mazing ice age artefacts
Archaeologists have made a number of rare
uncovered at Sherford
and nationally significant discoveries during
investigations at the hew town of Sherford in
Devon, offering a unique glimpse of Britain in
the ice age.
The artefacts have been painstakingly
recovered by a specialist and a highly-
team from across the UK, and are now being
analysed. Initial reports confirm that the
well-
animals have been found, including woolly
mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, wolf, hyena,
horse, reindeer, mountain hare and red fox.
The ‘megafauna’ -
that have been found are estimated to be from
the last ice age, around 30,000-
ago in the Middle Devensian period.
An era o f great change, this is when dramatic
climate change prompted mass extinctions and
when ancient creatures roamed the UK. It is
hoped the Sherford discoveries will provide
new insights into early Britain and enrich what
is already known.
Sherford is a new 5,500-
under development on the edge o f Plymouth.
The Sherford community is already home to
SHERFORD HISTORY
1. The Origins of Sherford
The late Group Captain Benny Goodman’s fascinating book ‘One Thousand Years of
Sherford’ dates the first mention of Sherford Manor as 1018. At that time it was known as
‘Scire-
royal estate of Cadelintone (Chillington) to his sister-
Sherford, on the occasion of her marriage to the powerful Saxon Earl Godwin. Their
daughter, Edith, married Edward the Confessor and became Queen of England. The
second of their five sons became King Harold, who succeeded Edward the Confessor.
Their eldest son died during a Crusade in 1052 and all the other four were killed at the
Battle of Hastings. William the Conqueror founded the Abbey at Battle to celebrate his
triumph, and this Abbey was dedicated to St. Martin of Tours.
The Conqueror established St. Nicholas’ Priory in Exeter, attached to St. Olave’s Church
(which still exists near the Cathedral), as a subsidiary to the Abbey at Battle, and the
Manor of Sherford was, in turn, under the control of the Priory, to which it paid a quarterly
rental up until the Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII, when it was demolished in
September 1536. In fact the Sherfordian contribution to the coffers of the Priory, which
derived its income from 40 different sources, amounted to no less than 18% of the total.
William’s action was dictated by his personal dislike of Harold, whom he always
considered a usurper.
He alleged that Edward the Confessor, who was his cousin, had nominated him, Duke
William, as his successor in 1052. In the Domesday Book, King Harold is always referred
to only as an Earl. Countess Gytha set up a Resistance to the Conqueror, based in Exeter,
but in 1067 William marched to the city and laid siege to it. After 18 days, she was allowed
to flee, never to return.
2. St. Martin’s Church
In 1457 a Commission was appointed to dedicate Sherford Church to St. Martin of Tours,
no doubt in deference to the Abbey at Battle. But there certainly was a church here in
Saxon times. The ancient piscina in the chancel is evidence of its Saxon origin, since they
were fitted into churches from 600 AD, to rinse vessels used for Mass, and Sherford is
included in a list of pre-
by J.M. Slater. The church is also built on the south side of a hill (because evil spirits blew
in from the north), is surrounded by trees and is near water. We found a very similarly sited
12th century church, also dedicated to St. Martin of Tours, at Vitrac in the Valley of the
Dordogne in France, like Sherford on a promontory, in a valley and near water.
There are records of a church in Sherford in the tax returns (to Pope Nicholas) in 1288,
and a document of 1291 mentions Stokenham Church with its chapelries of Sherford and
Chivelstone (another particularly lovely old church of the same period which the U3A
Group have already visited). The allegation on the signpost in Frogmore that Sherford
Church is 13th century therefore is certainly true insofar as the existence of a church on the
site, and it is possible that in the present building there are some 13th century remains, but
we cannot be sure on that point. What is certain is that the church is a particularly lovely
example of early English architecture, and, fortunately, has not been over-
Victorians.
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Notable features are, firstly, the original carved and painted rood screen.
I am not going to elaborate on this, because you will get a far more detailed and informed
talk about this rood screen, and indeed all about rood screens from Peter Hadley. The
altar rail and glazed tiles date from 1895. The pitch pine pews were made in the 19th
Century by Thomas Mitchell of Brook House, which is just opposite the Village Hall.
Electricity was brought to the church in 1958 by a bequest from a Miss Kenturah
Fairweather, one of the last tenants of Malston Barton, one of the three manors of
Sherford, which will form the second part of my talk.
Before I conclude the first part of my talk, there is an interesting anecdote in connection
with the church. In 1598 a certain Richard Marsh, a man described in the rolls as a
‘common poacher’, lived at Hill Farm, the second old house on the right hand side as you
proceed up the village. In that year, his wife gave birth to a daughter, baptised as Eulalia.
As a young girl she became so ill that she was pronounced ‘dead’ and her body was taken
to the church, presumably in a coffin, for burial. But, during the funeral service, she
revived, got married at the age of 21, emigrated to America and lived to the grand old age
of 91.
The Rood Screen by Peter Hadley
Peter Hadley described the efforts made to arrange for and fund the restoration of the
Rood Screen. It required much time and dedication from all concerned. Some of the
funding was raised locally by Dick Lloyd and others. Some came from the Heritage Lottery
Fund. Here is a note from a letter he sent to Celia Strong for the Local History Group:
“Recent studies undertaken for us by polychromy expert, Eddie Sinclair and timber
restoration consultant, Hugh Harrison have revealed the rood screen partition, between
chancel and nave, to be an important medieval work of art. On timber panels between
ornately carved spandrels are fine early 16th Century Flemish-
renaissance style, unique to Devon, lying under layers of varnish and over-
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This picture shows work in progress by Eddie Sinclair:
3. The Manor of Sherford
The chief Manor was situated at Homefield, which lies at the entrance to the village
coming up from Frogmore, but nothing is left of the mediaeval building. The other manors
were:
a) Keynedon Barton, situated half way between Frogmore and Sherford, is now a
farm and a lovely old building. I had the privilege of visiting Keynedon with an
architecture and local history group last year. It was the seat of the Hals Family
from 1412 until 1684.
The picture, taken
during that visit,
shows the entrance
with Dick Lloyd (left
of centre).
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If you take a look at the sketch which I am now handing round, this gives an
idea of what the place looked like in its heyday. The original buildings had a
scattered Anglo-
chamber block. The Long Hall lies to the rear of the main house and is now
used for livestock. The chamber block lies on the RHS of the sketch. In 1409 a
chapel was added in between the two.
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In the late 15th and 16th centuries considerable reconstruction was done to the
house by the Hals Family. What can still be seen today from the road is the
lovely stone porch, and, opposite the entrance drive is a ruined building which
was built as a mediaeval gazebo overlooking a deer park.
As can be seen from the sketch, if one has the privilege of going round the
present house and buildings, there are many more traces of the past to be seen.
b) Stancombe which lies to the north of the village. A green lane leads to it, the
entrance to which is halfway up the main road or street just past Hill Farm on the
RHS, or it can be accessed by driving up through the village and turning first
right at the top of the hill. When we came to Sherford in 1967, it was still a farm,
but since turned into a holiday let complex. It retains many of the old buildings
and is a most attractive place.
c) Malston Barton, which lies off the back road to Kingsbridge, and which has, in
my view, the most interesting history, which we will come to later in this talk, but
of the old buildings there is not now a great deal to be seen.
All these manors are mentioned in the Domesday Book. In the church, to the left of the
altar, on the south side, is the chapel of the Reynell Family of Malston, and on the north
side, the chapel of the Halses of Keynedon. The first Lord of the Manor of Sherford was
Baron Judhel of Totnes, a favourite of William the Conqueror, who granted him no less
than 107 manors in all. Each holder of each manor had to pay tribute in the form of
supplying armed and mounted knights for military service, either in England or abroad.
William the Conqueror had 5000 knights at his disposal through the manorial system. The
obligation of providing soldiery gradually changed to making money payments, which
might be said to be the origin of the Tax System. The money was then used for hiring
mercenary troops.
Sherford Manor was administered by a bailiff and Walter Lawry, the bailiff prior to the
Dissolution of the Monasteries, lived at our current residence, Brook Cottage in the early
16th Century. We will show it to you at the end of the visit. It is on the left of this old picture.
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We think it possible that the cottage was specifically built as the residence for the bailiff at
that time. After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Sherford Manor, along with many
others, was sold to a Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Henry VIII, Sir Thomas Heneage of
Lincolnshire, who became a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. He returned it to the Crown
before he died in 1552, and it then passed into the hands of a number of noble gentlemen,
all of whom are listed in Benny Goodman’s book, until the Manor was finally dismembered
in 1875.
Malston
The name is derived from the Malleston Family, who owned the Manor from the 13th
Century, and in 1370 it was owned by William Stighull, who was granted the right to have
his own private chapel, and hold divine service there. Through marriage it then passed into
the hands of the Reynells, already mentioned, and William Reynell can claim to be the
most famous Sherfordian ever, since he fought at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, leading
his retainers under the banner of the Duke of Bedford, brother to King Henry V, and after
the battle he was appointed Governor of Calais. The Muster of Rolls for the County of
Devon in 1569 reads that the Company Commander for the able-
was George Reynell, Gentleman. He had under his command a group of archers,
harquebusiers, pikemen and billmen, all ready to engage the forces of Philip of Spain, had
the Armada succeeded in invading Britain.
His descendant, Edmund, was a staunch Royalist in the Civil War, and was involved in the
repair and re-
a siege by the Roundheads for four months from January to May, 1646. Its collapse ended
Royalist resistance in Devon.
Another Reynell, George, became a tormentor of the Dissenters as a JP, together with his
colleague, John Bear of Bearscombe (the old farm on the back road to Kingsbridge).
They arrested a Nonconformist minister, John Hicks, whilst holding a meeting of
Dissenters in Kingsbridge, and brought him to trial on a trumped up murder charge. He
was acquitted and escaped that time, but he then joined the ill-
as a minister, was arrested after the Battle of Sedgemoor, found guilty at the Bloody
Assize of Judge Jeffreys and hanged. See more about Hicks in the report of our meeting
on Nonconformism.
This interesting family lasted at Malston until 1735, when the male line came to an end,
and Malston subsequently passed through many different owners, many of whom were
absentee landlords, eventually being incorporated into the estate of Buckland Tout Saints.
The estates were split up in 1921.
4. Other Places of Interest in Sherford
The School: A philanthropic merchant of Dartmouth, named George Dottin, who died in
1701, left in his Will, amongst other charitable bequests “£50 to the Overseers of the Poor
and Churchwardens of Sherford” for the relief of “Decayed seamen or seamen’s widows”,
but, if there were none such, then the moneys were to be used to educate poor children.
Land was purchased with this sum at Aveton Gifford and the rent used for this purpose.
In 1878 the Churchwardens applied to the Charity Commissioners for the administration of
Dottin’s Gift to be placed on a proper footing, and this led to the first school in Sherford for
up to 100 pupils in 1879. The old School House is just around the corner from the church
on the way to Frogmore. It closed in 1933, and, to the best of our knowledge, the Charity
has been wound up.
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Fey’s Cottage and its neighbour (facing the church on the other side of the road)
This was probably used as a Church house, where hymn singing could be practised and
refreshment taken after services. It has a newly discovered old baking oven in an old
fireplace and lofty ceilings with a huge roof-
The adjoining cottage is said to have been used by Poor Law Commissioners/
Churchwardens to house the impoverished.
There used to be another cottage outside the church where the phone box stands – see
photograph, taken in 1900.
Wesleyan Chapel
This was erected in 1828 at the top of the village in the garden of the village blacksmith.
It flourished at first, but, especially after WWII, congregations dwindled and it closed in
1956 and became a private house.
Dick and Audrey Lloyd
July 2014