Drewsteignton, Devon - Angler's Rest pub, Fingle Bridge - postcard c.1980s

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Drewsteignton is a village and civil parish within the administrative area of West Devon, England, also lying within the Dartmoor National Park. It is located in the Teign valley, 13 miles (21 km) west of Exeter and 9 miles (14 km) south east of Okehampton. It is known for its attractive scenery, for its picturesque village centre, and for the nearby attractions of Castle Drogoand the beauty spot of Fingle Bridge. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 1,616^[2]

Settlement in the area dates back to the Neolithic period. Spinsters' Rock at Shilston, within the parish, is a Neolithic chambered tomb dating from around 3000 BC, and there are stone circles of similar date in the area. Later, an Iron Age hill fort, now known as Prestonbury Castle, was developed on the end of a prominent ridge.^[3]

The village was mentioned in the Domesday Book as "Taintone", meaning a village beside the Teign. By the 13th century it was known as "Teyngton Drue", part of the name coming from a local landowner Drogo, also known as Drewe de Teignton.^[4] In later years a myth developed, encouraged by the presence of the archaeological remains, that the "Drew" part of the name derived from the presence of druids, but there is no evidence to support this.

In mediaeval times, the village was relatively prosperous. It was important as a wool producing area, and there were also limestone quarries and a small tin mine. The village was a stopping place on the old road from Exeter to Okehampton.^[5] Much of the village building is of granite, as is Fingle Bridge, over the Teign, which was built in the 16th or 17th century.^[3] Historically the village formed part of Wonford Hundred.^[6]

The parish church of Holy Trinity dates mostly from the 15th century, with some later rebuilding.^[7] The village square adjoining the church may date from the original formation of the settlement. Census information indicates that Drewsteignton underwent prolonged depopulation through the 19th century, and many of its buildings have remained largely unchanged since then. The centre was designated as a conservation area in 1972.^[5]

Among the village buildings is the Drewe Arms, a pub retaining many historic features. Previously known as The Druids' Arms, the name was changed in the 1920s when Julius Drewe built Castle Drogo, his family home. The pub was managed by Mabel Mudge, originally with her husband, from 1919 until 1994 when she retired at the age of 99, the oldest pub landlady in the country.^[8]

Sculptor Peter Randall-Page lives nearby, and a number of his works can be viewed in the area, including the bench, table and bird bath in the village's community garden.

Fingle Bridge is a 17th-century stone arch bridge carrying an unclassified road over the River Teign near Drewsteignton, within Dartmoor National Park in Devon, England. This packhorse bridge has three arches and the two central piers are surrounded by triangular cutwaters extending upwards to form pedestrian refuges, and is a Grade II* listed building.

Fingle Bridge takes its name from Fingle Brook, a minor tributary which flows into the Teign adjacent to the bridge. Fingle is derived from the old English "fang", meaning to catch, a reference to the suitability of the stretch of river for fishing.^[1]

The bridge sits in the base of the deep Teign Gorge, between the ancient hillforts of Prestonbury Castle 130 metres (430 ft)^[2] above the river to the north and Cranbrook Castle 230 metres (750 ft)^[2] above to the south,^[3] and the bridge is built on the historic crossing point between the two.^[4] In its early years the bridge was an important crossing over the Teign^[5] used by packhorses transporting corn and wood products across the gorge,^[6] although the track up to Cranbrook Castle is now an unmaintained byway such that the bridge leads only to a car park on the south side of the river for roadgoing vehicles, the bridge's function having been replaced by the larger and more accessible Dogmarsh Bridge further upstream on the A382 road.

The arches were repaired, believed by English Heritage to have been in the 19th century.^[7]

In 1897 Jesse Ashplant founded the Fingle Bridge Tea Shelter on the north landing of the bridge, serving refreshments to the fishermen, tourists and grain carriers of the day.^[8] This developed into the Anglers' Rest pub and was later renamed as the Fingle Bridge Inn.

In 1955 Fingle Bridge was designated a Grade II listed building,^[7] reclassified in 1967 as Grade II*.^[9]