Abbotsham

Abbotsham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. In 2001 its population was 434 increasing at the 2011 census to 489.

Abbotsham has one Post Office and General Store. There is a primary school, a church and a pub. There is also a village hall. Private business include a pre-natal scanning clinic. One bus service serves Abbotsham; the Stagecoach 319 from Barnstaple to Hartland. From May to October 2007, Stagecoach Devon ran a commercial service, the 21B, from Barnstaple to Westward Ho! via Abbotsham. However, this service was later withdrawn. The Big Sheep amusement farm park located in Abbotsham.

The village has a community website (http://abbotshamdevon.weebly.com/ ) which contains a wealth of past and present information about the village.

The area was called Hama in the Domesday Book. The village formed part of the original endowment of in the late tenth century, from which it takes its name. St. Helen parish church, originally built by the Normans, was rebuilt in the thirteenth century and features many carved statues and bench-ends. A more detailed account of the links with Tavistock Abbey can be found on the village website http://abbotshamdevon.weebly.com/

A mile to the north of the village is Kenwith Castle, built c1760 in the Georgian Gothic style and now part of a retirement complex with 31 stand alone bungalows and sheltered accommodation.

The local village school St Helen's C of E Primary School (www.abbotsham-sthelens.devon.sch.uk) has been in existence for over 150 years. There is a wealth of information on the School's past available in the Abbotsham Archives including the School Register back to 1894 and many pictures of pupils, staff and villagers. An increasing amount of this information is available on the village website.

Thomas Arthur VC (real name McArthur), 1835–1902, recipient of the Victoria Cross during the Crimean War, was born in Abbotsham.

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