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Powderham (St. Clement)

POWDERHAM (St. Clement), a parish, in the union of St. Thomas, hundred of Exminster, Wonford and S. divisions of Devon, 7 miles (S. E. by S.) from Exeter; containing 318 inhabitants. Powderham Castle and grounds, the ancient seat of the Courtenays, earls of Devon, are delightfully situated on an acclivity rising from the western bank of the navigable river Exe. The castle, now merely retaining its castellated appearance, was in Leland's time a strong fort, with a barbican for the protection of Exe haven, and during the parliamentary war was fortified with eighteen pieces of ordnance, and garrisoned with 300 men. The present drawing-room was once a chapel, and the new music-room was built partly on the site of another chapel. The Belvidere tower, occupying an elevated site above the castle, commands a noble land and sea view. The parish comprises 1452a. 1r. 23p., of which 433 acres are arable, 577 pasture, 56 orchard, and 325 woodland; the surface is hilly, the soil sandy in the upper part, and a good loam in the remainder. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £27. 3. 6½., and in the gift of the Earl of Devon: the tithes have been commuted for £270, and the glebe comprises 93 acres. The church, an ancient edifice with a square tower, contains a wooden screen; and in a window of the north aisle is the stone effigy of a lady, probably one of the Courtenays.

Transcribed from A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858.

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