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Overview
Situated in the idyllic, picturesque countryside of North Devon; Petrockstowe is home to around 400 residents, and has facilities including: The Laurels Inn; a modern village hall; a play area and extensive recreation and cricket ground. The village also boasts doorstep access to the legendary Tarka Trail; offering over 180 miles of walking and cycling opportunities.
Facilities
The village pub, The Laurels, is steeped with history, and has been used for many different businesses. Built in the 17th century, it was primarily used as a coaching house. Over the last 400 years it has been used as: a magistrate’s court, a home for fallen women of the parish, a lodging house, a coffee tavern and a private house. It re-opened as a public house in the mid-seventies.
Petrockstowe boasts two churches; a Methodist Chapel , built in the 1930’s, and a Church of England ; mentioned in the Doomsday Book. Both churches feature stunning décor; from stained glass windows to an impressive bell tower, from which the church bells can be heard ringing regularly, thanks to a dedicated campanology group.
The Baxter Hall offers great facilities for village groups and clubs; who meet there on a regular basis. The hall boasts a large hall space, kitchen, toilets and a recently added office, thanks to generous Lottery grants. The Baxter Hall is ideal for a wealth of different events and parties. In addition to the regular group meetings, a local skittle club use the facility throughout the winter as a venue for their friendly, but competitive matches!
The recreation ground is situated just outside the village, and features a barn, ideal for parties and gatherings; and a newly completed clubhouse, thanks to the hard work of villagers. The clubhouse includes features such as a kitchen, toilets and changing rooms; ideal for the cricket matches played on the cricket pitch in the summer.
History
Petrockstowe is steeped in history; with the first signs of habitation being Bronze Age burial mounds found just outside the village. The Normans were the first to take comprehensive records of Petrockstowe in the Doomsday Book. From the 12th to the 14th century new settlements sprung up and land was cultivated.
More recently, the village population has varied tremendously; in 1850 the population was 616, then in 1901 just 384. Today, the population has risen to approximately 400.
The 19th century was the boom period for the small village; so much that Lord Clinton built a village school there at the grand cost of £700! In the 19th century Petrockstowe was home to many businesses: a tanner, carpenter, shopkeeper, reverend, innkeeper, two blacksmiths, three shoemakers, three wheelwrights and twenty-one farmers!
The first railway to run through the village (Petrockstowe Station) was built by the North Devon Clay Company. The 3ft gauge light railway was six and a half miles long; passing through Langtree Valley, to Yarde and Petrockstowe, and eventually on to the clay works at Burymoor. The line was officially opened in February 1881 at a cost of £15,000. Work began on a standard gauge line in June 1922. Taking nearly three years to build, the line made it possible to travel from Petrockstowe to London Waterloo in just six hours, with just one change at Halwill. A quote suggests ‘the ticket clerk was said to be so amazed to issue the First Class single ticket (1s. 2d.) for a trip on an almost empty train in July 1963 that he forgot to fill in the destination’. The last ever passenger train to stop at Petrockstowe Station was on the 9th August 1981. The line has since been converted to the legendary Tarka Trail; offering over 180 miles of cycle and walking opportunities. The stretch that passes Petrockstowe is 22 miles long; spanning from Meeth to Braunton.
Groups
There are many groups in Petrockstowe; from gardening to art; from history to bell ringing, there’s a group to suit everyone’s interests in Petrockstowe. Groups in our village include: art , bell ringing ,cricket,gardening ,history ,Ladies ,and the Luncheon Club .
References
External links
Media related to Petrockstowe at Wikimedia Commons
