Cofton is a small village,

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

and former historic estate near

Dawlish Dawlish is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Teignbridge district in Devon, England. It is located on the south coast of England at a distance of from the city of Exeter and a similar distance from the to ...

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 ...

Parish church

The parish church, dedicated to St Mary, was rebuilt in 1838-9 by

William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon (19 June 1777 – 19 March 1859) was a 19th-century British aristocrat and politician, who sat in the Commons before entering the House of Lords after succeeding to the title of Earl of Devon in 1835. Life ...

(1777–1859), of

Powderham Castle Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house in Exminster, Devon, south of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of Kenton, where the main public entrance gates are located. It is a Grade I listed building. The park and gar ...

, a leader of the High Church revival and eldest son of Rt. Rev. Henry Reginald Courtenay,

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. The architect was

Charles Fowler Charles Fowler (17 May 1792 – 26 September 1867) was an English architect, born and baptised at Cullompton, Cullompton, Devon. He is especially noted for his design of market buildings, including Covent Garden Market in London. Life Educati ...

Chapels

There were formerly two chapels in the parish of Dawlish:

Cofton Chapel

As reported by the Devon historian Polwhele, the original structure of St Mary's Church was a private chapel built for his own use by Dr George Kendall (1610-1663), Doctor of Divinity, who owned and resided at the estate of Cofton, and conducted the services personally.Polwhele, p.153 Pevsner however suggests the chapel had stood since the 13th century. In 1793 Cofton Chapel was in ruins, but still contained two monuments, one to Dr Kendall, the other to Mrs Charity Cooke (d.1646), a daughter of William Cooke of Exeter. Dr George Kendall was the son and heir of George Kendall (d.1648) of Cofton by his wife Anne Cooke, a member of the Cooke family of Exeter, probably a junior branch of the Cooke family of Thorne in the parish of

Ottery St Mary Ottery St Mary, known as "Ottery", is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, on the River Otter, Devon, River Otter, about east of Exeter on the B3174. At the 2001 census, the parish, w ...

, Devon. George Kendall (d.1648) was the

Customer In sales, commerce, and economics, a customer (sometimes known as a Client (business), client, buyer, or purchaser) is the recipient of a Good (economics), good, service (economics), service, product (business), product, or an Intellectual prop ...

of Exeter and Dartmouth and other member ports, but shortly before 1620 had been "wrongfully dispossessed". The Kendall family had been seated in at Treworgie in Cornwall four generations prior to Dr George Kendall.Vivian, p.514 Dr George Kendall matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

in 1626/7, aged 16 and in 1654 obtained the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

. From 1643-55 he was Rector of

Blisland Blisland () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is approximately five miles northeast of Bodmin. According to the UK census 2001, 2001 census, the parish had a population of 565. Thi ...

in Cornwall, of which benefice he was deprived. In 1645 he was appointed a

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Exeter Cathedral Exeter Cathedral, properly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter, is an Anglican cathedral, and the seat of the Bishop of Exeter, in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Exeter, Devon, in South West England. The presen ...

. From 1646-62 he was Rector of Kenton, Devon, of which benefice he was deprived. He was Rector of St Benet's Church,

Gracechurch Street Gracechurch Street is a main road in the City of London, the historic and financial centre of London, England, which is designated the A1213. It is home to a number of shops, restaurants, and offices and has an entrance to Leadenhall Market, ...

in the

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in 1660. His biography appears in Walker's ''Sufferings of the Clergy'' (1714). KendallArms

The mural monument of Dr Kendall, formerly on the north wall of the chancel, was transcribed by a correspondent (signing himself "FJ") to the

Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term '' ...

of 1794 as follows:
:''In memoriam viri eximie eruditi Georgii Kendall Sstae theologiae doctoris, filii Georgii Kendall de Cofton, Armigeri, qui e vita discessit XIX Aug(ust)^o MDCLXIII et juxta hic sepultus jacet. Nec non in memoriam lectissimae eius conjugis Mariae, filiae Periam Pole de Talliton, Armigeri, quae obiit X^mo die Aprilis MDCLXXVI'' ("In memory of an exceptional and learned man George Kendall, Doctor of Sacred Theology, son of George Kendall of Cofton, Esquire, who departed from life the 19th of August 1663 and lies buried nearby. And not least in memory of his most select wife Mary, daughter of Periam Pole, Esquire, of Tallaton, who died on the 10th day of April 1676".) In 1785 when "FJ" first viewed the monument the arms of Kendall (''Argent, a chevron between three dolphins naiant embowed sable'') and Pole (''Azure semée of fleur-de-lys or, a lion rampant argent'') were visible but had been effaced by 1794. Mary Pole (1628-1676) was baptised at

Moretonhampstead Moretonhampstead is a market town, parish and ancient manor in Devon, situated on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor, within the Dartmoor National Park. The parish now includes the hamlet of Doccombe (), and it is surrounded clockwise from the ...

, and was a daughter of Periam Pole (born 1592) of Southcote in the parish of Talaton, a son of the Devon historian Sir

William Pole William Pole (22 April 181430 December 1900) was an English engineer, astronomer, musician and an authority on Whist. Life He was born in Birmingham on 22 April 1814, the son of Thomas Pole. Pole was apprenticed as an engineer to Charles H. ...

(d.1635), of Shute, Devon, by his wife Mary Peryam (1567–1605), one of the four daughters and co-heiresses of Sir William Peryam (1534–1604), of Fulford House,

Shobrooke Shobrooke is a village, parish and former Manorialism, manor in Devon, England. The village is situated about 1 1/2 miles north-east of Crediton. It is located close to Shobrooke park. The river Shobrooke Lake flows through the village. It had ...

, Devon, a judge and

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Ludwell Chapel of St Mary

Ludwell (anciently ''Lithewyll'') Chapel, dedicated to St Mary, also within the parish of Dawlish, was in 1793 a ruin standing in a field called "Chapel Park" on the estate of Ludwell, owned in 1793 by Richard Whidborne. Polwhele was informed by Mr Whidborne that all he knew about the chapel's history was that his father had told him "it is prayed for in Roman Catholic countries by the name of ''the Holy Chapel at Ludwell''", and that on being given the estate by his father he had been made to promise that he would, "not remove any of the stones or any part of the building".

Modern Cofton

Cofton is situated on the A379 road near the fishing ports of Cockwood and

Starcross Starcross is a village with a 2021 census recorded population of 1,694 situated on the west shore of the Exe Estuary in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon. The village is popular in summer with leisure craft, and is home to one of t ...

and is a popular holiday village in the area. The Cofton Holidays holiday park is situated within the parish, and features a leisure centre, outdoor swimming pool,

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

(The Swan),

fish and chip shop A fish and chip shop, sometimes referred to as a chip shop or chippy, is a restaurant that specialises in selling fish and chips. Usually, fish and chip shops provide takeaway service, although some have seating facilities. Fish and chip shop ...

, and

café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

. Within the village are two pubs: The Anchor Inn and The Ship Inn.

References