A Brief History of Alphington

By Rowena Jay

This is the first version of the history of, and stories from Alphington, which were displayed at my Autumn Exeter Festival Photographic Exhibition in 2006. My research, which is carried out in Libraries, Studies Libraries, Records Offices and by chatting with villagers, is on going. My first Alphington History book has now been published and is being sold to raise funds for The Alphington Village Hall Redevelopment Fund.

The Name Alphington

The modern name of Alphington derives from “Alfa”, “ing” and “ton”. “Alfa” was a Saxon farmer who owned most of the land that Alphington was built on, “ing” means “place of” and “ton” means “a settlement”.

Early History of the Village

In 658 the village passed on to the Saxon Kings and they held it until the Norman Conquest of 1066. King William I then held the manor and let it to various families. Baldwin The Sheriff was a leaseholder around 1100 and the village became part of the Barony of Okehampton. The village fell into the hands of William Avenol between 1142 and 1155 and somewhere between 1242 and 1284 the Neville family took over. The manor was passed on to John Burgeys in 1357 and in 1382 Sir Hugh Segrave purchased it. In around 1385 he exchanged it for Newham Courcy with Sir Philip Courtenay, who also held Powderham. From that time on the manor remained in the hands of the Courtenay’s.

The Courtenay’s were a family who came from France during the reign of Henry II (1154–1189, born 1133). Hugh de Courtenay and his wife Margaret de Bohun had eight sons and nine daughters. All the Earls of Devon descend from this marriage.

Alphington is not just a village but also a parish. According to White’s Devonshire 1850 Alphington Parish had 1286 inhabitants and about 2700 acres of fertile land. Matford belonged to Sir L. V. Palk and Risdon states that a man by the name of Stone died in the village at the age of 120 years during the reign of Elizabeth I.

The Poor’s Land comprised of about 12A and also a farm house at Holcombe Burnell purchased in 1716 from money left by John Bliss and other donors. It was let for £15 per year. The poor parishioners had 30/- a year from the Matford Estate left by Francis and Daniel Vinnicombe in 1675 and the dividends of £230 three per cent consols purchased in 1784 with £110 left by Edward Leach and another donor. Also the interest of £5 left by James Pitman. The Poor Houses were four small cottages purchased in 1675 with £45 given by various donors and rented free to poor families.

From White’s Devonshire 1878–1879 during 1871 there were 1166 inhabitants, 561 males and 605 females that lived in 251 houses on 2471 acres of land. Matford belonged to Sir L. V. Palk and the Gibbs family. The Poor’s land was sold in 1876 for £800, the money was invested and the dividends were distributed in bread. The four small cottages, that were the poor houses, were still occupied by the poor families for a weekly rental of 3d.

Historic Lanes and Buildings in Alphington

Clapperbrook Lane

Once known as Watry Lane the name quite possibly changed to Clapperbrook Lane when the clapperbridge was built.

Clapperbridges are some of the earliest bridges composed of slabs of stone called clappers. There were single clapper bridges, which simply consisted of one clapper going from one bank to the other of a small stream. Alternatively, for the wider streams several clappers were placed across supported by stone piers built mid-stream.

The lane is part of a very old route and originally ran from the village through what is now Marsh Barton Trading Estate, over the bridge crossing the Great Western Railway, along Salmon Pool Lane and along what is now Barrack Road. Travellers from London who wished to bypass Exeter and the City walls on their way to Plymouth used it. They would have crossed the River Exe at a ford called Madford. There is a raised path along part of one side of the lane as it has always had problems with flooding. There were originally fourteen cottages/houses at the top of the lane but the 1960's floods destroyed most of them. The building of the flood relief scheme meant that more properties had to be pulled down and this has left only six residences; there is also one at the bottom of the lane.

Clapperbrook Lane and the raised walkway Copyright © Rowena Jay

Mill Lane

Mill Lane Copyright © Rowena Jay

This lane is thought to be at least 400 years old and ran from what is now Church Road to Ide Lane. It is here, where Mill Lane meets Ide Lane and Wheatsheaf Way and Smithfield Road roughly cross that Sobey’s Farmhouse once stood. Past residents of this farm included: Henry Trimble Way and his son John Way (from White's Devonshire 1878–1879); and Percy Dadd who use to supply horses and drive the carriages for visiting judges at Exeter assizes. Percy Dadd sold the farm for housing development in the early to mid sixties.

Positioned about half way down the lane is The Old Corn Mill. From here about three-quarters of a mile up stream along the Alphin Brook there is still a small weir where a leat ran off to bring water to the mill. The water was held in a pond in the garden of the mill before being sent crashing down to drive the waterwheel. The Old Corn Mill ceased milling in the 1930s and sadly the pond has now been filled in, though you can still see where the water use to enter the mill to drive the water wheel. The miller’s cottage was situated on the opposite side of the lane but is no longer standing. Some of the millers included Richard Brown (from White's Devonshire 1850) and William Millford Mallett (from White's Devonshire 1878–1879). Some villagers remember the pond and the swans that swam on it and even today there is evidence of the track that the water took from the mill to rejoin The Alphin Brook. In one particular front garden of the houses that are built alongside the lane the ground is sinking to such an extent that there is a clear hole appearing; this is where a large pipe was installed to allow any water to run away. On the side of The Alphin Brook, set into the concrete wall is a grill where this water will enter the brook. The bridge that crosses the brook at this point is a new one and the old bridge was wooden.

Waterpower has been used for more than 2000 years. The Greeks were milling cereal in the first century BC and the Romans introduced grain watermills in this country. The Saxons had numerous watermills and during the 12th century onwards the number grew. The heyday was from the mid 18th century until the end of the 19th century. Eventually, roller mills driven by water turbines or electric power replaced them. There were four different types of waterwheel: (1) "pitchback" where the water enters the bucket of the wheel from the back; (2) "breastshot" where the water enters the bucket at, approximately, the middle of the wheel; (3) "undershot" where the water flows underneath the wheel; (4) "overshot" where the water enters the bucket at the top of the wheel. The overshot and pitchback were the most efficient as the wheel was driven by both the weight and force of the water. As with most contemporary mills I expect The Old Corn Mill’s cogs would have been wooden with metal teeth, the wood could have been well-seasoned apple or hornbeam though beech could also have been used. Wooden cogs were the best as replacing the broken ones was a simple and an inexpensive job that the miller could have done himself. The wood was smooth wearing so that the wear on the iron gears was minimized and they were quiet. They also prevented sparking and this greatly reduced the risk of fire, which was the miller’s nightmare. The grain for milling would be put into a hopper and sent down to the millstones. The bottom stone was called the bed stone and the top stone was the running stone. The speed at which the running stone operated and the amount of grain being milled at one time determined the quality of the final product, there were also different types of millstone depending on, for example, whether the miller was milling to produce flour or animal feed. The surfaces of the millstones had groves cut into them as the running stone turned against the bed stone the furrows crossed in a scissor fashion. The shearing action ground the grain and the meal was propelled to the edges of the bed stone. The meal then fell, most probably, through a spout into a meal bin, it was then bagged ready for delivery or collection.

Ide Lane

At the top of Ide Lane is the remains of a bridge, this was where The Teign Valley Railway line crossed the lane. The Teign Valley Railway (Exeter–Newton Abbot branch line) was widely thought to be the most beautiful of all the branch lines in Devon. It was a single track railway running through the villages of Alphington, Ide, Longdown, Dunsford, Christow, Ashton, Trusham, Chudleigh, Chudleigh Knighton, Heathfield and then on into Newton Abbot. In 1882 the first section opened just running from Heathfield to a temporary terminus at Christow. In 1903 the line was extended through to Exeter. The line was at its busiest when the roadstone quarries were open to supply the material to metal England's roads. The high level of freight traffic lasted from the early 1900s until the quarries became exhausted in 1930s. With the arrival of the motorbus the railway's passengers became less and the service was withdrawn in 1958. Eventually the line was completely closed in 1968 because of the Beeching cuts.

Remains of the railway bridge in Ide Lane Copyright © Rowena Jay

I was told a story where the train drivers would drop off farmers folk not at the station but close to their farms so that they would have a shorter walk home across the fields. The driver’s reward was some vegetables or a bag of potatoes!

Midway Terrace, which is set back from Ide Lane was originally a row of workman's cottages. They housed the workers who were cutting the Exeter–Newton Abbot branch line of the Teign Valley Railway. During the Second World War an incendiary bomb fell through the roof of a cottage where Mr Rossiter was living, he threw the bomb out and was the only person injured.

Incendiary bombs were used as markers for the bombers during the air raids. The bombs did not explode but they burst into flames, therefore, acting as beacons showing the aircrews where to drop their bombs

Laurel Cottage is well hidden from view and previous residents have included: Hy. Dorvill, gent (from White's Devonshire 1850); Misses Martha and Caroline Stockland (from White's Devonshire 1878–1879).

Gidleys, which is thought to be the oldest house in Alphington, is built of cob and thatch and it was named after Bartholomew Gidley who came to the village in about 1611. The Gidley family name does not appear in the village after 1695.

Cob is an old Devon word meaning mud wall. This was Devon’s traditional building material from the 14th century and was used for over 500 years. There are probably more cob buildings in Devon than anywhere else in England because of Devon’s quality clay sub-soils. They have a consistency and low shrinkage factor, ideal for cob construction. Straw was added and sometimes dung to reduce cracking when the cob was drying. Walls were built in stages with each layer of clay being given plenty of time to dry before the next one was added. Good quality cob would last quite well without rendering but the finished walls were normally rendered with quicklime putty and coarse sand and finally a lime wash. This traditional coating is porous so if any moisture should enter into the cob it can evaporate through the render.

It is thought that the panelling in the dining room came from some old box pews that were removed from the Church in 1876. The pump that was in use until the 1960s can still be seen in the front garden today and the well has never been known to run dry. In the back garden is a ruin of a stone building, which was used for storing thatching materials. Gidleys use to have its own farm but in the mid 1860s when Mr John Coles became the tenant it merged into Sobey’s Farm. Another resident included: James Coles, a builder and undertaker (from White's Devonshire 1878–1879).

Myrtle Cottages is a row of three cottages that were built in 1833 or even earlier. They are constructed of cob and brick and were once known as 1, 2 and 3 Myrtle cottages but in the 1950s they were recorded as having Ide Lane numbers. In 1889 they belonged to John Routley who was the tenant at the Admiral Vernon Inn. At the end of this row is another cottage, number 29 and known as Myrtle Cottage. In the past it was owned by the Earl of Devon and after that William Holmes in 1833. Other past residents included: Thomas Hill, gent, (from White's Devonshire 1850); William Godfrey Palmer who was a coal merchant (from White's Devonshire 1878–1879). Before Myrtle Close was built in 1965 it was a market garden owned by the Grimes family.

Alphington Village Hall Copyright © Rowena Jay

The Village Hall was originally a National School that was established in 1812 to teach the boys of the poor families from Alphington and surrounding parishes. There was only one Master with the most intelligent of the senior boys passing on their knowledge to the younger ones. At one time Mr Thomas Brewer was a Master at the school. At first the school only taught reading but later on writing and arithmetic were added to the timetable. In 1878 the school became a reading room when the Board School opened in Church Road.

Tucked away behind a lovely cottage-style garden is a house that was built in 1932.

The Griffin Alms Houses these were given to the village in 1936.

Alms houses have existed for over 1000 years, the earliest ones being founded by churches or monasteries and they were dependent on donations of land and money. Later these houses were supported by the wealthy that provided for them in their wills. Almshouses were generally intended to house the needy, the poor and the elderly within the parish.

Burgoyne Cottage use to be a barn and Ide Lane originally ran along the back of the property. William Burgoyne who also built the Admiral Vernon built the actual cottage in 1627. Ventlake is another one of the old houses of the village. Inset into the wall of The Trap House is a Goose Plaque perhaps commemorating the famous Goose Fairs. A trap house was similar to a cart shed but it was used to house traps, gigs and carriages. Parrs Cottages used to stand on the corner of the lane where the new flats are now built. One story I was told about a family who lived in one of these cottages and their six children slept in one bed head to toe.

The Goose plaque Copyright © Rowena Jay

e&oe

Copyright © Rowena Jay 2008