Pyworthy - Our Village History

PYWORTHY PARISH HISTORY

PYWORTHY IN 1086

The Domesday Book was commissioned in December 1085 by William the Conqueror, who invaded England in 1066. The first draft was completed in August 1086 and contained records for 13,418 settlements in the English counties south of the rivers Ribble and Tees (the border with Scotland at the time).

The original Domesday Book has survived over 900 years of English history and is currently housed in a specially made chest at The National Archives in Kew, London.

The earliest written records we hold about Pyworthy is the Extract from the Domesday Book which we obtained from the National Archives. Pyworthy was at that time known as PAORDE.

PYWORTHY'S PART IN WORLD WAR ONE

Pyworthy's Sundial Memorial

THESE ARE THE FIVE SOLDIERS WHO DID NOT RETURN FROM THE GREAT WAR

Alfred G Slade (NDH), Thomas Smith (ASC)

William Gerry of the 6th Devons

Sidney Inch of the 6th Devons who died in Mesopotamia on 8th March 1916

Sgt Henry Gilbert of the 6th Devons was killed in Mesopotamia and has a memorial stone dedicated to him in St Swithun’s Churchyard

There is a Memorial Plaque dedicated to these soldiers in St Swithuns Church, Pyworthy containing the following inscription:

To the Glory of God and in ever Loving Memory of the aforesaid who gave their lives for King and Country during The Great War 1914-1919.

Greater Love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends. John XV 13

Fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses. Neh IV 14

This window and tablet are here placed by the people of Pyworthy.

Laus Deo

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To read more about World War One see Holsworthy Museum's Project on this subject on the Holsworthy In-Remembrance Facebook Page

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HOW PYWORTHY HAS CHANGED OVER THE YEARS

PYWORTHY OF OLD

Postcard copies of these photographs are held in the Holsworthy Museum. Many of them are not dated and we can only make educated guesses when they were taken. For instance the one of the cottages opposite the park - or where the park is now situated must have been taken well before May 1923 due to the fact that that on Monday 28th May 1923 the Lord Bishop of Exeter consecrated an additional piece of land added to this section of the churchyard. The donor of the gift of this piece of land was Mr John Sanders of Yeomadon. Mr Sanders also gifted a memorial to those who served in HM Forces during World War I and opened a recreation ground for the inhabitants of the parish. In the image of Pyworthy Church the Commemorative Sundial can be seen.

If you can identify yourself or any of the other children in the School photograph, let us know on our comments link.

PYWORTHY IN THE 21st CENTURY

All of the photos in this slideshow have a description and were all taken in around the year 2012. Many of them will be very similar to those in the OLD PYWORTHY slideshow, but there will be some that look totally different e.g. The Molesworth Arms. This was burned down in May 1881 and was rebuilt facing east. There will also be many new additions due to the inevitable expansion of the Parish. The cottages opposite the park all have front gardens now and substantial porches, pretty dormer windows and all have been renovated to a good standard. The school children also look very different now and you will notice that the 'old' photo was taken in 1914 and the present day photo was taken this year, 2014, a hundred years apart. It would be interesting to know whether any of the children featured in the 'old' photograph are ancestors of today's children. Another noticeable difference is that there are now many vehicles shown in the photographs. Although the view of Derriton Hill in the OLD PYWORTHY slideshow captures a black car. Can you identify this car? It may give a clue to the date of the photograph.