Churchstow

Churchstow sits on the A379, 1.9 miles northwest of Kingsbridge and 16 miles southeast of Plymouth. The parish had a population of 465 at the 2011 census, small enough that the village keeps its single-street character while still sitting on one of the South Hams’ main roads.

The name records the village’s older importance: in 1220, Churchstow was the parent town of Kingsbridge, before the newer settlement on the creek grew past it. “Stow” is Saxon for a holy place, and the village takes its name from the church standing on the high ridge above the valley, which gave rise to the parish’s own more recent growth in Kingsbridge’s shadow.

St Mary’s, the parish church, dates from the 14th century and is built from local dark slate. It holds Grade II* listed status, a rarer grading than the parish churches in many of its neighbouring villages, and it stands as the reason the ridge-top settlement kept the “stow” in its name.

The village’s one pub, the Church House Inn, dates from the 17th century and is also built from green slate. It serves beer from St Austell Brewery and carries Cask Marque accreditation. Between the church, the pub and the short drive into Kingsbridge, this is a base for a quiet stay close to the South Hams’ shops and harbour rather than one built around village amenities of its own.