Trusham

Trusham is a small village in the Teign Valley just outside Chudleigh between Newton Abbot and Exeter in Devon. The name originates from the Celtic 'Trisma', considered by Ekwall to mean ‘brushwood’ or ‘fallen leaves’, became 'Trisme' for about four hundred years, and then in the 16th century 'Tryssame' or 'Trysham'. It has one pub - the Cridford Inn - probably the oldest pub/inn in Devon and possibly the oldest in England. It was quoted in "The Which Guide to Country Pubs" dated March 1988 that the main site of the now, Cridford Inn, dates back to 825AD - well before Alfred the Great and was originally inhabited by the early Britons/Celts. However, King Athelstan of the English notably expelled "that filthy race" (the Britons) from Exeter and the surrounding area, as far as Cornwall, in 927AD. The building was presumably remodelled in 1081, as a small cobbled area in which was set a crude mosaic, made of dolerite and quartz, bearing the initials HJ and the year 1081 was discovered during renovations in 1988. This mosaic is thankfully preserved and displayed under glass in the inn's restaurant. The Cridford had also previously served as a nunnery and a farm. In 1086 it is understood to be one of the nine small-holdings mentioned in the “Domesday Book”, and by then belonged to the Abbey of Buckfast in the Manor of Trusham. During the early 13th to 15th Centuries, the building itself was a farmhouse and the stained glass mullion window in the bar is from this period and is possibly the earliest surviving example of a Medieval domestic window in England. It is also believed that The Cridford Inn is home to two ghosts,; one is said to be a Nun from the very early history of the property and a second is a Cavalier from Trusham's conflict with Ashton, (a nearby village) during the Civil war of 1642-46. In more recent times, the buildings reverted to farm use and as a Devon Longhouse was previously known as Cridford Farm, the home of one branch of the Cridford family who have a long history in Devon. Members of the Cridford family still live in Devon.

The church of St Michael, (erected 1259) and the aisle added in 1430, is an ancient building of stone in the early English and Perpendicular styles with traces of Norman work... the church was thoroughly restored in 1865, when the stained east window and a smaller one were inserted as memorials to the Rev. William Edward Brendon, who died in 1864. There is also a memorial to John Stooke which mentions a charity he set up for the church and the poor of nearby Bovey Tracey. The story, first recorded in 1709, goes that in 1646 an officer in the Royalist army was gambling at Bovey when he was cornered by Roundheads. Before he was slain, he threw his bag of winnings to a servant, who, (before he was also slain) threw them over a hedge, where they were found by Stooke, then a humble farmer's boy. Stooke's fortune was founded on his lucky find. Bovey's altar fund still receives a small annual sum from the charity.

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Wikipedia