Chittlehampton
| Chittlehampton | |
|---|---|
 St Hieritha's Church and lychgate |
|
 Chittlehampton
|
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| Chittlehampton shown within Devon | |
| Population | 820 (2001) |
| OS grid reference | SS6325 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | UMBERLEIGH |
| Postcode district | EX37 |
| Dialling code | 01769 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Chittlehampton is a village and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Swimbridge, Filleigh, South Molton, Satterleigh and Warkleigh, High Bickington, Atherington, and Bishop's Tawton. According to the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 820. There is an electoral ward of the same name. In the 2011 census this ward had a population of 2,255.
The parish originally included two exclaves; Chittlehamholt to the south (now a parish in itself), and part of the modern parish of East and West Buckland. It now includes Chittlehampton, Umberleigh, Furze, Stowford and some other outlying hamlets.
The village was the site of limestone quarries which supplied many of the county's lime kilns.
Chittlehampton is the home of St. Hieritha's church and holy well. Until the 16th century many people made pilgrimages to Chittlehampton to visit the well. Today, campanologists travel from far and wide to ring the church's bells. The church is large and of the late Perpendicular period. St Hieritha, a 7th-century saint, is said to have been buried under part of the church.
Saint Urith's holy well still stands at the east end of Chittlehampton, now called by the corrupt name of Taddy Well or Saint Teara's Well. The exact burial place of Saint Urith was probably in the small chapel on the north side of the sanctuary of the parish church, which originally contained an image of the saint. This chapel now doubles as a passage leading to a vestry. There is reason to believe that a medieval slab there may still cover Saint Urith's body. There was a regular pilgrimage to her shrine on her feast day, 8 July, until 1539. Offerings left there were sufficient to rebuild the church tower, reputedly the finest in Devon. Even in the last year of pilgrimages, the vicar received £50 from his share of the offerings. This was three times his income from tithes and glebe.
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Wikipedia