| Clovelly | |
|---|---|
 The village sits 400 feet (120 metres) above the harbour andBideford Bay | |
  Clovelly Location withinDevon | |
| Population | 443 —Whole parish (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SS315245 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BIDEFORD |
| Postcode district | EX39 |
| Dialling code | 01237 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°59′54″N4°23′55″W / 50.9983°N 4.3987°W /50.9983; -4.3987 | |
Clovelly (/kləˈvɛli/) is a privately owned harbour village in theTorridge district ofDevon, England. The settlement and surrounding land belongs to John Rous who inherited it from his mother in 1983. He belongs to the Hamlyn family who have managed the village since 1738.[1]
The village, which is built into the woodedsea cliffs of the north Devon shore, has a steep pedestrianisedcobbled main street with traditional architecture. Due to the gradients,donkeys (now mostly replaced with sledges) have been used to move goods and cargo from Clovelly Bay. Visitors to the village entering via the visitor centre are required to pay an entrance fee which covers parking, entrance to two museums,Clovelly Court gardens, and an audiovisual history guide.[2][3] The village is a tourist destination and is host to an annual Lobster and Crab festival.[4]
At the 2011 census, the parish population was 443, a decrease of 50 on the 2001 census.[n 1][5] The island ofLundy is part of theelectoral ward of Clovelly Bay.[6]
The area has had human habitation since theIron Age as there is ahillfort atWindbury Head northwest of the village. Following theNorman conquest of England in 1066, theManor of Clovelly was acquired byWilliam the Conqueror from its Saxon tenant. It was listed in theDomesday Book as "Clovelie". William would make a gift of the village to his wifeMatilda of Flanders.[7]
In the late 14th century, during the reign ofRichard II, theManor of Clovelly was bought by the judgeSir John Cary. The Church of All Saints contains several monuments to theCary family, who remained theLords of the Manor for another 400 years. The village remained an agricultural parish until the late 16th century, when thesquire, George Cary had the stone breakwater erected creating a harbour. This provided the only safe haven for ships along this stretch of the Devon coast betweenAppledore andBoscastle. He also erected fish cellars and warehouses at the cliff base and cottages along the banks of the stream that provided the only route to the shore from the plateau above. Cary spent £2,000 turning Clovelly into a fishing village.[8]
The privately owned village has been associated with only three families since the middle of the 13th century. In 1738, the Clovelly Estate was acquired by the Hamlyn family. In 1901, the village had a population of 521.[9] Clovelly's preservation owes much to Christine Hamlyn who dedicated herself to renovating and expanding the ancient cottages while beautifying the village.[10]
The village has had anRNLI lifeboat station since 1870. The boathouse cost £175 to build.[11] Between 1899 and 1931, the lifeboat saved 158 lives.[12]
In 1988, the RNLI closed the station.[11] In response, the villagers operated their own rescue service.[13] In 1998 the RNLI reopened the station. AnAtlantic 85-class lifeboat was installed in 2014.[14][15] It was named in honour of Toby Rundle, anOxford student who took his own life in 2010.[16]
Almost all the terraced buildings along the village's cobbled street arearchitecturally listed. More than 50 out of 71 are on the main street itself. Only seven buildings are not listed. The village's only Grade I listed building is the Church of All Saints,[17] parts of All Saints' Church might still have some lateNorman.[18] Although its listing summary states, "Virtually all C15 and early C16, restored in 1843 and again in 1884".[19] The Grade II* buildings are numbers 16, and 45–47, 53–54 (53 has the house nameCrazy Kate's), and 59–61.[20]
The Clovelly Estate Company owns all of the buildings in the village and is responsible for maintaining the village and preserving its character. The company is led by John Rous, a descendant of the Hamlyn family who lives atClovelly Court. John Rous is the only son of Keith Rous, the 5thEarl of Stradbroke, by his second marriage, to Mary Asquith,[21] granddaughter of formerprime ministerH. H. Asquith.[22]
As of 2021, Clovelly included approximately "80 cottages, two chapels, two hotels", woodlands and about 2000 acres of farmland. The village encourages tourism and has been financially successful in that endeavour as of 2019.[1][23]
The village main street is not accessible by motor vehicles.[24][25]
The lack of vehicular access to the main street has led to deliveries being made by sledge.[24] This is not done as a tourist attraction, but as a matter of practicality. Goods are delivered by being pulled down on a sledge from the upper car park, and refuse is collected by being pulled down the hill to a vehicle at the harbour.
The village is served byStagecoach bus service 319; the route includesBarnstaple,Bideford andHartland.[22] TheSouth West Coast Path National Trail runs from the top of the village.
From 2023, a per-person fee was instigated for entry into the village, including the gardens of Clovelly Court and car parking, to fund maintenance of the village.[26] Adult entry costs £9.50 and child entry is £5.50. Children under 7 are free. Dogs must be kept on a lead.[27]
The 16th century Carys of Clovelly feature in the historical novelThe Grove of Eagles byWinston Graham.[28]
An 18th centurychapbook entitledThe History of John Gregg and his Family of Robbers and Murderers explains that "Chovaley" (i.e., Clovelly) was once the home of a tribe of fictionalcannibalistic bandits. It is alleged that Gregg and his extended family of dozens were eventually tracked down bybloodhounds and were burnt alive in three fires. They were said to have lived in "a cave near the sea-side" and had committed some 1,000 murders.[29] Writer Daniel Codd observes that a stretch of Clovelly Bay is called "the Devil's Kitchen"—"an apt name indeed if there is any truth in the ghoulish story of the Gregg family".[30]
ThesurgeonCampbell De Morgan (1811–1876), who first speculated thatcancer arose locally and then spread more widely in the body, was born here.[31]
J. M. W. Turner's painting of Clovelly Harbour from around 1822 hangs in theNational Gallery of Ireland,Dublin.[32]
The novelistCharles Kingsley lived here as a child from 1831 to 1836, while his father, Rev. Charles Kingsley, served first as seniorcurate then asrector. Later, in 1855, his novelWestward Ho! did much to stimulate interest in Clovelly and to boost its tourist trade.[33]
On Sunday, 28 October 1838 twelve fishing vessels with a total of twenty-six men on board left Clovelly Harbour for the fishing grounds. Only one vessel and its crew ever returned after a ferocious storm in theBristol Channel. This event led to the founding of theShipwrecked Mariners' Society early the following year with the object of:[34]
giving relief and assistance to the widows and orphans of fishermen; and of mariners, members of the Society, who lose their lives by storms and shipwreck on any part of the coasts of the United Kingdom, while engaged in their lawful occupations; and also to render necessary assistance to such mariners, soldiers, or other poor persons as suffer shipwreck upon the said coasts.
Local resident Joseph Harvey Jewell and his wife Mary Ann Jewell were two of only ten passengers to survive the wreck of theGeneral Grant in 1866.[35]
The charity is active supporting the seafaring community suffering hardship and distress.[36]
Clovelly is also described byCharles Dickens in "A Message from the Sea"[18] and was painted byRex Whistler, whose cameos of the village were used on achina service byJosiah Wedgwood.
InSusan Coolidge'sIn the High Valley (1890), part of theKaty series, a walk into Clovelly is described:
...–surely a more extraordinary thing in the way of a street does not exist in the known world. The little village is built on the sides of a crack in a tremendous cliff; the "street" is merely the bottom of the crack, into which the ingenuity of man has fitted a few stones, set slant-wise, with intersecting ridges on which the foot can catch as it goes slipping hopelessly down.[37]
Clovelly is mentioned in passing byRudyard Kipling inStalky & Co. as being located to the west of the boys' academy.[38]
ActorJoss Ackland and his wife Rosemary bought a property in Higher Clovelly on the outskirts of the village in 1989.[39] Ackland lived there until his death in 2023; Rosemary died in 2002 and is buried in the grounds of their home.[40] Ackland appeared in promotional videos for the town and spoke often of his love of and connection to Clovelly.[41]
In 1973 the filmMalachi's Cove was shot largely at Clovelly.[42]
Cesny-Bois-Halbout, France
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