Northlew

Northlew sits about seven miles northwest of Okehampton, with Dartmoor to the south. The parish council notes that “most places in the village have excellent views over Dartmoor.” The village is not served by any main road, reached instead by the narrow lanes typical of this part of West Devon.

Its centre is built around one of the largest open squares in Devon, reflecting Saxon origins, with thatched cottages facing the fifteenth-century Church of St Thomas of Canterbury and its rood screen. John Betjeman called Northlew “a village, which almost became a town,” a description that still fits its scale: a primary school, a post office and the Green Dragon pub sit just off the square.

The village takes its name from the River Lew and the ancient manor of Lew recorded in the Domesday Book. Victory Hall, built after the First World War, still hosts an annual produce and craft show alongside the church and Methodist chapel’s regular activities. The 2021 census recorded 782 residents in the village itself, a farming community surrounded by fields and narrow lanes.

Okehampton gives faster access to Dartmoor’s northern edge and the A30. Use Northlew instead if you want a working farming village with its own square rather than a market town as your base.