Dunkeswell Abbey, Devon

Description
Dunkeswell Abbey, an ecclesiastical parish formed in 1842 from the civil parishes of Clayhidon, Dunkeswell, and Hemyock. It is 2 miles from Dunkeswell, 3 from Hemyock terminal station of the Culm Vale branch of the G.W.R., and 8 from Honiton. Holy Trinity Church, erected in 1842 by the late Mrs Simcoe, widow of General Simcoe, occupies part of the site of Dunkeswell Abbey, and is a building of stone; there are several stained glass windows. The living is a perpetual curacy; gross yearly value, £99. The manor was known to the Saxons as Doduchewell, was held by Henry Fitzwilliam, was mortgaged by him to a Jew called Amadio, was redeemed by William Lord Brewer, a favourite of Richard I.; and was made the site of a Cistercian monastery, founded by Lord Brewer in 1201, and vested with the profits of Dunkeswell parish church by the Bishop of Exeter, nephew of Lord Brewer, in 1242. The monastery was valued at the dissolution at £294, and was given in 1539 to Lord Russell.