Whitstone
Encyclopedia
Whitstone is a village and civil parish in east Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. It is roughly halfway between the towns of Bude
and Launceston.
of 1086, when Whitstone was called 'Witestan', and was held by Ralph from the Count of Mortain. The Witestan area, called a "hundred", was 12 acres (5 hectares), with 8 cattle, 8 pigs, 40 sheep and 40 goats: one of the houses in Whitstone from this time still remains and is still inhabited.
In the 19th century, the parish was called Whitstone. There were around 500 villagers, and a Post Office, and the entire parish comprised around 4000 acres (16 km²). The Bude Canal
passed through it.
(a major tourist destination) and Launceston (a former capital of Cornwall). Whitstone is around three miles (5 km) from the coast, at Widemouth and surrounded by rolling hills and fields. From the higher points of the village, you can see as far as Dartmoor
(to the east) and Bodmin Moor
(to the south). Down a minor road, from the B3254, is the entrance to Whitstone Woods, which reaches over to Week St Mary
, and includes a river that creates the border to Whitstone parish and is a tributary
for the larger river that runs through Bude
, the River Neet.
The Parish Plan 2010 states that Whitstone has 582 inhabitants in 207 households. The proportion of 18-30 year olds is well below the national average and the opposite is true of those of pension age. The parish of Whitstone is bounded to the east by the river Tamar and the Devon county border, to the north by Bridgerule, northwest Marhamchurch, southwest Week St Mary and southeast Boynton and North Tamerton. The B3254 carries about 3000 vehicles per day of which 150 are HGVs (based on the last traffic count which was outside the tourist season). The main employment is agriculture and agricultural services, with construction and public sector employment (the two schools) roughly equal second; tourism and haulage are also important to the village. Self employment is 3 times the national average.
. There are two small housing estates off the main road, one much smaller than the other, and several farms on the outskirts of the village. The adjoining roads in the village are home to most of the population.
, a Methodist Chapel and a Church of England
Church.
The Methodist Chapel is at the centre of the village. The Anglican Church of St Anne is in one of the smaller lanes off the main road. There is a long path by the cemetery
leading down to the church. The church is one of the oldest buildings in the village, built around 1400: it has two aisles and a west tower. Notable features are the Norman doorway and the Norman font. The church was restored
in 1882. There is also a separate cemetery for non-churchgoers (given to the village in 1926).
, and a recording studio
owned by international singer/songwriter Tori Amos
.
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is roughly halfway between the towns of Bude
Bude
Bude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
and Launceston.
History
The earliest mention of the village is in the Domesday BookDomesday Book
Domesday Book , now held at The National Archives, Kew, Richmond upon Thames in South West London, is the record of the great survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086...
of 1086, when Whitstone was called 'Witestan', and was held by Ralph from the Count of Mortain. The Witestan area, called a "hundred", was 12 acres (5 hectares), with 8 cattle, 8 pigs, 40 sheep and 40 goats: one of the houses in Whitstone from this time still remains and is still inhabited.
In the 19th century, the parish was called Whitstone. There were around 500 villagers, and a Post Office, and the entire parish comprised around 4000 acres (16 km²). The Bude Canal
Bude Canal
The Bude Canal was a canal built to serve the hilly hinterland in the Devon and Cornwall border territory in the United Kingdom, chiefly to bring lime-bearing sand for agricultural fertiliser. The Bude Canal system was one of the most unusual in Britain....
passed through it.
Geography
Whitstone is situated on the B3254 road, halfway between BudeBude
Bude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
(a major tourist destination) and Launceston (a former capital of Cornwall). Whitstone is around three miles (5 km) from the coast, at Widemouth and surrounded by rolling hills and fields. From the higher points of the village, you can see as far as Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
(to the east) and Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....
(to the south). Down a minor road, from the B3254, is the entrance to Whitstone Woods, which reaches over to Week St Mary
Week St Mary
Week St Mary is a civil parish and village in northeast Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated south of Bude close to the River Tamar and the border between Cornwall and Devon in the Hundred of Stratton....
, and includes a river that creates the border to Whitstone parish and is a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
for the larger river that runs through Bude
Bude
Bude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
, the River Neet.
The Parish Plan 2010 states that Whitstone has 582 inhabitants in 207 households. The proportion of 18-30 year olds is well below the national average and the opposite is true of those of pension age. The parish of Whitstone is bounded to the east by the river Tamar and the Devon county border, to the north by Bridgerule, northwest Marhamchurch, southwest Week St Mary and southeast Boynton and North Tamerton. The B3254 carries about 3000 vehicles per day of which 150 are HGVs (based on the last traffic count which was outside the tourist season). The main employment is agriculture and agricultural services, with construction and public sector employment (the two schools) roughly equal second; tourism and haulage are also important to the village. Self employment is 3 times the national average.
Layout and communications
The village is built along the B3254, with houses, detached or semi-detached, bungalows and terracesTerraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
. There are two small housing estates off the main road, one much smaller than the other, and several farms on the outskirts of the village. The adjoining roads in the village are home to most of the population.
Places of worship
Whitstone has two places of worshipWorship
Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. The word is derived from the Old English worthscipe, meaning worthiness or worth-ship — to give, at its simplest, worth to something, for example, Christian worship.Evelyn Underhill defines worship thus: "The absolute...
, a Methodist Chapel and a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Church.
The Methodist Chapel is at the centre of the village. The Anglican Church of St Anne is in one of the smaller lanes off the main road. There is a long path by the cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
leading down to the church. The church is one of the oldest buildings in the village, built around 1400: it has two aisles and a west tower. Notable features are the Norman doorway and the Norman font. The church was restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
in 1882. There is also a separate cemetery for non-churchgoers (given to the village in 1926).
Business and economics
The village has around nine businesses, including a convenience storeConvenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
, and a recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
owned by international singer/songwriter Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
.