Dartington, Devon

Description
Dartington, a parish in Devonshire, on the river Dart, 2 miles N by Wof Totnes station on the G.W.R. Post town, Totnes; money order and telegraph office, Totnes. Acreage, 3165; population, 676. The manor was given by the Conqueror to William de Falaise, passed to the families of Martyn, Audley, Vere, Holland, and Courtenay, and has belonged since the middle of the 16th century to the Champernownes. Dartington House, the seat of the Champernownes, is a grand pile 250 feet long, and includes part of the feudal mansion of the Dukes of Exeter. Venton House, the seat of the Moyses, is a large ancient edifice. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter; value, £491 with residence. The church stood close to Dartington House, and was a fine structure of nave, chancel, and aisles, and contained a carved oak screen, a carved oak pulpit, and some antique monuments of the Champernownes and others. It was entirely rebuilt in 1880 on a new site. A chapel of ease, at the south-eastern extremity of the parish, is a neat edifice in the Early English style, with a spire.