Petrockstowe

Petrockstow railway station was a station serving the village of Petrockstowe in West Devon, which is about one mile away. The station was, throughout its passenger-carrying life from 1925 to 1965, spelt without the final "e" of the village name. The railway was originally built as a narrow-gauge freight line to carry ball clay to Torrington from the Marland and Meeth clay pits. The Torrington and Marland Railway then became the basis of the northern section of the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway, which opened in 1925 and remained a private line until finally becoming part of the Southern Region of British Railways in 1948.A victim of Beeching, the line closed to passengers in 1965 but it remained open for freight trains from the Meeth quarries which passed into the rail network through Barnstaple and Torrington until 1982.In 2014 a small group of local railway enthusiast began clearance work at the Station, clearing the platforms and vegetation. It is hoped to partly restore the Station, in conjunction with the owners, Devon County Council.

Heanton Satchville was a historic manor in the parish of Petrockstowe, North Devon, England. With origins in the Domesday manor of Hantone, it was first recorded as belonging to the Yeo family in the mid-14th century and was then owned successively by the Rolle, Walpole and Trefusis families. The mansion house was destroyed by fire in 1795. In 1812 Lord Clinton purchased the manor and mansion of nearby Huish, renamed it Heanton Satchville, and made it his seat. The nearly-forgotten house was featured in the 2005 edition of Rosemary Lauder's "Vanished Houses of North Devon". A farmhouse now occupies the former stable block with a large tractor shed where the house once stood. The political power-base of the Rolle family of Heanton Satchville was the pocket borough seat of Callington in Cornwall, acquired in 1601 when Robert Rolle (died 1633) purchased the manor of Callington.

Huish (anciently Hiwis) is a small village, civil parish and former manor in the Torridge district of Devon, England. The eastern boundary of the parish is formed by the River Torridge and the western by the Rivers Mere and Little Mere, and it is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Merton, Dolton, Meeth and Petrockstowe. In 2001 the population of the parish was 49, down from 76 in 1901.The village lies just off the A386 road, about five and a half miles north of Hatherleigh, and about seven miles south of Great Torrington. It was a member of the historic hundred of Shebbear and was in the deanery of Torrington.The majority of the parish consists of parkland belonging to Heanton Satchville, the seat of Baron Clinton; the mansion-house is a few hundred yards to the north of the church.

Merton is a village, ecclesiastical parish, former manor and civil parish administered by the local government district of Torridge, Devon, England. The parish, which lies about five miles south east of the town of Great Torrington, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Little Torrington, Beaford, Dolton, Huish, Petrockstowe and Peters Marland. In 2001 its population was 331, down from the 507 residents it had in 1901. The eastern and northern boundaries of the parish follow the loops of the River Torridge and the other sides are defined by the River Mere. The village forms part of the electoral ward of Clinton. The population at the 2011 census was 1,537.The village is on the A386 road between Meeth and Great Torrington. The parish church, on the west side of the village, is dedicated to All Saints and dates from around 1400. It suffered a heavy Victorian restoration between 1872 and 1875 by R. M. Fulford, but the east window of the north chapel retains many fragments of late medieval stained glass. Speccot, Dunsbear and Potheridge were estates mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086.

Marlands Works was a busy industrial site for just over a century, firstly on the Torrington and Marland Railway, built to carry bricks and clay on a three-feet gauge, which in turn was subsumed in 1925 by the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway before finally becoming part of the Southern Region of British Railways in 1948. The line closed to passenger traffic in 1965 as part of the Beeching reforms but the line remained open for freight between Barnstaple railway station and Torrington until 1982. Today it forms part of the popular Tarka trail, although an important site for industrial railway historians too. Marland Works station was used by workmen only and was not in public passenger use.

Barometer World was the world's only barometer museum, and was located in the village of Merton, near Great Torrington, Devon, England. Barometer World makes, sells and restores barometers of a variety of types. It was established in 1979 by Philip Collins. In March 2022, Barometer World closed its museum and premises in Merton, Devon. It is now an online-only business.

Dunsbear Halt was a relatively well-used halt on the initially privately run North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway. Opened in 1925 and closed to passenger traffic 40 years later in 1965. The line remained open for freight between Barnstaple railway station and Meeth until 1982. Today it forms part of the popular Tarka trail, and has recently been renovated by conservation volunteers.

Hatherleigh Railway Station was a station on the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway between Torrington and Halwill Junction, serving the town of Hatherleigh. Hatherleigh was the largest place with a station on the line, though the town was almost two miles away. Like others on this line, the station itself was small but it was a passing place on the mainly single-track railway. The stationmaster at Hatherleigh also looked after the other stations on the line, even those, such as Petrockstow and Hole, that were staffed. The line was opened in 1925 and was operated by the Southern Railway, though it remained a private line until it became part of the Southern Region of British Railways in 1948. The line closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching proposals, goods services having been withdrawn the previous year.

Sheepwash is a village and civil parish on the southern border of the local government district of Torridge, Devon, England. The parish, which lies about nine miles ENE of the town of Holsworthy, about eight miles south of Great Torrington and about ten miles north-west of Okehampton, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Buckland Filleigh, Highampton and Black Torrington. Its southern boundary follows the River Torridge and most of its other boundaries are along watercourses too. In 2001 its population was 254, lower than the 326 residents it had in 1901.The name Sheepwash is first documented in 1166 (as Schepewast) and means, as it sounds, a place where sheep were washed before shearing. The parish church, which is in the village, is dedicated to St Lawrence. It was completely rebuilt in 1880 and was described by W. G. Hoskins in 1954 as "dull". Other buildings worthy of notice in the parish are Newcourt Barton, about a mile north-east of the village, which dates from the late 16th century with 18th-century and later alterations; and Totleigh Barton which mostly dates to the 16th and 17th centuries, but has surviving medieval features. It once had a private chapel.The Half Moon Inn in the village is a traditional fishing inn with rights to the fishing on several miles of the River Torridge.

Opened in 1925, Meeth Halt was a small railway station on the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway, a private line until it became part of the Southern Region of British Railways in 1948. The line was built in part over a narrow gauge line that was used from 1881 to take ball clay from claypits at Marland and Meeth to Torrington, which was until 1925 the terminus of a branch from Barnstaple. The line was closed to passenger traffic in 1965 as part of the Beeching proposals, but remained open for freight from the Meeth clay workings north of Meeth Halt through Torrington to Barnstaple until 1982. The station consisted of a simple short concrete platform and a stone shelter and remains as a recognisable landmark on the Tarka Trail, a very popular destination for long-distance walkers and cyclists. As a result it is in the process of a major renovation.

Meeth is a small village roughly 13.5 km (8.4 mi) north-northwest of Okehampton and 40.7 km (25.3 mi) west-northwest of Exeter. It lies to the west of the River Torridge. In the past, ball clay mines were a major source of employment in the village, lying just to the west, however these closed in 2004. Their site is now a nature reserve owned by the Devon Wildlife Trust, called Meeth Quarry. The Trust's Ash Moor reserve is also located close to the village. From 1925 until 1982, the branch railway line from Halwill Junction to Torrington, the North Devon and Cornwall Junction Light Railway, ran through Meeth, allowing clay from the mines to be transported to Bideford for onward transport by sea; passenger service was available until 1965 from Meeth Halt railway station. The Tarka Trail long-distance footpath now finishes/starts in Meeth, using the route of the former railway to reach Bideford, and skirting the Meeth Quarry and Ash Moor nature reserves. A one time notable resident was John Lemprière who is buried and has a monument in the church yard. The village has a small centre which encompasses the recently re-opened church, village hall and village pub (The Bull and Dragon, ca. 1490). A good local bus service runs daily and a small B&B has just opened in the village.

The River Lew can refer to either of two short rivers that lie close to each other in Devon, England. The more northerly of the two rises just south of the village of Beaworthy, and flows east, then turns north to run past Hatherleigh before joining the River Torridge about 1 km north of the town. Its name is incorporated into that of the village of Northlew. The more southerly of the two rises on the northwest corner of Dartmoor, near Sourton, and flows west and somewhat south, through the Lew Valley past Lewtrenchard and south of Lewdown before joining the River Lyd near Marystow. It has in earlier times also been known as Lew Water. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records a battle in 825 in which Devon forces loyal to Egbert of Wessex defeated the Cornish at Gafulford; and this is thought to be Galford on the banks of this river, though some translations render it as Camelford, some 20 miles further west. At their nearest point the two rivers are not much more than 10 km apart. Domesday Book mentions a Lew Manor in this area, and it may be that both rivers take their name from it. Ekwall enters the southerly river as Lew Water and gives a derivation from British 'Lliw' for both (other river names are known to have the same origin). The manor cannot have been named any earlier than the Anglo-Saxon period