English Heritage sites near Inwardleigh Parish
OKEHAMPTON CASTLE
3 miles from Inwardleigh Parish
Once the largest castle in Devon, nestling in the foothills of Dartmoor. Reputedly haunted and mentioned in the Domesday Book.
LYDFORD CASTLE AND SAXON TOWN
9 miles from Inwardleigh Parish
Beautifully sited on the fringe of Dartmoor, Lydford boasts three defensive features. Near the centre is a 13th-century tower on a mound, built as a prison.
GRIMSPOUND
14 miles from Inwardleigh Parish
The best known of many Dartmoor prehistoric settlements, Grimspound dates from the late Bronze Age. The remains of 24 stone houses survive within a massive boundary wall.
MERRIVALE PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENT
15 miles from Inwardleigh Parish
The group of monuments at Merrivale is one of the finest on Dartmoor: side by side here are the remains of a Bronze Age settlement and a complex of ritual sites.
LAUNCESTON CASTLE
17 miles from Inwardleigh Parish
Launceston Castle dominates the surrounding landscape. Begun soon after the Norman Conquest, unusual in that during rebuilding one tower was constructed with the remains of the older.
HOUND TOR DESERTED MEDIEVAL VILLAGE
17 miles from Inwardleigh Parish
The remains of four 13th century stone farmsteads, on land originally farmed in the Bronze Age. This isolated Dartmoor hamlet was probably abandoned in the early 15th century.
Churches in Inwardleigh Parish
St Petroc
Inwardleigh
Okehampton
01837 659297
From our churchyard we can look south to the moors and westwards towards our sister parishes. To the north, in the valley, lies the steeple of Hatherleigh. Beyond is the sea, crossed by St Petroc and his fellow missionaries over 1500 years ago.
To the right of the cobbled path approaching the porch is the substantial base of an ancient cross. The raised ground testifies to the antiquity of the site. The oldest structures, the lower courses of the tower and the finely decorated font, are Norman but the shape of our church, as we know it, with the light stone arcade and perpendicular windows, belongs to the 15th century.
High in the NE window are our ‘Inwardleigh angels’: two exquisitely worked examples of 14th century stained glass. Above the exterior of the north door is a massive dripstone surmounted by an empty niche once containing a small statue, probably of the Virgin. The east window has an attractive figure, in late Victorian glass, of Our Lord, the Good Shepherd.
The church was vigorously ‘restored’ in 1899 but many interesting glazed Barum tiles (c.1650) remain at the foot of the chancel step. There are two piscinas, a priest’s door (c.1718), and the Royal Arms of George III in the north aisle. The lion has a quizzical expression, and would seem to have brothers and sisters in the locality. Our records date back to 1605. A transcript is kept in the vestry.
St Petroc's does its very best to serve this scattered rural area and has succeeded in creating a loving, caring community. We have monthly family services and are always looking for new and innovative ways of engaging with those who don't normally come. High points of the year are the farming festivals and Easter and Christmas, but even between times there is plenty of life in this ancient and beautiful church. If you would like to join us you would be most welcome.
Pubs in Inwardleigh Parish
Crossway Inn
Formerly known as the New Inn, the Crossways Inn was originally a 16th century coaching inn on the main route from Okehampton to Torrington. The pub retains many of the old features, including oak beams and an inglenook fireplace that now c...