Chagford in 1836
Chagford is in the hundred of Wonford, near the right bank of the Teign, and not far from the border of Dartmoor Forest, three and a half miles west by north of Moreton Hampstead, and fifteen or sixteen west by south of Exeter.
This small town lies in a picturesque situation at the foot some rugged and lofty hills. There is a bridge of three arches over the Teign, half a mile above the town : the church is an ancient structure, and there are remains of ancient chapels at Great Week and Teigncombe in the parish. The parish is large (8,710 acres) and contains several hamlets : the population in 1831 was 1,868, about half of whom were engaged in agriculture, and a few in the manufacture of woollens.
The market is on Saturday, and there are four fairs in the year. The living is a rectory, of the yearly value of £442, with a glebe house.
The number of schools in the parish by the returns of 1833 was as follows : five day-schools (one partly supported by an endowment), with 190 children, and three Sunday-schools with 210 scholars. There are places of worship for Wesleyan Methodists and Calvinistic Baptists.
Chagford is one of the Stannary towns. In 1643, during the great civil war, there was an action at Chagford between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists, in which the Royalists were victorious. In the latter part of the seventeenth century the town was destroyed by fire.
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