Dartmoor: Widecombe
 Abbeys |
Widecombe in the Moor is a picturesque Dartmoor village set in a high fold of rolling green hills, immortalised by the folk song ‘Widecombe Fair'. The famous fair is still celebrated on the second Tuesday in September but has grown considerably in size from the days of its being a simple horse-trading fair. The village Church of St Pancras has a very shapely granite tower that acts as a landmark for many miles about, referred to locally as ‘the cathedral of the Moors'. Built in the 14 th century and enlarged in the following two centuries, the church is a long building stretching over 100ft; its roof reveals an exceptional collection of bosses, among them a scapegoat, a green man, an angel, a pelican and three interlocking rabbits. As seen at North Bovey, the three rabbit sign represents local tin-miners who partly paid for the refurbishment of the church. During divine service on 21 st October 1638, a lightning bolt dislodged one of the pinnacles from the tower, which fell through the roof killing four worshippers and injuring many more. The churchwardens recorded the incident in verse, displayed on boards inside the tower.
The adjacent Church House dates from 1537 when it functioned as a brewhouse producing Church Ales; in turn it later became almshouses, a school and finally the local village hall. The neighbouring Sexton's Cottage now belongs to the National Trust and is a Dartmoor Information centre. There are two very old pubs in the village, the 14 th century Old Inn and the ancient Rugglestone Inn - the latter is one of the least altered pubs in England, where customers are served through a half-door from the tap room rather than at a bar counter. The only drawback to visiting Widecombe during the busy summer season, particularly on the day of the Fair, is that at such peak times its village charm is somewhat overwhelmed.
Lying to the south of Widecombe is Buckland in the Moor, the quintessential English rural retreat. Its picturesque thatched cottages nestling romantically amid engulfing trees have adorned a thousand calendars, biscuit tins and jigsaw puzzles and have been the delight of every photographer who happens upon them. Almost as popular in Buckland is the village church, parts of which contain 12 th century Early English architecture; inside is a Norman font and a charming screen painted with saints. However, these historical treasures are not the main attraction, sad to say this is reserved for the clock face renowned for the gilt letters that have replaced the original numerals and spell out ‘my dear mother'. This trite sentimentality was painted on by instruction of the local lord of the manor in 1928 as a memorial. This same lord of the manor was responsible for the Ten Commandments carved on a granite block high above the village on Buckland Beacon, to celebrate Parliament's rejection of a proposed new prayer book, also in 1928.