| Bridestowe | |
|---|---|
 St Bridget's Church, Bridestowe | |
  Bridestowe Location withinDevon | |
| OS grid reference | SX 5141 8940 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NORTH TAWTON |
| Postcode district | EX20 |
| Dialling code | 01837 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°41′07″N4°06′17″W / 50.68519974°N 4.10470194°W /50.68519974; -4.10470194 | |
Bridestowe (/ˈbrɪdɪstoʊ/) is acivil parish and village in the district ofWest Devon,Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes ofBratton Clovelly,Sourton,Bridestowe and Sourton Common,Lydford,Lewtrenchard andThrushelton.[1]
The village is 6 miles south-west ofOkehampton on the edge ofDartmoor and on theA30 main road. It has a primary school, pre-school, village stores and post office,[2] a number of public houses and accommodation providers, Methodist chapel and village hall.
The parish church,St Bridget's Church, is mostly 13th and 15th century, with a west tower and some fragments of Norman work.[3] It is dedicated to the IrishSaint Bride or Bridget, who is depicted in one of the stained glass windows, and from whom the place-name is derived.[4] The church's distinctive gateway is described inWhite's Directories as "a fine Norman arch".[5]
The village contains theGeorgian mansion Millaton House, the childhood home ofLord Carrington which served as a hospital run by American soldiers during the Second World War.[6][7] Also within the parish are anElizabethan mansionGreat Bidlake, the seat of the Bidlake family since 1268, and disused mine-workings which once producedlead andcopper.
Bridestowe railway station was opened in 1874 and closed in 1968, together with the stretch of line fromOkehampton station toBere Alston.
The town has aparish council which meets monthly.[8] The local paper is the Bridestowe and Sourton Extra.[9]
In 2021 the population of the parish was 656, compared with 457 in 1901.[10][11] There is an electoral ward with the same name; its population at the 2011 census was 1610.[12]
Media related toBridestowe at Wikimedia Commons
