This is item one from Robert Dymond's book: "Things New and Old Concerning the Parish of Widecombe-in-the-Moor and its Neighbourhood" (1876)

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THE PARISH OF WIDECOMBE-IN-THE-MOOR

THIS parish occupies a central position in South Devon, lying exactly half-way between Exeter and Plymouth, as the crow is said to fly. For county governmental purposes it is in the Hundred of Haytor, and for ecclesiastical in the Deanery of Moreton and Diocese of Exeter. Its area, though far less than that of its neighbour Lidford, is very large for a Devonshire parish. According to the survey made for the purposes of the Tithe Commutation, it comprises 10,614 acres, but it must have included more than 16,000 acres before the legal decision which, in 1816, gave to Lidford a large portion of its western side, lying within the bounds of the Forest of Dartmoor, and extending beyond Two Bridges.

The present acreage of the parish is made up thus--

The Impropriate Tithes, which are held by the Rev. S. Coldridge under a lease from the Dean and Chapter are commuted at £168 6s. per annum. The Vicarial Tithes are commuted at £280 per annum. The rateable value of the parish is about £5,000 per annum, or an average of less than ten shillings per acre including buildings.

The population, numbering 843 at the first census of 1801, had increased in 1811 to 901, but these returns included the Forest portion since severed. In 1821, the number of inhabitants stood at 934; in 1851 at 959 ; and in 1841 at 1,106. They decreased from 974, in 1851 to 854 in 1861, but again rose to 901 in 1871. The population returns shew that there exists in Widecombe an exceptional preponderance of the male sex. In 1851, there were 524 males and only 464 females. In 1861, 464 males, and 390 females; and, in 1871, there were 469 males and 432 females. In these three decennial periods the number of houses were returned at 180, 171, and 184 respectively, or an average of 5'1 inmates to each house.

The population, now almost exclusively agricultural, must formerly have included a large number of tin miners, the traces of whose surface workings are visible in many parts of the combe or vale of Widecombe. In the Itinerary of Leland, the Librarian of Henry VIII., we are told that “The River of Darte by Tynne Workes carieth much sand to Totenes Bridge and chokith the Depth of the River downeward, and doth much Hurt to Dertmouth Haven." To this mischief the tinners of Widecombe contributed a full share, but whether out of compunction for the evil they wrought, or of gratitude for the profits they derived, they are said to have been mainly instrumental in upraising the glorious tower of the parish church. Westcote, in his view of Devonshire (1630), relates “The course of the River Dart’s proceeding and what places he passeth by.” He does not notice the tinners, but tells us that the river “visits Withecombe (anciently called Wydecombe,) of the coarse and hungry soil; having the adjunct of ‘in-the-moor,’ for such barren places that will not easily by the painful labours of the industrious husbandman be improved and made fruitful are here.” The difficulties of the cultivator are due rather to the high elevation of the land and the consequent excess of cold and moisture, than to any inherent barrenness of the soil. The farms are small, even for Devonshire, and they include an unusual proportion which have long re- mained the property of the cultivators—yeomen in the true sense of the term. That many of the homesteads are of respectable age is shewn by the inscriptions on the arched granite porches which shelter the entrance doors of the dwelling houses. At Ash, near Poundsgate, which has remained in the Hamlyn family for at least two centuries, are the initials, T. H., with the date 1656. In this farm house is preserved a large fragment of oak pannelling, with the familiar linen pattern. At Lake, in the same locality, are the initials T. H., and [t]he date 1661. At Corndonford, we find inscribed 1718 and the letters R.W. The porch at Bittleford bears the date 1705 and the letters R. T. Foxworthy has I770, and Chittleford 1686. The little bridge over the West Webburn, at Pondsworthy, bears the date 1666.

Steep and narrow as many of them still are, the roads of Widecombe have been vastly improved of late years, a change mainly due to the introduction of wheeled vehicles. Even in the lowland parts of Devonshire there are men now living, who can remember regarding with wonder the first cart brought into their parishes. The moorland farmer’s wife is rarely seen riding to church or market on the pillion behind her husband, and the pack horse no longer conveys his produce; but these phenomena were common till lately, and Dartmoor is still no place for travellers of weak nerves, or carriages with feeble springs. The pure invigorating air and solemn grandeur of the Royal Forest will long remain to reward the tourist for his toil, but, if he would study the primitive manners and customs of the people of Devonshire, he must hasten to Dartmoor before Highway Boards and School Boards have completed the work of assimilation with the rest of the county.

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