Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

OKEHAMPTON

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V20, Page 55 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

OKEHAMPTON , a' See also:

market See also:town and municipal See also:borough in the See also:Tavistock See also:parliamentary See also:division of See also:Devonshire, See also:England, on the See also:east and See also:west Okement See also:rivers, 22 M. W. by N. of See also:Exeter by the See also:London & See also:South-Western railway. Pop. (1901) 2569. The See also:church of All See also:Saints has a See also:fine Perpendicular See also:tower, See also:left uninjured when the See also:nave and See also:chancel were burned down in 1842. See also:Glass is made from See also:granulite found in the Meldon Valley, 3 M. distant. .Both branches of the See also:river abound in small See also:trout. Okehampton See also:Castle, one of the most. picturesque ruins in See also:Devon, probably See also:dates from the 15th See also:century, though its keep may be See also:late See also:Norman. It was dismantled under See also:Henry VIII., but considerable portions remain of the See also:chapel, banqueting See also:hall and See also:herald's tower. Immediately opposite are the traces of a sup-posed See also:British See also:camp, and of the See also:Roman road from Exeter to See also:Cornwall. The See also:custom of tolling the See also:curfew still prevails in Okehampton. The town is, governed by a See also:mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 councillors.

See also:

Area, 503 acres. Okehampton (Oakmanton) was bestowed by See also:William the Conqueror on See also:Baldwin de Brioniis, and became the caput of the See also:barony of Okehampton. At the See also:time of the Domesday Survey of ro86 it already ranked as a borough, with a castle, a market paying 4 shillings, and four burgesses. In the 18th century the See also:manor passed by See also:marriage to the Courtenays, afterwards earls of Devon, and See also:Robert de See also:Courtenay in 1220 gave the See also:king a See also:palfrey to hold an See also:annual See also:fair at his manor of Okehampton, on the See also:vigil and feast See also:day of St See also:Thomas the Apostle. In the reign of Henry III. the inhabitants received a See also:charter (undated) from the See also:earl sf Devon, confirming their rights " in See also:woods and in uplands, in ways and in paths, in See also:common of pastures, in See also:waters and in See also:mills. They were to be See also:free from all See also:toll and to elect yearly a portreeve and a See also:beadle." A further See also:grant of privileges was bestowed in 1292 by the earl of Devon, but no charter of See also:incorporation was granted until that from See also:James I. in 1623, and the See also:confirmation of this by See also:Charles II. in 1684 continued to be the governing charter, the See also:corporation consisting of a mayor, seven See also:principal burgesses and eight assistant burgesses, until the Municipal Corporations See also:Act of 1882. On a See also:petition from the inhabitants the town was reincorporated by a new charter in 1885. Okehampton returned two members to See also:parliament in 1300, and again in 1312 and 1313, after which there was an intermission till 164o, from which date two members were returned regularly until by the Reform Act of 1832 the borough was disfranchised. See See also:Victoria See also:County See also:History, Devonshire; W. B. See also:Bridges, History of Okehampton (1889).

End of Article: OKEHAMPTON

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
OKAPI
[next]
OKEN, LORENZ (1779-1851)