In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Hatherleigh like this:
HATHERLEIGH, a small town, a parish, and a subdistrict, in Okehampton district, Devon. The town stands on the rivulet Lew, near its inflnx to the Torridge, 8 miles WNW of North Tawton r. station, and 16 SE of Bideford; will have a station on the branch of the Devon. and Cornwall railway to Bude and Torrington; is a nominal borough, governed by a portreeve and other officers; is also a seat of petty sessions, and a polling place; and has a head post office, ‡ designated Hatherleigh, North Devon, a good inn, a market house, public rooms, a newly erected police station, a church, two dissenting chapels, a national school, and charities £15. ...
The markethouse was built in 1840, to serve for a revived market which had been defnnct for more than 50 years. The public rooms were built in 1821; and serve for benefit societies, for reading rooms, and for lectures. The church is later English, and good; and consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with tower and spire. A weekly mai.ket is held on Tuesday; and fairs are held on 21 May, 22 June, 4 Sept., and 8 Nov. A woollen manufacture was formerly carried on, but is extinct; and the chief industry now is in brick and tile making, stone quarrying, and farm labour. Jasper Mayne, the preacher and dramatic writer, was a native.—The parish comprises 7, 048 acres. Real property, £5, 256. Pop., 1, 645. Houses, 323. The property is much subdivided. The manor belonged formerly to Tavistock abbey; and belongs now to J. L. Oldham, Esq. There are several good residences. A moor in the parish commands a magnificest panoramic view, and has a monument to Col. Morris, who figured in the memorable charge at Balaklava. A tract of about 430 acres of the moor was given to the town by the abbots of Tavistock. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £202. * Patron, the Trustees of the late J. Ireland, Esq.—The sub-district contains seven parishes. Acres, 26, 143. Pop., 3, 986. Houses, 783.
Hatherleigh through time
Hatherleigh is now part of West Devon district. Click here for graphs and data of how West Devon has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Hatherleigh itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Hatherleigh in West Devon | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4173
Date accessed: 17th April 2024
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