Holsworthy
Holsworthy | ||
---|---|---|
Shire county | ||
Region | ||
Country | England | |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom | |
Post town | HOLSWORTHY | |
Postcode district | EX22 | |
Dialling code | 01409 | |
Police | Devon and Cornwall | |
Fire | Devon and Somerset | |
Ambulance | South Western | |
UK Parliament | ||
Holsworthy is a
History
Toponymy
The original meaning of "Holsworthy" is probably "Heald's enclosure". Derived from the Old English personal name "Heald" or "Healda", plus "-worthig", an enclosure, farm or estate. An alternative possibility is from Old English "heald" meaning incline or slope. In 1086 the name was recorded as Haldeword[3] and as Haldeurdi (Exon). Other recorded spellings are Haldwwurth 1228, Halleswrthia -worth(e) -wordi (late 12th–1291), Haldeswrthy -wrthi -worth (1277–1389), Holdesworthe (1308), Healdesworthe (c. 1320), Hyallesworthi (1326), and Houlsworthy (1675).[4]
Manorial history
Holsworthy is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Haldeword. It was part of the Hundred of Black Torrington.
In 1066 the lord of the manor was Earl Harold and in 1066 it was
Holsworthy was part the
In the Second World War, Prisoner of War Camp No. 42 (Exhibition Field Camp) lay north of the town, near to what is now Park Close. German and Italian prisoners held there were employed as farm labourers.[8]
The historic estate of Soldon, Holsworthy, was long a seat of a branch of the Prideaux family.
Governance
The earliest form of governance recorded for Holsworthy is that of a
On 1 April 1900 Holsworthy parish was split by the creation of
Geography
Holsworthy is in the west of the Torridge district of Devon. Neighbouring parishes are, to the west Pyworthy, and Holsworthy Hamlets in other directions.[12] Holsworthy is 190 miles (310 km) from London and 36 miles (58 km) from Exeter, on the intersection of the A388 and A3072 roads. The town centre is about 140 metres (460 ft) above sea level. The highest point in the parish is 144 metres (472 ft). The river Deer, a tributary of the river Tamar, forms the western parish boundary.
The bedrock geology of the parish is entirely of Bude Formation.[13] This type of Sedimentary bedrock formed in the Carboniferous period. All of the parish is of Bude Formation (sandstone) except for a strip of Bude Formation (mudstone and siltstone), about 1,600 feet (490 m) wide, across the extreme north.[14] The Bude Formation forms part of the Holsworthy Group.[15]
Demography
The population of Holsworthy, according to the census of 1801, was 1,045. There was a steady growth to 1,857 in 1841. Over the next 60 years it fell overall to 1,371 in 1901, but over the following sixty years it rose gradually to 1,748 in 1971, dipped to 1,645 in 1981, and then rapidly grew to 2,641 in 2011, an increase of 60.54 per cent in thirty years.
Year | 1801 | 1811 | 1821 | 1831 | 1841 | 1851 | 1861 | 1871 | 1881 | 1891 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Population | 1,045 | 1,206 | 1,440 | 1,628 | 1,857 | 1,833 | 1,724 | 1,645 | 1,716 | 1,960 |
Year | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1939 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 |
Population | 1,371 | 1,499 | 1,416 | 1,403 | 1,355 | 1,550 | 1,618 | 1,748 | 1,645 | 1,892 |
Year | 2001 | 2011 | ||||||||
Population | 2,256 | 2,641 |
Data for 1801–1991 is from Britain Through Time,[16] data for 2001–2011 from the Office of National Statistics.[17][18]
Economy
Holsworthy has one of the largest livestock markets in South West England, held on the same site from 1905 until 2014, when the site was sold for retail and residential development and the livestock market moved out of town.[19]
Holsworthy is home to the only centralised
The town is part of the
Culture and community
Culture
St Peter's Fair is held on four days in July. Since the shift from the Gregorian calendar in 1752, the fair has been held eleven days after the feast day of St Peter (29 June).
The annual presentation of the "Pretty Maid" is made at noon on the first day of St Peter's Fair. Her identity is kept secret until she emerges through the church tower doorway to be greeted by the crowd of viewers. This results from a legacy made in the will of the Reverend Thomas Meyrick, of Carta Martha, near Launceston, who died 27 May 1841. His brother, the Reverend Owen Lewis Meyrick, was Rector of Holsworthy from 1766 to his death in 1819.[24] Under the terms of the will, the legacy was to be invested to pay a dividend of £3 10s on 5 July annually to the churchwarden of Holsworthy. £2 10s of the dividend to be paid to a young single woman under the age of 30 and "generally esteemed by the young as the most deserving, the most handsome, most noted for her qualities and attendance at church." The balance of £1 was to be paid to a spinster, not under 60 years of age, of the same qualities.[25]
The annual one-day Holsworthy and Stratton
A
Holsworthy Vintage Vehicle and Engine Rally dating from 1987 has become a two-day event that attracts exhibitors and visitors from a wide area. It is held on the last Saturday and Sunday of June.[29]
The annual November Carnival began in November 1900 to replace the Guy Fawkes and bonfire celebration.[30]
Holsworthy is twinned with Aunay-sur-Odon in the Calvados department in the Lower Normandy region of north-west France. Aunay-Sur-Odon is 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Villers-Bocage, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south-west of Caen, and 31 kilometres (19 mi) north-east of Vire. The two visit each other's towns in alternate years.[31]
Community
In the centre of the town square stands a stone Market Cross symbolising the right to trade. The cross that originally sat on the top of the structure broke off decades ago and has been replaced by an ornate lamp.
Holsworthy Community Hospital, in Dobles Lane to the north of the town, was built in 1991. It is run by the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust. It has one in-patient ward and an out-patient department.[32] Nearby is Holsworthy Medical Centre, which serves Holsworthy and surrounding villages. A "minor-injury" service is provided during surgery hours.[33] In December 2014, building started of The Long House, an outreach centre of North Devon Hospice in the grounds of the Medical Centre, to provide patients care and support close to home.[34]
The 8 acres (3.2 ha) of Stanhope Park were donated by James Stanhope, 7th Earl Stanhope. It houses the town's cricket and bowling clubs. Since 2012 it has been protected as recreational space in perpetuity by Fields in Trust[35] under the Queen Elizabeth ll Fields Challenge.[36] In 2014 a play park was opened. It is used by Holsworthy Primary School and Holsworthy College for sport and educational purposes.
Holsworthy Library is in North Road, opposite the parish church.[37]
Religious sites
Anglican church
The parish church of St Peter's and St Paul's is a Grade II* listed building.[38] The first building on the site was probably a Norman Oratory from about 1130, replaced in about 1250 by a church with tower, nave, south aisle and chancel built in the Early English style.[39] The original Norman Church occupied the site of the present nave.[40]
Renovations in the late 19th century included a complete rebuilding of the chancel, addition of a north aisle and repairs to the nave and south aisle.[39] The 15th-century, three-stage west tower houses a peal of eight bells and a carillon.[38] It is 85.75 feet (26.14 m) high.[41]
The south porch contains remnants of the original Norman building. On the east wall there is a carved stone holy water stoup and on the west wall a carved stone panel depicting the Agnus Dei, thought to be the centre of a tympanum above a Norman capital of a colonnette. Two Norman colonnettes with Romanesque capitals are built into the wall on each side of the doorway.[38]
The church contains several stained-glass windows, including three by Lavers, Barraud and Westlake of London.[38]
The organ is said to be by Renatus Harris and have come from Chelsea Old Church (All Saints). It was moved to Bideford in 1723 and then to Holsworthy in 1865.[38] Over the next two years it was enlarged by the organ builders Geek and Sons of Launceston, Cornwall.[42] It was inaugurated on 27 June 1867 by W. B. Gilbert of London, whom the Western Times called as "one of the best organists of the day".[42]
The church is one of few in the country to depict the Devil in stained glass.[31] It also gained fame from Samuel Sebastian Wesley's music, Holsworthy Church Bells – composed for the chiming drum.[31] A legend states that the tower was built on top of a live human sacrifice to ensure a strong foundation.[43]
Methodist church
The Methodist Church in Bodmin Street opened on 28 April 1910 as the United Methodist Church.[44]
A Grade II listed building, it was built in 1909–1910 in Early English style by two local firms, Samuel Parsons (also the architect) and William F. Glover. The church, on the site of an earlier chapel of about 1876, retains its appearance, but adds a two-stage octagonal crenelated tower with a spire and a two-light window at its base.
The gabled façade is of Bath stone with Plymouth limestone dressings. The gable ends carry crocketed finials. The arch over the double doors of the gabled porch is inscribed "United Methodist Church 1910". The porch, with a two-light window above, is flanked by two-light windows under continuous hood moulds. The church and hall have shallow raking buttresses and slate roofs with decorative ridge tiles. The interior takes the form of a four-bay apsidal basilica, with a serpentine-curve gallery over the entrance. The gallery has pierced decorative wooden panels and rests on cast-iron columns with decorative capitals. The five-bay hammerbeam, ceiled and boarded roof has pierced braces, green marble corbels and metal ties. Four roof trusses converge at the apsial end. The organ, with stencilled pipes, dates from 1887 and was later enlarged. It is flanked by two stained-glass windows said to have been removed from the Wesleyan chapel in Chapel Street. Other windows carry pastel-coloured glass in Art Nouveau style. Internal fittings include a pitch pine pulpit, communion table and benches. The interior is rendered and the internal doors are part-glazed with coloured glass. The gable-fronted hall has a two-light window over a gabled porch flanked by two-light windows.[45]
Catholic church
There was a Catholic church, St Cuthbert Mayne Chapel of Ease, at Derriton, Holsworthy. Since its closure in December 2005, the Catholic community has celebrated Mass at Holsworthy parish church.[46]
World War Two
During
Education
Schools in the town include Holsworthy Community College and Holsworthy CE Primary School.
Media
Local TV coverage is provided by BBC South West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from either the Caradon Hill[48] or Huntshaw Cross TV transmitters.[49]
Local radio stations are BBC Radio Devon on 103.4 FM, BBC Radio Cornwall can also be received in the town on 95.2 FM, Heart West on 105.1 FM, and NCB Radio, an DAB station.[50]
The town is served by the local newspaper, Holsworthy Post which publishes on Thursdays.[51]
Sport and leisure
Holsworthy has a non-League football club Holsworthy A.F.C. that plays at Upcott Field.[52]
Holsworthy Cricket Club dates back to 1873.[53]
Transport
Holsworthy is served by a number of bus routes:
- 6 – Exeter to Bude (Stagecoach)
- 85 – Bude to Barnstaple (Stagecoach)
- 71 – Holsworthy to Barnstaple (only serves Holsworthy on one journey each way, Stagecoach)
- 217 - Holsworthy to Bude (Go Cornwall Bus)
- A number of one-day-a-week services (Carmel)
The railway arrived in 1879 and was operated by the Devon and Cornwall Railway Company.
Notable people
People of Holsworthy are known as Holsworthians.[54] In birth order:
- Benedictus Marwood Kelly (1785–1867), 19th-century Royal Navy Admiral born in Holsworthy, was a director of the Devon and Cornwall Railway Co.
- Robert Newton Flew (1886–1962), Methodist theologian and religious writer, born in Holsworthy[55]
- Barbara Mandell (1920–1998) became in 1955 Britain's first female newsreader on a national TV network and wrote travel books. She retired to Holsworthy and died there on 25 August 1998.[56]
References
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- ^ Vivian, Lt. Col. J. L., ed.: The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p. 707.
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- ^ "Stanhope Park". Fields in Trust. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
- ^ "Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge". The Royal Foundation. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
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{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "United Methodist Church Holsworthy". Western Times: 5. 22 April 1910. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2015 – via Find My Past.
- ^ Historic England. "United Methodist church (1104938)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
- ^ "The future of the Catholic Community at Holsworthy" (PDF). St Cuthbert Mayne. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
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- ^ JSM (26 December 2012). "How to find us – Holsworthy A.F.C". Holsworthy A.F.C. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
- ^ "Holsworthy Cricket Club Website". Holsworthy Cricket Club. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
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- ^ ODNB entry: Retrieved 18 September 2011. Pay-wall. Archived 29 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Obituary Retrieved 21 March 2015. Archived 27 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine