Abbots Bickington

Bulkworthy is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England, about 9 miles southwest of Great Torrington, and on the River Torridge. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 83. It is listed in the Domesday Book as Buchesworde.

West Putford is a small settlement and civil parish in the local government district of Torridge, Devon, England. The parish, which lies about 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north of the town of Holsworthy, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of East Putford (with which it is joined for ecclesiastical purposes), a small part of Bulkworthy, Abbots Bickington, Sutcombe, Bradworthy and Woolfardisworthy. In 2001 its population was 181, compared to 216 in 1901. The eastern and northern boundaries of the parish mostly follow the River Torridge over which is the 13th-century Kismeldon Bridge. Tumuli on the high ground provide evidence for early inhabitants here. The cruciform early 14th-century parish church is dedicated to Saint Stephen. It has a Norman font, and the tower has been dated to around 1500. According to W. G. Hoskins (writing in the early 1950s) the church is clean, well-preserved and it largely avoided the attention of the Victorian restorers, making it "a pleasure, not merely to the antiquary, but to all who see it". Other notable buildings in the parish include Churston House, near the church, which was built in around 1600 by one of the Prideaux family and retains many original features; and Cory Barton, about half a mile to the north, which dates from the 16th century and was the seat of the Cory family. There is a Gnome Reserve, founded in 1979.

Milton Damerel is a village, parish and former manor in north Devon, England. Situated in the political division of Torridge, on the river Waldon, it covers 7 square miles (18 km2). It contains many tiny hamlets including Whitebeare, Strawberry Bank, East Wonford and West Wonford. The parish has a population of about 450. The village is situated about 5 miles (8.0 km) from Holsworthy, 13.081 miles (21.052 km) from Bideford and 22.642 miles (36.439 km) from Barnstaple. The A388 is the main road through the parish.

Torridge is a local government district in north-west Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Bideford. The district also includes the towns of Great Torrington, Holsworthy and Northam, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The island of Lundy forms part of the district. The district is named after the River Torridge. The district's coast is recognised for its natural beauty, forming part of the North Devon Coast, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The South West Coast Path runs through the area. The neighbouring districts are North Devon, Mid Devon, West Devon and Cornwall.

East Putford is a small settlement and civil parish in the local government district of Torridge, Devon, England. The parish, which lies about halfway between the towns of Holsworthy and Bideford, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Parkham, Buckland Brewer, Bulkworthy, West Putford, and Woolfardisworthy. In 2001 its population was 103, slightly lower than the 125 residents it had in 1901. The western boundary of the parish is formed by the River Torridge and the land rises from the river to over 200 m. near the top of Melbury Hill in the north. Tumuli on the high ground provide evidence for early inhabitants here. The parish church, dedicated to St Philip and St James the Less, was extensively restored in 1882, but has since been deconsecrated and used as a farm building, though by 2004 both the building and its churchyard were overgrown. Two farmhouses in the parish are of interest. Mambury was a freehold estate from its origin in the 12th century, and Winslade, near the top of Melbury Hill, was the home of John Wynslade who was executed for his part in the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549.

Newton St Petrock is an ecclesiastical and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon in England, occupying approximately 1,500 acres (6.1 km2). The parish had a population in 2001 of 163. A mile to the east of the village are the earthwork remains of Durpley Castle, a medieval motte-and-bailey castle. The parish's landmark is an ancient oak. Its map profile is, appropriately, that of an acorn. Its western border follows the River Torridge. It is contiguous with the parishes of Abbots Bickington, Bulkworthy, Shebbear and Milton Damerel. King Athelstan, in the 10th century, granted the lands of "Niwantun" to the priests of St Petroc's minster at Bodmin. The boundaries of St Petroc's Niwantun remain the same today except for some expansion to the ecclesiastical and civil parish on its north side to include part of what was called Cleave in the Middle Ages, and what was once a detached part of the parish of Frithelstock in the 19th century. The population of this rural parish has remained stable over the last two centuries. In 1801, the population was 201 and this had fallen to 163 by 2001. In the late 17th century Newton St Petrock was the home of England's first female physician, Prudence Abbott Potter. A 19th-century rector, John Lemprière, wrote a Classical Dictionary used for generations in schools throughout the English-speaking world. A Baptist chapel was opened at Bullator on 19 January 1830 on the property of Mr Frank Thorne, the local blacksmith, who might be considered the first pastor although the cause began twelve years earlier when the Rev. John Gould retired from Croyde and settled in the parish. Like many North Devon parishes, Newton St Petrock's numerous sons and daughters emigrated to urban centres, to industrial sites in South Wales, to Canada and elsewhere in the second half of the 19th century.

Woodacott is a small village in Devon, England. The nearest shops are in Holsworthy, about four miles to the south-west of Woodacott. The village is less than a ¼ mile to the west of Woodacott Cross, and they are normally regarded as the same village. Woodacott is in the civil parish of the nearby village of Thornbury. The nearest separate settlement to Woodacott is Thornbury. To the north of Woodacott lies the village of Milton Damerel, to the east Thornbury and Shebbear, to the south-east Cookbury, and to the west Holsworthy Beacon.

The Gnome Reserve is a garden and tourist attraction at West Putford, near Bradworthy, Devon, England, presented as a pastoral refuge for garden gnomes. The reserve was established in 1979 by Ann Atkin, a former art student. According to her own account:"…while painting birds in landscapes I came to what was like a T Junction in my painting development. I did not know whether to turn left or right as different elements of what I liked in painting appeared irreconcilably in opposite directions. It was very disturbing! Until – one day – a gnome appeared in my mind and seemed to say: ‘Don’t go left; don’t go right; you must dig / build your own road straight across.’… She established the reserve on a 4 acres (1.6 ha) site and remains the owner of the tourist attraction that also sells gnomes. The reserve holds more than 2,000 gnomes and is included in the Guinness Book of World Records. The four-acre Reserve also has model pixies. The area includes woodlands, a stream, pond, meadow and wildflower garden with "about 250 labelled species of wildflowers, herbs, grasses and ferns." Photographs are allowed and encouraged. Gnome hats and fishing rods are loaned to visitors free of charge. It is not uncommon for some Gnomes to eventually get taken by the visitors. The Reserve has refused to sell gnomes with knives on their backs.

Holsworthy Hamlets is a civil parish in the northwest of Devon, England. It forms part of the local government district of Torridge and came into being on 1 April 1900 when the ecclesiastical parish of Holsworthy was split into two.The parish almost surrounds the parish and town of Holsworthy, except on the east. It is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Bradworthy, Sutcombe, Milton Damerel, Thornbury, Cookbury, Hollacombe, Clawton, Pyworthy and Holsworthy, and Pancrasweek. In 2001 its population was 821, distributed among farms and hamlets such as Thorne and Chilsworthy (former Domesday manors), Youldon, Honeycroft, Vognacott, Merryfield, South Arscott (the original home of the Arscott family), Herdwick, Staddon and Chasty.Soldon in the north of the parish is now a farmhouse, but in the 17th century it was a manor house of the Prideaux family and it retains many fittings of that period.

Sutcombe is a village and civil parish in the local government district of Torridge, Devon, England. The parish, which lies about 5.5 miles north of the town of Holsworthy, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of West Putford, Abbots Bickington, Milton Damerel, Holsworthy Hamlets and Bradworthy. In 2001 its population was 299, compared to 351 in 1901.

Thuborough (alias Therborough, Theoburgh, etc.) in the parish of Sutcombe, Devon, England, is an historic estate, formerly a seat of a branch of the Prideaux family, also seated at Orcharton, Modbury; Adeston, Holbeton; Soldon, Holsworthy; Netherton, Farway; Ashburton; Nutwell, Woodbury; Ford Abbey, Thorncombe, all in Devon and at Prideaux Place, Padstow and Prideaux Castle, Luxulyan, in Cornwall. The present mansion house, comprising "Thuborough House" and "Thuborough Barton", the north-east block, is a grade II listed building.

Stibb Cross is a small village in north Devon, England. It is included in the civil parish of Langtree and is located about one mile from that village. Its population in 2001 was 677. The word stibb is derived from Old English styb, which referred to a weapon made of wood. Stibb Cross is also known for the successful YouTube channel Jay Sadd Truckspotting.