Description
Chudleigh, a town and a parish in Devonshire, The town stands on an eminence at the left side of the river Teign, 10 miles SSW of Exeter, with a station on the G.W.R., 218 from London. It consists of one main street and three minor ones. It was devastated in 1807 by a fire which destroyed nearly 200 houses, and it now presents a modern appearance. It formerly had a palace of the bishops of Exeter, but the only remains of this are a portion of the walls and a dungeon. It was a busy, active place previous to the formation of railways, but it is now quiet and declining. The town has a post office (R.S.O.), a hotel, a town-hall, an ancient parish church with massive tower, three dissenting chapels, and a free grammar school. The parish comprises 6128 acres; population, 2003. The manor belongs to Lord Clifford, and gives him the title of Baron. The chief seats are Ugbrook Park, White way, Filliegh, Rock House, and Oaklands. The scenery is strikingly picturesque, and in many parts romantic. Numerous limestone rocks diversify it, cut by fissures and tangled with wood; and one of these, called par excellence Chudleigh Rock, towers into high prominence, commands charming prospects, embosoms a fairy glen, andis pierced by a deep cavern which the surrounding peasantry represent as haunted by the Pixies. A blue limestone, known as Chudleigh marble, is quarried, and good cider is largely produced. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; net value, £420 with residence. The church is a stone building in the Perpendicular style of architecture. In 1887 a society of Bridgetine Nuns was established here, and a convent, with chapel, called St Bridget's Abbey of Syon, was erected for their residence. There is good salmon and trout fishing in the river Teign.
Parochial History
A complete transcript of the book The History of Chudleigh, Devon by Mary Jones, is online.
