Haytor Vale

Ilsington is a village and civil parish situated on the eastern edge of Dartmoor, Devon, England. It is one of the largest parishes in the county, and includes the villages of Ilsington, Haytor Vale, Liverton and South Knighton. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Bovey Tracey, Teigngrace (a short border only), Newton Abbot, Ogwell (another short border), Bickington, Ashburton, Widecombe-in-the-Moor and Manaton. In 2001 the population of the parish was 2,444, greatly increased from the 886 residents recorded in 1901.

The village is believed to be an ancient settlement - probably existing 200 to 300 years before the Norman Conquest. It is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Ilestintona, and there is known to have been a church there since at least the 11th century. St. Michael's parish church, as seen today, dates back to the 15th century. It was the site of an incident which has passed into local folklore: in 1639 the schoolroom, which was above the west lychgate of the church, collapsed into the street and churchyard.

Apart from its agricultural history, Ilsington's industrial archaeology reflects the mining of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Atlas tin mine and the Smallacombe iron mine were major local enterprises – with the cottages at Lewthorne Cross being built for William Grose, the mine captain and mine workers. Nearby, at Haytor, granite was quarried and carried down to the Stover Canal at Ventiford, Teigngrace, on the Haytor Granite Tramway, the route of which is now commemorated in the Templer Way footpath. Haytor granite was used in the building of many civic structures including London Bridge, over the Thames in London.

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