
Meeth is a small village roughly north-northwest of
Okehampton and west-northwest of
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
.
It lies to the west of the
River Torridge. In the past,
ball clay mines were a major source of employment in the village, lying just to the west, however these closed in 2004. Their site is now a
nature reserve owned by the
Devon Wildlife Trust, called Meeth Quarry. The Trust's Ash Moor reserve is also located close to the village.
From 1925 until 1982, the branch railway line from
Halwill Junction to
Torrington, the
North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway, ran through Meeth, allowing clay from the mines to be transported to
Bideford for onward transport by sea; passenger service was available until 1965 from
Meeth Halt railway station. The
Tarka Trail long-distance footpath now finishes/starts in Meeth, using the route of the former railway to reach Bideford, and skirting the Meeth Quarry and Ash Moor nature reserves.
The village has a small centre which encompasses the recently re-opened church, village hall and village pub (The Bull and Dragon, ''ca.'' 1490). A good local bus service runs daily and a small B&B has just opened in the village.
Historic estates
the parish of Meeth contains various historic estates including:
*
Croker's Hele, formerly a seat of the Croker family;
*Fry's Hele (today corrupted to "Friar's Hele"), formerly a seat of the Fry family.
References
External links
Meeth Community website
Devon Wildlife Trust website about Meeth Quarry reserveGoogle Maps view
Villages in Devon
Nature reserves in Devon
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