Abbotsham
Abbotsham maps (2 available)
Map of Devon
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Abbotsham books (21 available)
Barnstaple Town Walk Guide
Paperback
Dartmoor Pocket Album
Paperback
Devon Pocket Album
Paperback
Abbotsham memories
Read and share memories of Abbotsham and Devon inspired by Frith photos
School Days
As a boarding pupil at Grenville College I used to walk up to Abbotsham in sunny summer weather from Moreton House with my Sunday packed lunch. It was a very quiet village and one of my main memories is the range of old carvings on the pews in the old church.
The village was also on the route of our cross-country runs and it was the point at which the final effort needed to be made to beat the visiting team.
Contributed by Roger Griffith
Abbotsham School In The 1960's
Growing up at Fairy Cross, Alwington and as our village school had closed in the late 1950s we had to catch the school bus daily morning and afternoon to Abbotsham Primary School. (Shown in the centre back of the picture next to St Helens Church). I started in 1963 in the "little ones class" of the two roomed school. Mrs Elston was my first teacher there and she had also taught at Alwington School before it closed - Miss Ball was the headmistress throughout my time there. I can remember the outside boys toilet block in the playground (no flushing then) before they were replaced later in the decade and also there was an old victorian cloakroom (never used by us ...read more here
Contributed by Derek England
Family connections.
This picture was actually taken in the early 1960's and later turned into a postcard. The man on the motorbike is my late father, John Ridd, who was a local farm manager at the time. The motorbike by the way is a BSA Bantam - he was the only person in the village who had one like it!
Contributed by Kelvin Ridd
Devon memories
Abbotsham School In The 1960's
Growing up at Fairy Cross, Alwington and as our village school had closed in the late 1950s we had to catch the school bus daily morning and afternoon to Abbotsham Primary School. (Shown in the centre back of the picture next to St Helens Church). I started in 1963 in the "little ones class" of the two roomed school. Mrs Elston was my first teacher there and she had also taught at Alwington School before it closed - Miss Ball was the headmistress throughout my time there. I can remember the outside boys toilet block in the playground (no flushing then) before they were replaced later in the decade and also there was an old victorian cloakroom (never used by us ...read more here
A memory of Abbotsham contributed by Derek England
Extracts From Abbotsham & Devon books
According to an inscription on
one of the octagonal piers, the
north aisle was built in 1593,
although a church must have
existed here much earlier as
the font is 13th-century. The
chancel was rebuilt in 1865.
An extract from from"Devon Churches Photographic Memories".
The Green is now built over. This picture shows the Union Workhouse. Subsequently, it would become the
Alexandra Hospital, which remained in business until 1978 when the new North Devon General hospital was
opened.
An extract from from"Barnstaple Photographic Memories".
This picture faces the opposite direction to the previous one. The cabman’s shelter seen in photographs 49616 &
64564 on pages 34 to 36 is still in place. On the left, The Golden Lion was a 17th century merchant’s house. Today
it is called The Bank inn. This district was known locally as The Hearts of Oak.
An extract from from"Barnstaple Photographic Memories".
By the time this picture was taken, the trees had gown to an enormous size and needed surgery. The river still pro-
vided scope for pleasure boating and Shapland & Petter’s factory had grown to its full size. Today, boating is but a memory.
An extract from from"Barnstaple Photographic Memories".
All is tranquil a couple of miles up-river of Barnstaple. The L&SW railway follows the river almost from the water-
shed at Copplestone near Crediton, 30 miles away. The houses on the left are at Bishops Tawton; the riverside walk
is still available for those who seek peace and solitude.
An extract from from"Barnstaple Photographic Memories".