18th June 1940
David Wye on his way from
Edmonton to Clayhidon
|
CLAYHIDON is one of the largest
parishes in Devon, some seven miles long and three miles wide. Situated on the central
eastern side of the county it adjoins the county boundary with Somerset. It forms an
important part of the Blackdown Hills, an area designated as an Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty. The nearest towns are Wellington, Somerset, four miles to the north and
Honiton, Devon, ten miles to the south. The
population is small and scattered. The village centre consists of six houses based around
St. Andrews Church and the Half Moon Inn. Regardless of how scattered the community might
be, history is always in the making and being recorded. This is a record of the
parish’s history put together by the Clayhidon Local History Group. Most histories of
Devon dismiss Clayhidon (if they mention it at all) in a few lines, yet there is a wealth
of information about the parish. Certainly nothing sensational or headline breaking has
occurred, the most notorious event being the murder of a tax collector in 1853. It is
basically a record of the way people lived through the ages in a very isolated community. |