Werrington in 1902

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Taken from the Kelly’s Post Office Directory of 1902.

WERRING-TON is a parish on the river Tamar, on the high road from Launceston to Stratton, and separated from Cornwall by the river Attery : it is 3 miles northpast from Launceston and 4 miles south-west from Tower Hill station on the London and South Western railway, in the Western division of the county, Black Torrington hundred, Lifton petty sessional division, Launceston union and county court district, rural deanery of Trigg Major, archdeaconry of Bodmin and diocese of Truro. The Bude canal, which terminated at Druxton in this parish, is not now used. The church of SS. Martin and Giles was built in 1742, in the peculiar semi-classic style then prevailing, and at that time was an oblong
structure, consisting of nave with quasi-chancel, shallow transepts and an embattled western tower, with pinnacles, originally containing 2 bells, both cast by John Pennington and Co. in 1769; in 1898 a new peal of 8 bells (6 of which were given by the Coode family, of Polopit Tamar), were cast and hung by Messrs. Taylor, of Loughborough : the building has plain semicircularheaded windows and a flat ceiling ; the transepts appropriated as private sittings, with entrances from the outside, and the tower is singularly flanked a few yards distant north and south by two dwarf replicas of itself; around the whole exterior of this edifice are equi-distant niches or alcoves, containing twelve life-sized figures, said to represent the Apostles ; these were removed from a former church which stood in Werrington Park, as was also the circular Norman font and a curious mural monument, with effigies in Elizabethan costume attached to the outside of the east wall : on the south side is a memorial window to the wife (1872) and two daughters (1869 and 1871) of Edward Coode esq. of Polapit Tamar: the east window is a memorial to the Rev. E. King, a former vicar, and there are others to the late Edward Coode esq. of Polapit Tamar, d. 1894, and the late William Stert Milnes esq. : there are 173 sittings. The church was restored in 1891 at a cost of between 2,500 and 3,000, under the direction of Messrs. St. Aubyn and Wadling, architects, of London ; the work comprised the building of a new chancel and organ chamber, the erection of a new arched roof, the conversion of the two galleries, or private pews, into independent class rooms, approached by spiral stone staircases, the enlargement of the vestry, and the opening and fitting of the chamber over the Morice vault ; the tower was also new roofed, the interior re-seated and re-floored throughout, the window frames renewed in stone, heating apparatus fixed and a thorough system of drainage carried out. The register dates from the year 1653. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value 176, with residence and 41/2 acres of glebe, in the gift of John Charles Williams esq. and held since 1901 by the Rev. Ponsonby Augustus Moore Sullivan M.A. of Keble College, Oxford. There is a Bible Christian chapel at Bridgetown and a Wesleyan chapel at Lady Cross, built in 1879 ant’ smiting 180 persons. Polapit Tamar, the seat of Richard Carlyon Coode esq. D.L., J.P. is a modern mansion in the Cinque Cento style, with extensive grounds, in the eastern portion of the parish, on the Tamar. Werrington Park, the seat of John Charles Williams esq. is a beautiful estate in the southern portion of the parish, formerly belonging to the Duke of Northumberland ; the mansion stands on an eminence commanding extensive and varied views of woodland scenery : the larger portion of the estate is in Cornwall, and the river Attery, which here divides the counties, runs through the grounds: the park of 355 acres is inclosed by a stone wall 8 feet high, and outside this are woods and plantations of about 150 acres: the whole estate has an area of 2,600 acres. Richard Carlyon Coode esq. who is lord of the manor of Polapit Tamar; the Duke of Bedford, who is lord of the manor of Werrington ; John Charles Williams esq. of Werrington Park, and Percy Walker Milnes esq. are the principal landowners. The soil is mostly clay; subsoil, clay. The chief crops are wheat, oats and barley. The area of the parish is 5,257 acres of land and 48 of water; rateable value, 4,468 ; the population in 1901 was 658 in the civil and in the ecclesiastical parish, and is principally agricultural. By Local Government Board Order 20,640, a detached part of Northcott, known as Issacott or Hessacott, was added to this parish, March 24, 1888. Deputy Sexton, Josiah Ayres. National School, Lady Cross (mixed), erected by the Duchess of Northumberland in 1865 and enlarged in 1895 by J. C. Williams esq. for 160 children; average attendance, 113; Benjamin Thomas Vanstone, master; Miss Morwena Ward, assistant mistress

YEOLMBRIDGE, in this parish, is on the river Attery, here crossed by a bridge; here also is an extensive slate quarry, the property of the trustees of the late William Stert Milnes esq. which exhibits some remarkable cleavage planes in arched strata. A reading room with library is supported by the resident population.
Post Office, Yeolmbridge. Mrs. Annabella Toms, subpostmistress.
Letters received from Launceston at 7.45 a.m. ; dispatched at 5.25 p.m. Postal orders are issued here, but not paid. Newport Launceston is the nearest money order & telegraph office, 2 miles distant

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