devon in the year 1807 have been described as a drought. Weeks without rain left many people short of water and had farmers worrying about their crops. At around noon on 22 May, a small fire broke out in a pile of furze stacked near the ovens at a bakery in Culver Street (now New Exeter Street). According to later reports, the staff in the bakery seemed unaware of the danger this posed, but the fire, fed by the exceptionally dry fuel, exploded. In the shortest time imaginable, the fire had spread to the roof of the bakery (thatched, as were 90% of the houses in Chudleigh at the time) and huge hunks of burning reed and straw were swept aloft by a rapidly growing north-easterly wind. The fire destroyed around 180 of the 300 houses in the town.

Parish church

The church of St Martin and St Mary was consecrated in 1259. The structure is medieval but was heavily restored in 1868. The

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

has paintings of saints and prophets and the

Courtenay family The House of Courtenay is a medieval noble house of French origins, with branches in France, England and the Holy Land. One branch of the Capetian dynasty bore the name of Courtenay through mariage to a Courtenay heiress and became a royal h ...

coat of arms. In 1887, St Bridget's Abbey of Syon built a monastery, known as

Chudleigh Abbey Chudleigh Abbey was an abbey in Chudleigh, Devon, England. Syon Abbey, St Bridget's Abbey of Syon had existed since 1415, returning to Spetisbury in Dorset in 1861 after 300 years and in Flanders and Portugal following the dissolution of the mon ...

, which they occupied until 1925.

Town hall

Chudleigh Town Hall Chudleigh Town Hall is a municipal building in Market Way, Chudleigh, Devon, England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Chudleigh Town Council, is a Grade II listed building. History The first municipal building in the town was an ol ...

, which was designed in the

Italianate style The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Ita ...

, dates from 1865.

Historic estates

Various historic estates are situated in the parish of Chudleigh, including:

Ugbrooke House

Property of the Clifford family since 1604,

Ugbrooke Ugbrooke House is a stately home in the parish of Chudleigh, Devon, England, situated in a valley between Exeter and Newton Abbot. The home of the Clifford family, the house and grounds are available for guided tours in summer and as an event v ...

is an important stately house and family seat of the

Barons Clifford of Chudleigh Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, of Chudleigh in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, Thomas Clifford. The title was created as "Clifford of Chudleigh ...

(a title created in 1672).

Whiteway

Whiteway House Whiteway House in the parish of Chudleigh in Devon is a Listed buildings, Grade II* listed Georgian house set in parkland. It was built in the 1770s by John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon (1735–1788) of Saltram House, Plympton, and has early 19t ...

is a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

Georgian house set in parkland miles north of Chudleigh, at the foot of the

Haldon Hills The Haldon Hills, usually known simply as Haldon, is a ridge of high ground in Devon, England. It is situated between the River Exe and the River Teign and runs northwards from Teignmouth, on the coast, for about until it dwindles away north ...

, built in the 1770s by

John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon (1735 – 27 April 1788) was a Kingdom of Great Britain, British peer and Member of Parliament. Origins Parker was the eldest son of John Parker (1703–1768) of Boringdon Hall, Plympton, and Saltram House, by ...

(1735–1788) of

Saltram House Saltram House is a listed building, grade I listed George II of Great Britain, George II era house in Plympton, Devon, England. It was deemed by the architectural critic Nikolaus Pevsner to be "the most impressive country house in Devon". ...

, Plympton, Devon.

Hams

Hams Barton is a

grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

building, formerly the seat of the Hunt family, situated one-mile north-east of the town, near Kate Brook. The Hunt family was settled there before the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Thomas Hunt (d.1548) was thrice

Mayor of Exeter The Mayor of Exeter, granted Lord Mayor of Exeter in 2002, is the Mayors in England, Mayor of Exeter in the ceremonial county of Devon, England and is elected by and from within the councillors of the City of Exeter City councils, council. The posi ...

, including in 1517 and 1537. A fine banqueting room survives, called by Pevsner "the sumptuous first-floor great chamber, one of the best of its date in the county". Several monuments to the Hunt family survive in the ''Hunt Aisle'' in Chudleigh church.

Geography

Great Fire of Chudleigh

Parish church

Town hall

Historic estates

Ugbrooke House

Whiteway

Hams

Chudleigh Carnival

Climate

See also

References

External links