Witheridge

Witheridge

Witheridge is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. In 2001 the population of the parish was 1162, reducing slightly to 1,158 at the 2011 Census.[1] An electoral ward with the same name exists. The population at the above census was 2,313.[2] Its name is derived from the Old English for "Weather Ridge", probably as a result of its exposed location on the top of a hill, which means it and surrounding hamlets such as Nomansland generally suffer from poor weather for much of the year.

Situated almost equidistant from Dartmoor and Exmoor, the village has earned the nickname the Gateway to the Two Moors Way. Butcher FJP Maunder established his business in the village in 1879, which taken over by his son became local butchers chain Lloyd Maunder.

The village is twinned with Cambremer, France, and the two villages have annual exchange trips (although not solely for students).

Sport and leisure

Witheridge has a Non-League football club Witheridge F.C. who play in the South West Peninsula League which is at step 6 of the National League System as well as a Reserve side who play in Division 1 of the Devon and Exeter Football League. Both sides play their home games at Edge Down Park. The St John's Fair takes place annually and shows the wonderful community spirit in this English village.

Witheridge also has a well established Taekwondo club, which is a martial art for self defence.

Notable residents

Witheridge is the birthplace of Mary Baker (née Willcocks), a noted impostor who went by the name "Princess Caraboo" from a fictional far off island kingdom.[3] Andrew George Collidge, author of The Optic [4] and Optic's [5] resides in Witheridge.Robert Brown Min.C.S.S Author of We Are Eternal, Pub Warner Books ISBN 0-446-52845-5 U.K edition Hodder & Stoughton resides nearby.

References

  1. ↑ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  2. ↑ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  3. ↑ John Wells, 'Baker , Mary [Princess Caraboo] (bap. 1791, d. 1864)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Sept 2010 accessed 5 June 2013
  4. ↑ Collidge, Andrew (2014). The Optic. FeedaRead.com. ISBN 1784073954.
  5. ↑ Collidge, Andrew (2014). Optic's. FeedaRead.com. ISBN 1785103342.

External links

Media related to Witheridge at Wikimedia Commons Coordinates: 50°55′01″N 3°42′03″W / 50.91694°N 3.70083°W / 50.91694; -3.70083

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