Atherington, a village and a parish in Devonshire. The village stands on a hill, adjacent to the river Taw, 1 mile from Umberleigh station on the L. & S.W.R., and 7 miles SSE of Barnstaple, under which it has a post office; money order office, High Bickington; telegraph office, Umberleigh railway station. The parish comprises 3337 acres; population, 475. The manor belongs to the Bassetts. A palace of King Athelstan is said to have stood at Umberleigh, and an ancient chapel was there, which also is said to have been built by him. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter; value, £416. The church is an ancient edifice, of nave, chancel, and north aisle, and was thoroughly restored in 1844. It was a cell to Caen Abbey, and contains a very handsome carved screen, and two recumbent effigies of the 15th century, brought to it in 1800 from the chapel at Umberleigh. There are a Baptist chapel in the village, and a Wesleyan chapel at Langridge.
