Moreton-Hampstead (St. Andrew)

MORETON-HAMPSTEAD (St. Andrew), a market-town and parish, in the union of Newton-Abbott, hundred of Teignbridge, Crockernwell and S. divisions of Devon, 11 miles (W. S. W.) from Exeter, and 184 (W. S. W.) from London; containing 2037 inhabitants. The town is romantically situated on the verge of Dartmoor Forest, and occupies a gentle eminence environed by lofty hills; it consists of several streets. The houses in general are ancient, and built in the cottage style, with thatched roofs. Fifty houses were consumed by fire in 1845. The appearance of the surrounding district is somewhat peculiar, the surface being strewn with fragments of rock, while the barren heights of Dartmoor on the west are strikingly contrasted with the cultivated slopes of land more immediately adjacent to the town. The parish comprises 6512 acres, of which 1766 are common or waste. The woollen-trade was formerly extensive, but only a few blankets and stockings are now made: there are some tanyards, and a rope-manufactory, and in the vicinity are quarries of excellent granite. A market is held on Saturday; and there are great cattle-markets, on Whitsun-eve and the first Saturday in October. Fairs take place on the third Thursday in July and the last Thursday in November, principally for cattle. A new market-house and shambles were built, at the expense of the Earl of Devon, in 1827. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £49. 19. 7.; net income, £401; patron, the Earl. The church occupies the summit of the elevation on which the town is situated, and is an ancient edifice consisting of a nave, aisles, transeptal porch, and chancel, the last being separated from the body by a carved wooden screen. There are places of worship for Independents, Wesleyans, and Unitarians; and a free school with a small endowment. Some Druidical remains and Roman antiquities have been found in the immediate vicinity of the town.