English Heritage sites near Sourton Parish
LYDFORD CASTLE AND SAXON TOWN
4 miles from Sourton Parish
Beautifully sited on the fringe of Dartmoor, Lydford boasts three defensive features. Near the centre is a 13th-century tower on a mound, built as a prison.
OKEHAMPTON CASTLE
4 miles from Sourton Parish
Once the largest castle in Devon, nestling in the foothills of Dartmoor. Reputedly haunted and mentioned in the Domesday Book.
MERRIVALE PREHISTORIC SETTLEMENT
11 miles from Sourton Parish
The group of monuments at Merrivale is one of the finest on Dartmoor: side by side here are the remains of a Bronze Age settlement and a complex of ritual sites.
LAUNCESTON CASTLE
13 miles from Sourton Parish
Launceston Castle dominates the surrounding landscape. Begun soon after the Norman Conquest, unusual in that during rebuilding one tower was constructed with the remains of the older.
GRIMSPOUND
13 miles from Sourton Parish
The best known of many Dartmoor prehistoric settlements, Grimspound dates from the late Bronze Age. The remains of 24 stone houses survive within a massive boundary wall.
UPPER PLYM VALLEY
15 miles from Sourton Parish
This extraordinary landscape encompasses some 300 Bronze Age and medieval sites, covering 15 square kilometres (6 square miles) of Dartmoor.
Churches in Sourton Parish
St Thomas a Becket
Sourton
Okehampton
01837 861580
https://www.northmoorteam.org.uk
On the edge of Dartmoor, in the village of Sourton, St Thomas a Becket is a 14th Century church founded on an earlier settlement - going back before 970 when Aelfgyth was Chaplain and it was likely that there was a simple church building on the site. It was dedicated in honour of St. Thomas a Becket in the 14th Century by descendents of two knights who had taken part in the murder of Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170 - Fitz Urse and William de Tracey, who were both Devon men. It appears that their successors may have wanted to clear their family names and appease their consciences by rededicating the churches to the Christian martyr. The church at Sourton - on a hillside site with wonderful views from the churchyard - has undergone numerous alterations over the centuries but remains a place of peace where prayer can come easily. 'A moorside church, to Tors akin, Grey without and calm within', in the words of Revd A Hunter, vicar of Sourton 1953-1963.
Today St Thomas' is a member of the Northmoor Team of Churches in the Okehampton area on the north-west edge of Dartmoor. There is a Sunday service at St Thomas' on the first and fourth Sundays, and on other special occasions. The bells are rung regularly, and the church is a beautiful venue for baptisms, weddings and other special services. The Team clergy welcome enquiries about baptisms and weddings - see links for more details. Do come to Sourton and visit St Thomas' - new members, and visitors to the area, are very welcome.
Pubs in Sourton Parish
Bearslake Inn
Grade II-listed family run inn on the edge of Dartmoor by the Granite Way, making it ideal for walkers and cyclists. Former Devon longhouse and originally a working farm, the bar area is believed to have 13th Century origins. The interior f...
Highwayman Inn
Set on the edge of Dartmoor National Park and originally built as an Inn in the 13th Century, The Highwayman has claim to being the most unusual pub in Britain. In the same family for sixty years, it is something of an Aladdin's cave, full...
Prewley Moor Arms
A cosy pub with a restaurant just off the A30
Pump & Pedal Cider House & Cycle Workshop
Prewley, Sourton Down, Sourton Down, EX20 4HT
(01837) 861488
okecycles.co.uk