Place:Bishopsteignton, Devon, England

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Bishopsteignton is a village in South Devon, England between Newton Abbot and Teignmouth, close to the Teign Estuary. The village is on a steep hill, and has a post office, small pharmacy and a small, family-run supermarket. The village school has about 150 pupils.

The village has three churches - one gospel hall (Plymouth Brethren), one Methodist and one Anglican - St John The Baptist, with a fine Norman doorway which survived Victorian restoration. Among the tombstones are some who were victims of plague, and above the churchyard are the remains of a 14th century sanctuary chapel built by John Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter to provide a refuge for felons who had accepted life banishment, as they travelled from Exeter to sail from Teignmouth.

The village has three pubs: The Ring of Bells, The Cockhaven Manor and the Bishop John De Grandisson. It also has a local brewery (Red Rock), a vineyard (Old Walls) and a Pick Your Own farm (Shute Fruit and Produce).

There is a small beach on the estuary, known locally as Down Steps, The River Beach or Red Rock. It is reached via a footpath from the village that crosses the main Teignmouth to Newton Abbot road and the railway, and goes down some steep steps - Luxton Steps. This ancient footpath leads to the point where villagers could ford the river at low tide to reach Coombe Cellars.

Half a mile away, overlooking the town, is the Bishop's Palace, now a ruin (hence the local name of the old walls), that was built in the 13th century by Walter de Bronescombe, and expanded later by Grandisson.

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