Dunsford

For the place in Canada, see Dunsford, Ontario.
Dunsford
Dunsford
 Dunsford shown within Devon
Population 688 
OS grid referenceSX813892
DistrictTeignbridge
Shire countyDevon
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town EXETER
Postcode district EX6
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentCentral Devon
List of places
UK
England
Devon

Coordinates: 50°41′24″N 3°40′55″W / 50.690°N 3.682°W / 50.690; -3.682

Dunsford is a village in Devon, England, just inside the Dartmoor National Park.

The place-name 'Dunsford' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Dunesforda, meaning 'Dunn's ford'.[1]

The village has a number of traditional thatched cottages; a primary school which has a swimming pool, climbing wall and sports field; one village shop and post office; a tea room and a public house. St Mary's Church, built between 1420 and 1455,[2] is located in the village centre.

Dunsford holds a village show at the beginning of July every year and the Dunsford Amateur Dramatic Society (DADS) produces a pantomime in the Village Hall in early January. The villagers also hold an annual fancy dress pancake race in the streets.

Dunsford Halt was a station on the Teign Valley Line from Exeter to Heathfield station that served the village from 1928 to 1958.

Great Fulford House lies to the west of Dunsford; a Domesday manor which has been the home of the Fulford family since at least 1190. The present house was mainly built in the early 16th century and is a semi-fortified mansion house built round a central courtyard.[3] It was the backdrop to the 2014 reality-television programme, Life Is Toff.

The River Teign as it passes through Dunsford Nature Reserve

Nearby is Dunsford nature reserve which is managed by Devon Wildlife Trust and consists of 57 hectares of river valley woodland, heath-covered rocky slopes and fertile flood-plain scrub and grassland. It is especially known for its wild daffodils and six species of fritillary butterfly.

The hamlet of Butts is about one mile west of Dunsford.

References

  1. Eilert Ekwall, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p.154.
  2. St Mary's Church guidebook, April 1992
  3. Great Fulford House. Retrieved : 2010-05-13
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