Stoke Gabriel is a village and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, situated on a creek of the

River Dart The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for to the sea at Dartmouth. Name Most hydronyms in England derive from the Brythonic language (from which the river's subsequent names ultimately derive fr ...

. The village is a popular tourist destination in the

South Hams South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Services divide between those provided by its own Council headquartered in Totnes, and those provided by Devon County Council headquartered in the city of Exeter ...

and is famous for its

mill pond A mill pond (or millpond) is a body of water used as a reservoir for a water-powered mill. Description Mill ponds were often created through the construction of a mill dam or weir (and mill stream) across a waterway. In many places, the co ...

and crab fishing (known colloquially as ''crabbing''). It is equidistant from

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paign ...

Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...

and

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ...

, and has a population of approximately 1,200, reducing slightly to 1,107 at the 2011 census, of which, uniquely, The village is the major part of the electoral ward of East Dart. The ward population at the abovementioned census was 1,877. Fisherman probably first came to Stoke Gabriel to fish

salmon Salmon () is the common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of ...

and gain access to the

. The village has an approximately 1,000-year-old yew tree in the churchyard of The

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Ch ...

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

and St Gabriel, a church which has stood since

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

times. Legend has it that if you walk backwards seven times round the yew's main stem you will be granted a wish. Stoke Gabriel was the birthplace of the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 mill ...

's Chief Mechanical Engineer

George Jackson Churchward George Jackson Churchward (31 January 1857 – 19 December 1933) was an English railway engineer, and was chief mechanical engineer of the Great Western Railway (GWR) in the United Kingdom from 1902 to 1922. Early life Churchward was born at ...

, who lends his name to the local football club

Stoke Gabriel A.F.C. Stoke Gabriel & Torbay Police Football Club is a football club based in Stoke Gabriel, Devon, established in the early 1900s as Stoke Gabriel AFC. In June 2021, the club merged with newly promoted Devon League club, Torbay Police FC, administrat ...

's ground. The village has two

public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and w ...

; The Church House Inn and The Castle Inn. Until relatively recently there were three pubs. The other being The Victoria and Albert Inn. The Church House Inn was built to accommodate the masons who constructed the church and also served as the courthouse. The old

stocks Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...

can be seen outside the inn today. Stoke Gabriel is the template for the fictional village of Thornford Regis in

C. C. Benison Douglas Alfred Whiteway (born 1961) is a Canadian journalist and author who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He has a BA in Religious Studies from the University of Manitoba, and a degree in journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa. He has ...

's crime novels Twelve Drummers Drumming and Eleven Pipers Piping.

References

External links

Stoke Gabriel Parish Council

Stoke Gabriel Church
* Stoke Gabriel Football Club
Stoke Gabriel Pre-School

Stoke Gabriel School
Villages in South Hams Civil parishes in South Hams {{Devon-geo-stub