Sheepwash (St. Lawrence)

SHEEPWASH (St. Lawrence), a parish, in the union of Torrington, hundred of Shebbear, Black Torrington and Shebbear, and N. divisions of Devon, 4 miles (W. N. W.) from Hatherleigh; containing 497 inhabitants. It comprises 1771 acres, of which 1360 are arable and pasture, and 230 woodland, coppice, and common; the soil is various, and the surface hilly. The river Torridge sometimes inundates the lower grounds of the parish. The village suffered great damage from a fire in 1743; it had formerly a market and three annual fairs. The living is a perpetual curacy, annexed to the vicarage of Shebbear: the impropriate tithes have been commuted for £110, and the vicarial for £99. The church is a neat structure with a tower. There is a place of worship for Baptists. In the parish are the remains of a large mansion called Upcott Avenel, to which a chapel was annexed.