Dunchideock

Dunchideock (/ˈdʌntʃɪdək/ DUN-chid-ək, /dʌnˈtʃɪdiək/ dun-CHID-ee-ək) is a small civil parish on the north eastern slopes of the Haldon Hills in Teignbridge, Devon, England. It covers an area of 392 hectares (970 acres)^[1] and lies about 6 km (3.7 mi) south-west of Exeter and 11 km (6.8 mi) north-east of Bovey Tracey. The parish, with a population of 262 in 2001, lacks a compact village, but consists of scattered dwellings.^[2] It is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Holcombe Burnell, Ide, Shillingford St. George, Kenn, and Doddiscombsleigh.^[3]

Dunchideock
A view over part of Dunchideock. The church is on the right with Dunchideock farm in front. Haldon Belvedere is on the skyline to the left.
Dunchideock Location within Devon
Population	262 (2001 UK Census)
OS grid reference	SX8887
District	Teignbridge
Shire county	Devon
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	EXETER
Postcode district	EX2, EX6
Dialling code	01626
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Teignbridge
List of places UK England Devon 50.68°N 3.58°W / 50.68; -3.58

Etymology

The name Dunchideock originates in the Common Brittonic language. First attested in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Donsedoc, the first part of the name derives from the word whose modern Welsh form is din ("fort"), while the second part is the adjective found in modern Welsh as coediog ("wooded").^{[4][5]: 290} The form of the Dun-element later changed by association with the Old English word dūn ("hill").^[6] According to W. G. Hoskins, the place-name originally referred to the nearby Iron Age hill fort of Cotley Castle.^[7]

History

The parish church is dedicated to St Michael and is Grade I listed.^[8] It originated in 1308 at the latest, but the present church building, built of red sandstone, was started in the late 14th century. It has been partially rebuilt and restored many times.^[2] There is a good font dated to around 1400, some notable carved bench-ends, roof-bosses and rood-screen; and several memorials, most notably to Aaron Baker, who rebuilt the chancel aisle in 1669, and Stringer Lawrence.^[7] The theological writer Bourchier Wrey Savile was rector of Dunchideock with Shillingford St. George from 1872 to his death in 1888.^[9]

Within the parish was the former Haldon House which was the home of Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet. Mostly demolished in the 1920s, the remaining wing is now the Best Western "Lord Haldon Hotel". Also in the parish is Haldon Belvedere, a triangular tower on top of Haldon that was built by Palk in 1788 in memory of his friend General Stringer Lawrence.^[10]

Archie Winckworth, the former owner of Dunchideock House, posted a memoir about the village and its history, including an account of its buried treasure.^[11] The cellars of Dunchideock House are fancifully supposed to contain a treacle mine.^[12]

References

1. "A Brief Outline of the Parish". Dunchideock Parish. Archived from the original on 7 June 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
2. Harris, Helen (2004). A Handbook of Devon Parishes. Tiverton: Halsgrove. pp. 62–63. ISBN 1-84114-314-6.
3. "Facts and Figures". (link to Devon Parishes map). Devon County Council. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
4. Gover, J. E. B.; Mawer, A.; Stenton, F. M. (1931–32). The Place-Names of Devon. English Place-Name Society, 8-9. Vol. 2 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., I, p. 495.
5. Coates, Richard; Breeze, Andrew (2000). Celtic Voices, English Places: Studies of the Celtic Impact on Place-Names in Britain. Stamford: Tyas. ISBN 1900289415..
6. Watts, Victor, ed. (2004). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521168557., s.v. Dunchideock.
7. Hoskins, W. G. (1972). A New Survey of England: Devon (New ed.). London: Collins. pp. 390–391. ISBN 0-7153-5577-5.
8. Historic England. "Church of St Michael, Biddypark Lane, Dunchideock (1334285)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 21 July 2009.
9. "A Cambridge Alumni Database". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 21 July 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
10. "Haldon Belvedere (Lawrence Castle) - Brief History". Dunchideock Parish. Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
11. Winckworth, A. N. "GENUKI/Devon: Memories of Dunchideock". genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006. Retrieved 20 July 2009.
12. Barber, Chips (1982). Around & About the Haldon Hills. Obelisk Publications. pp. 95–97. ISBN 0-946651-14-0.

it is owned by the ellis family which they have owned for 5 generations

External links

Media related to Dunchideock at Wikimedia Commons