Silverton (St. Mary)

SILVERTON (St. Mary), a parish, in the union of Tiverton, hundred of Hayridge, Cullompton and N. divisions of Devon, 7 miles (N. N. E.) from Exeter; containing 1384 inhabitants. It is situated on the road from Tiverton to Exeter, near the Great Western railway. The substratum is partly red-sandstone, and partly of the clay-slate formation. The manor is the joint property of the Countess of Egremont, whose seat is in the parish, and the Earl of Ilchester; the former has seventwelfths, and the latter five-twelfths. The village is on a commanding eminence: fairs are held in it on February 13th and July 2nd. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £51. 8. 4., and in the patronage of the Countess of Egremont and the Earl of Ilchester, the former having seven turns and the latter five: the tithes have been commuted for £925, and the glebe contains 89½ acres. The church is a handsome specimen of the later English style: adjoining it are some slight remains of an ancient chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. There is a place of worship for Wesleyans. A free school was founded in 1724, by John Richards, who gave £1200 for its erection and support; the annual income is £90. On a hill on the eastern side of the parish are the remains of a British encampment. The Rev. William Bolton, rector of the parish in the time of the parliamentary war, was ejected from the living, and deprived of his patrimonial inheritance, for his loyalty.