| Teigngrace | |
|---|---|
 Teigngrace parish church | |
  Teigngrace Location withinDevon | |
| Population | 235 (2001 census) |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NEWTON ABBOT |
| Postcode district | TQ12 |
| Dialling code | 01626 |
| 50°33′20″N3°37′36″W / 50.55556°N 3.62667°W /50.55556; -3.62667 | |
Teigngrace is acivil parish centred on a hamlet that lies about two miles north of the town ofNewton Abbot inDevon, England. According to the 2001 census, its population was 235, compared to 190 a century earlier. The western boundary of the parish mostly runs along theA382 road; its short northern boundary along theA38; and its eastern partly along the riversBovey andTeign. It comes to a point at its southern extremity, nearNewton Abbot Racecourse.[1][2] The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes ofBovey Tracey,Kingsteignton,Newton Abbot and a small part ofIlsington.[3]
The nameTeigngrace derives from the name of the river and Geoffrey Gras, who held the manor in 1352. Geoffrey was a kinsman of 'John called Gras', (meaning 'the fat one'), who was a canon atTorre Abbey in 1351.[4]
Theparish church, dedicated to St Peter and St Paul, has a 15th-century foundation, but was rebuilt by the Templer family out of local grey limestone (not granite as reported by Ewans[5]) in 1787 and wasrestored in 1872.[1] It contains a number of 18th-century monuments.[6]
Within the parish are several reminders of the area'sindustrial heritage: theStover Canal and theHaytor Granite Tramway—both built by the Templer family—run through the parish, as does the single-track line of theMoretonhampstead and South Devon Railway, which is still occasionally used for freight.Teigngrace Halt served the village from 1876 to 1959. The parish lies at the edge of the geological formation known as theBovey Basin and some of the extensiveball clay deposits that exist here have been mined within its boundaries.
In 1997 one of the clay mining companies, Watts Blake Bearne (now part ofSibelco [nl], wanted to divert parts of the riversTeign andBovey to gain access to new resources of quality ball clay deposits which they said would provide much employment and would last for 100 years. However about 80environmental campaigners occupied the site—with the approval of most of the residents—claiming that it was a haven for wildlife including the rarecirl bunting. The complaints resulted in Environment Secretary,John Prescott, putting the plans on hold pending apublic enquiry which was held in 1998.[7][8] During the enquiry, errors were discovered in the clay company's flood flow predictions, which resulted in it withdrawing its application.[9]
Since 1948 theIlford Park Polish Home has housed former Polish Second World War veterans and their dependents. It is run by theMinistry of Defence.[10]
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Templer family lived on theStover estate which had its centre in the parish, but extended northwards as far as Dartmoor. The estate was purchased in 1765 byJames Templer (1722–1782), who had made his fortune erecting government buildings. He builtStover House between 1776 and 1780 out of Dartmoor granite.[6] His sonJames Templer (1748–1813), built the Stover Canal and rebuilt St Peter and St Paul's Church, the parish church of Teigngrace. His sonGeorge Templer (1781–1843) built the tramway from Haytor, but encountered serious debt problems, and was forced to sell the estate toEdward St Maur, 11th Duke of Somerset in 1829.[6]
The Stover estate remained in the ownership of the Dukes of Somerset until it was sold in 1921. In 1932 the house and 64 acres of grounds became Stover House School, aprivate school for girls.[11] Part of the remainder of the estate situated south of the A38 road now forms the 114-acre Stover Country Park, a localnature reserve owned and managed byDevon County Council.[12]
Apart from the Templer family noted above, the character actorThorley Walters was born here in 1913.[13]
Media related toTeigngrace at Wikimedia Commons