Sheepwash is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

on the southern border of the

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

Torridge Torridge may refer to: * Torridge District Torridge is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in north-west Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Bideford. The district also includes the towns of Great Torringt ...

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. The parish, which lies about nine miles ENE of the town of

Holsworthy Holsworthy is a market town and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, west of Exeter. The River Deer, a tributary of the River Tamar, forms the western boundary of the parish, which includes the village of Brandis Corner. ...

, about eight miles south of

Great Torrington Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same region) is a market town in Devon, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to ...

and about ten miles north-west of

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...

, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of

Buckland Filleigh Buckland Filleigh is a village, civil parish and former manor in the Torridge district of North Devon, England, situated about 8 miles south of the town of Great Torrington. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 170. It i ...

Highampton Highampton is a parish in Devon spread over approx. 4½ miles. It stands on a ridge with views of Dartmoor and Exmoor. Highampton is about 10 miles from Holsworthy, 9 miles from Okehampton and 3½ miles from Hatherleigh. The A3072 runs throug ...

and

Black Torrington Black Torrington is a village and civil parish in Torridge, Devon, England, situated between the towns of Holsworthy and Hatherleigh. It is located on and named after (the dark waters of) the River Torridge. In the 2021 UK census, the populati ...

. Its southern boundary follows the

River Torridge The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristol ...

and most of its other boundaries are along watercourses too. In 2001 its population was 254, lower than the 326 residents it had in 1901. The name ''Sheepwash'' is first documented in 1166 (as ''Schepewast'') and means, as it sounds, a place where sheep were washed before shearing. The parish church, which is in the village, is dedicated to

St Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence (; 31 December 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman emperor Valerian ordered in 258. ...

. It was completely rebuilt in 1880 and was described by

W. G. Hoskins William George Hoskins (22 May 1908 – 11 January 1992) was an English local historian who founded the first university department of English Local History. His great contribution to the study of history was in the field of landscape history. ...

in 1954 as "dull". Other buildings worthy of notice in the parish are Newcourt Barton, about a mile north-east of the village, which dates from the late 16th century with 18th-century and later alterations; and Totleigh Barton which mostly dates to the 16th and 17th centuries, but has surviving medieval features. It once had a private

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

. The Half Moon Inn in the village is a traditional fishing inn with rights to the fishing on several miles of the River Torridge.

References

{{authority control Villages in Devon Torridge District