Widecombe in the Moor
Coordinates: 50 ° 35 ′ N , 3 ° 49 ′ W
Widecombe in the Moor is a village and parish in the heart of Dartmoor National Park in Devon in south-west England . The name of the place is derived from "Withy-combe" (German "Weidental").
According to Widecombes official website, the village consists of 196 scattered households, which is why the parish is spread over a relatively large area. Dozens of small cottages and moorland farms were included .
Tourism is Widecombe's main source of income today, recognizable by the large number of souvenir shops (including a National Trust shop), two cafes and two pubs .
The village is probably best known in the UK for Widecombe Fair , an annual fair celebrated in an island folk song called Old Uncle Tom Cobley at All . The text was first published in 1880. The traditional " Toby-Jugs " - jugs with handles that show the heads of fictional and prominent people in caricature form in three-dimensional form are also popular .
The Church of St. Pankratius is known as the "Cathedral of the Moor", probably because of the 37 m high tower and the interior, which is very large for such a small place. The church was originally built in the 14th century in the English late Gothic style with the granite found at Widecombe. St. Pankratius was enlarged again and again in the following two centuries, partly with the income from tin mining. Inside the church, the decorative ceiling is worth seeing, in which the emblem of the tin miners, a ring made of three rabbits (known here as "Tinner's Rabbits") is immortalized.
The church was apparently badly damaged by ball lightning on October 21, 1638 during a violent thunderstorm . This happened during the afternoon mass with about 300 participants - four were killed and about 60 injured. Legend explains the storm through a visit from the devil. The Church House next to the church was built in 1537 as a brewery building; it is now administered by the National Trust.
The vastness of the congregation meant long ways to worship; which was particularly unfavorable for the transport of the coffin at funerals. Traditionally, the so-called Coffin Stone (German: "Sargstein") on Dartmeet Hill was therefore a suitable place to put the coffin down for a rest. The rock is split lengthways - according to legend, a coffin was destroyed by lightning here.
The grave of the writer Beatrice Chase , who lived most of her life in a cottage near the village, lies in the cemetery of Widecombe . Her real name was Olive Katharine Parr. She was a direct descendant of William Parr, brother of Catherine Parr , the sixth wife of King Henry VIII.
St. Pancras
A ball lightning destroyed the church
Interior of St. Pancras
Logan Rock, a rocking stone
Widecombe Valley
Web links
- official page
- Lightning strike in Widecombe-in-the-Moor 1638. In: Domradio . October 21, 2018.