Widecombe-in-the-Moor

Widecombe-in-the-Moor is a village and large parish in Dartmoor National Park, in Teignbridge district. The name is thought to come from 'Withy-combe', willow valley. The church of St Pancras is built of granite, dates from the fourteenth century and was enlarged over the next two centuries, partly with money from tin mining. Its tower earned it the nickname 'Cathedral of the Moors'. Sources give the tower's height as 120 feet and as 135 feet.

On Sunday 21 October 1638 a thunderstorm struck the church during a service. The tower pinnacle at the north-east corner fell into the nave, four people were killed and about 60 were hurt. The vicar, George Lyde, wrote an account that was published within weeks, and verse about the event is painted on boards near the west door. The grave slabs of Roger Hill and his wife, who died in it, are in the church floor. Local legend blamed the Devil. A strange substance found on the tower stairs has led to the suggestion of ball lightning.

Church House, beside the church, was built about 1537. Sources differ on its first use: a brewery for church ales, or a place where parishioners who had travelled far could rest and eat. It was later an almshouse, then in the nineteenth century a workhouse downstairs with the village school above. The Rev. Wood gave it to the National Trust in 1933. It has a long porch on seven octagonal granite pillars and a set of village stocks inside, and is now used for community events.

Widecombe Fair is held on the second Tuesday of September. It began in the early 1800s as a market for sheep, cattle and ponies, though its own website says some think it is older. Livestock are no longer sold, and it is run by volunteers. The song about it, naming Uncle Tom Cobley, was first published in 1880.