Samuel Lewis, 1831:  In his Topographical Dictionary of England, tells us that;

"DEVONSHIRE, is a maritime county, bounded on the north by the Bristol channel, on the east by the counties of Somerset and Dorset, on the south by the English channel and on the west by Cornwall"

Photograph: Winkleigh Autumn Landscape in Devon

Photographer:Jackie Freeman Photography, Winkleigh © November 2008

he history of Devon which is a rural English county in the south west of England on the bottom left hand side, has shown us that the county was the scene of frequent warfare right from the year dot.

ow, the Romans were into trade big time, but they were also into conquering and stealing all and everything they could that any country they plundered had to offer. So with that in mind, they made a serious job of settling in the city of Exeter which was cleverly named by the Romans after its river, the Exe, which translates directly from the Latin to ' WATER! '

 Back then, the city of Exeter was navigable from the sea.  And that was absolutely wicked for the Romans as it was a safe haven for their Galleys or Biremes as they were known back then and ultra strategic for its legions.

It was just close enough to good mineral deposits of tin and lead of Dartmoor which had been discovered by our old friends the Cimbri. Presumably whilst they chopped down the trees. That in turn made the effort worthwhile in digging it up. Or at least in getting their slaves to dig it up for them!

Chaio Romans for the input!

Next we welcomed into Britain our Nordic friends the Saxons but not so welcome at the time.... and things in Devon changed somewhat !

The good old village of Winkleigh having previously been called;

Wincheleie, Winchelia, Winkley Lookout - Wynckeleighe, Wynkelegh, Winkly Beacon, Winkelea, Winkley, 

For a time called the Fee of Gloucester then the Fee of Winkley,

Winkley Keynes, Winkley Tracey and now Winkleigh !

Photograph:  Looking north towards All Saints Church - Winkleigh. Devon

Photographer: © Jackie Freeman Photography - Winkleigh, 2008

he ancient market town of Winkleigh sits on the top of a strategic green hill between the rivers Taw and Torridge in the beautiful rolling Devon countryside of England.

 Winkleigh village itself, sits atop an ancient and key defensive settlement site and reasonable evidence exists that there may have been a community here in the Bronze age and possibly even earlier in prehistory. Archaeologists suggesting that perhaps there was once a Mesolithic or Neolithic colony on this spot and an ancient line of barrows here seems to back that theory up.

 Certainly it's clear that the Romans were here around Winkleigh in numbers, though some commentators argue they were not. Yet Lyons tells us that the Romans held a 'strong post' at Winkleigh lookout which was; 2/3 of an acre in a Square Form. We also know there was a Roman Camp and a Fort just a hairs breath away from Winkleigh at North Tawton in about 50 AD and there is a typical Roman road just to the north of Winkleigh too. That's at Stable Green between Wembworthy and here.

A pretty good theory then is that the Romans built it and it and Winkleigh too had a serious purpose !

 It's also recorded that the Thane, Brictric the Golden Hair, better known as Brictric the Saxon - Lord of Gloucester, the son of Elfege of Devonshire (alt. Elphege) who was the primate of Exeter in 1009 at about the time of the Norman Conquest, once owned all the land around Winkleigh.  That's from about 1030 until 1066 when he got clobbered !

So good old Winkleigh certainly changed hands a fair bit during its time line and history.

Onwards then:

he Saxons during their illustrious time in Britain built fortresses all over Devon, as there was always someone trying to kick them out. Particularly the Britons who didn't like them a bit and obviously thought that the Saxons as a nation were heathens because they couldn't cook !

 Winkleigh Hundred as it was called during the Middle Ages, was the name given to the whole area in which the village of Winkleigh stands and it had nothing to do with the popular misconception that it's a hundred acres of land. It was simply down to its population.

The hundred was actually responsible in its own right for sending 100 men in times of war to fight for King and Country and when that finally happened as fears of the Grande y Felicísima Armada - the notorious Spanish Armada were rife in the court of Elizabeth I, the Muster Rolls called for; 

"All habell bodeyed men in the hundred "

"Muster ye Winkleigh, All ye habell bodyed men in the hundred."

In fact, the year 1569 records show that Winkleigh Hundred could proudly sport a fair old first team including;

20 Archers

18 Harquebusiers, local rifleman with a musket of the time.

11 close combat Pikemen, who were well versed in using a spear that was up to 20 feet long.

And 12 Billmen armed with axes.

But they still fell a bit short on manpower and had to call in hand to hand men who could handle anything big and heavy, blunt or sharp as

long as it could maim or kill !

Along comes '1066 and all that', when William the Conqueror (who happened to be French and at that time also the Duke of Normandy) invaded Britain and set about dividing the whole county of Devon up amongst his rich pals, his Norman Barons.

William rather cleverly put them in place, not only as a reward for their allegiances and their services to their King, but also to keep an eye on the Devon inhabitants and to all intents and purposes, govern it. After all, they made good scrumpy!

t was in the rural county of Devon then, that the Norman Barons built their great homes and  estates which were called 'honours' and the Devonshire Barons in turn ruled & influenced the local economy & its agriculture.

Naturally, it follows that its associated industries flourished in the centuries ahead.

 The most important of these 'honours' were at; Plympton, Okehampton, Barnstaple, Harberton and Totnes. Though Winkleigh and North Tawton feature pretty highly. These influential families then grew in size, wealth and strength and became the most prominent families in Devon.

 So it was around these great family estates that the Devonshire villages grew and some of the villages grew up to become  towns, granted a charter by the King based upon their population.

Photograph: Winkleigh aspect from Grays Bridge - Devon

Photographer: © 2008 Jackie Freeman Photography, Winkleigh - Devon - England

A History of the village & Borough Town of Winkleigh, Devon. UK

About the Author:

A Winkleigh History Continues with:

Risdons Survey of Devon and an account of Winkleigh village and 100..

How Winkleigh got its name

Winkleigh a History and the years in between

The role of Bartholemew Gidley, defender of Winkleigh

All Saints Parish Church: Winkleigh, Devon

Local industry and agriculture around Winkleigh

The village pump 

Buildings in Winkleigh
Pubs in Winkleigh & Devon Thatched Cottages, Inns, Ghosts, cars.

RAF airfield Winkleigh: Photos and squadron archive images  

Winkleigh  and the "Black" Squadron espionage missions

The Canadians at Winkleigh,

The US Air Force at Winkleigh.

Project Anvil - Operation Stay Flush: The Kennedy Mission