- Copplestone
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Coordinates: 50°48′N 3°45′W / 50.8°N 3.75°W
Copplestone 
Copplestone Cross
Copplestone
Copplestone shown within DevonPopulation 894 (2001) OS grid reference SS7602 Parish Copplestone District Mid Devon Shire county Devon Region South West Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town CREDITON Postcode district EX17 Dialling code 01363 Police Devon and Cornwall Fire Devon and Somerset Ambulance South Western EU Parliament South West England UK Parliament Tiverton and Honiton List of places: UK • England • Devon Copplestone is a village and civil parish in Mid Devon in the English county of Devon. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 894.[1]
It can be found right in the middle of Devon half way between Exeter and Barnstaple on the A377, nestled in a valley.
The Tarka Line railway comes through the middle of the village and calls at Copplestone railway station.
Copplestone is surrounded by hills and is not far from Dartmoor to the east, which can be seen or Exmoor to the north which is a little farther away.
In the centre of the village is the Copplestone Cross, a decorated celtic granite cross It is mentioned in a charter in 974, but it is far older than that. It stands at the junction of three parishes, and has given a name to a once noted family in Devon, that comes into an old local rhyme: "Crocker, Cruwys, and Coplestone, When the Conqueror came were found at home." [2]
It stands 3.2 metres high, and is 0.6 metres square. Covered with intricate decoration, the granite for the cross must have been brought some 15 kilometres from Dartmoor, which suggests it had some deep cultural significance.
The surrounding countryside has been farmed since the earliest days of settlement, dating back to the time prior to the Roman control of the area.
References
- ^ Office for National Statistics : Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : Mid Devon Retrieved 27 January 2010
- ^ "The Book of the West". http://www.archive.org/stream/bookofwest01bari/bookofwest01bari_djvu.txt. Retrieved 6 July 2011.
External links
Media related to Copplestone at Wikimedia CommonsCategories:- Villages in Devon
- Devon geography stubs
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