Cruwys Morchard/ˌkruːzˈmɔːrtʃɑːrd/ is an ecclesiastical and civil parish in the Mid Devon district of the county of Devon in England. It is located about four to five miles west of Tiverton along the road to Witheridge. The parish covers about 5,765 acres (23.33 km2) of land, and comprises a number of scattered houses and farms, and three small hamlets, Pennymoor, Way Village and Nomansland. The church and the manor house are in the centre of the parish. The population at the time of the 2000 census was 461. The parish takes its name from the Cruwys family who have been Lords of the Manor here since the reign of King John (1199–1216).
The name Morchard is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, in the forms Morchet, Morceth, and Morcet. It is derived from the Common Brittonic words mǭr ("big") and cę̃d ("wood") (corresponding to modern Welsh mawr coed; thus it once meant "large wood".[1]: 291 The affix of Cruwys, first attested as part of the place-name between 1257 and 1280, is from the settlement's possession by the de Crues family, who held the manor there in the thirteenth century, and to distinguish the settlement from the nearby Morchard Bishop.[2]
History
Arms of Cruwys: Azure, a bend per bend indented argent and gules between six escallops or
It is believed that a wooden church existed in Cruwys Morchard from the time of Godfrey de Sowy, who was the first rector in 1262.
The Church of the Holy Cross was built in 1529[7] with a spire on top of the church tower. This, however, was struck by lightning in 1689, and the consequent major fire, which melted the bells, necessitated the rebuilding of the top stage of the tower in brick. It also destroyed painted windows which bore the arms of the Cruwys family. The repairs, which also involved a new roof and new pews, took thirteen years to complete. The windows were replaced with stained glass renderings of the Cruwys arms.
There was also a chapel belonging to Cruwys Morchard House which was the burial place of the Cruwys family, but the chapel was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell, and it is believed that many family monuments were destroyed at the same time.
Hugh Peters (1598–1660), the preacher and regicide, spent much of his childhood at Cruwys Morchard House with his uncle and aunt Lewis Cruwys and Sarah Cruwys née Treffry.
Cruwys Morchard is the alias of Clytie Potts, a fictional character in the 2006 novel A Darkling Plain, written by Devon resident Philip Reeve.
References
^Coates, Richard; Breeze, Andrew (2000). Celtic Voices, English Places: Studies of the Celtic Impact on Place-Names in Britain. Stamford: Tyas. ISBN1900289415..
^Watts, Victor, ed. (2004). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-Names, Based on the Collections of the English Place-Name Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521168557., s.v. Morchard (3).
^Thorn, Caroline & Frank, (eds.) Domesday Book, (Morris, John, gen.ed.) Vol. 9, Devon, Parts 1 & 2, Phillimore Press, Chichester, 1985, chap.19, holdings of William Cheever, 19,35, Morceth
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