Colyton, Devon

Description
Colyton, a small town and a parish in Devonshire. The town stands on the river Coly, has a station on the L. & S.W.R., 150 miles from London and 5 SW of Axminster, and has a post, money order, and telegraph office, two chief inns, a parish church, three dissenting chapels, and a grammar school for boys, girls, and infants under a School Board. Of late years the town, which has several good streets with well-built houses, has steadily improved. The church is Later English; comprises nave, aisles, and chancel; has an interesting eastern window of stained glass; and contains monuments of the Courtenays, the Poles, the Yonges, Drakes, and others. Annual fairs are held on the third Tuesday in April and the second Tuesday in Oct. There are sawmills, a tannery, a butter factory, and a net-mending factory. Honiton lace is made. A royal force, while holding the town in the wars of Charles I., was attacked and defeated at it by a detachment of the Parliamentarians from Lyme. The parish includes also the tithing of Colyford. Acreage, 5368; population, 2152. The Courtenays were seated at Colcombe Castle, the Poles at Shute House, and the Yonges at Colyton Great House. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; gross value, tithe commuted at £460 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Exeter.