MEM25379 - Churchtown, Parracombe (Place)

Churchtown is a hamlet at Parracombe, at the highest point of the village. It includes the medieval chhurch and possible manor house nearby. It was certainly in existence by the 13th Century and was likely the earliest of the settlement foci. The arrival of the Lynton to Barnstaple railway (MMO42) to the west of Churchtown in 1898 did not have a great influence on the settlement’s development nor signal a revival in the fortunes of Churchtown. It is possible that the buildings south of the church may be grouped around what was once a green. The pattern here is loose knit and has been disrupted by later development. The houses and bungalows are informally grouped and detached within their own irregular plots. [1] The settlement is shown and labelled on historic mapping. The extent of the settlement has been defined on GIS with mapping available to the HER; however, its extent is indicative only. It is noticeable by comparing the 25 inch 1st and 2nd Edition Ordnance Survey maps that part of Church Lane, between SS 6732 4485 and SS 6740 4490, appears to have been divrted northwards at the turn of the 20th Century, to accommodate the new route of Lynton to Barnstaple Railway Line (MMO42). [2-5]