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The Complete History of Cockington Information kindly provided by the Parish Of Cockington
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THE COMING OF THE NORMANS TO THE REFORMATION
1066: THE BATTLE OF HASTINGS (WHERE BATTLE ABBEY NOW STANDS).
The reason for this invasion, like all wars, is somewhat Machiavellian. William of Normandy believed that Edward the Confessor (the founder of Westminster Abbey) had promised the throne of England to him. Harold, a relative of Edward, believed otherwise, and was in the North of England when William arrived during the autumn of 1066. He hurried south to defend his lands, and here I quote - The Saxon position was a very strong one, and Harold, with great military skill, fortified it with a palisade, thereby making a most formidable barrier against the Norman cavalry. The battle of Senlac, or Hastings, as it is popularly called, was fought on the 14th October, and the evening before it, was spent, it is said, by the Normans in prayer and by the English in drinking and the singing of songs. The battle began about nine o’clock in the morning. The English host was marshalled behind the palisade, all on foot, for they, unlike the Normans, were never fond of fighting on horseback, and Harold, with his brothers Gurth and Leofwine, stood under the royal standard. Against them, the Normans advanced in three divisions, of which William commanded the centre. On the left was Alan of Brittany, with a force of Bretons and troops from Maine and Poitou: on the right was Roger of Montgomery, at the head of the mercenary troops, whom William had hired from wherever they could be collected. The first attack failed completely, and the Normans, after a vain attempt to break down the palisade, were driven back in confusion, the Bretons being the first to fly. Unfortunately, in their excitement, some of the English solders pursued beyond the palisade, and were easily cut down in the plain. In the second attack, William of Normandy was unhorsed by Earl Gurth, but went against him on foot and cut him down; about the same time, Leofwine was also slain. Still, the English barrier was intact and it seemed as if the Normans must withdraw in discomfiture. But William’s generalship was equal to the occasion. He had seen how helpless the English were upon the open plain, and he resolved, therefore, to lure them from behind their defences by a feigned flight. The ruse was successful and a considerable portion of the English army suffered for disobedience of Harold’s orders by being compelled to make their escape as best they could to the broken ground to the back of the hill. Still Harold fought on, and as evening was coming on, it seemed as if he might even yet be able to hold the field. Then William bethought him of another plan, and ordered his archers to shoot into the air, whereby the English were seriously incommoded. One of the falling shafts pierced Harold through the eye and he was mortally wounded. The battle, was to all intents now lost. So the Saxons fled and William had won. The Normans now captured the rest of England and established themselves throughout the length and breadth of the land. As in all battles, the spoils go to the victors and so it was that William, Duke of Normandy, now William of England, - the Conqueror - gave out lands to all his faithful barons. It was to William of Falaise that Cockington was given. Falaise is a small town in Normandy where William the Conqueror had been born. It is to the knight who bore the inscription of the birthplace that the King gave these lands of Cockington. Now the family at Cockington would be known as the De Cockington’s (of Cockington) - so William de Falaise becomes William de Cockington. The Normans were religious people who feared God more than man. The Church and the hearing of Mass were vital in their lives. William the Conqueror and his wife had built themselves two monastic foundations in Caen, the Abbey of the Men and the Abbey of the Women in recompense for sins committed. So William de Falaise built a house (not the present house) and then in 1069 the hurried Church. This was small with plain pillars but at least it enabled him to hear Mass. I stress to hear Mass because they rarely received the Sacrament (possibly once or twice a year - hence the prayer book rubric of 1662 that Holy Communion is to be received three times a year of which Easter shall be one). This Church is on the Chapel side of the present Church with a small entrance to the west—where the disabled ramp is. A line down the wall clearly marks its eastern end, it faces the chapel. This Church was a chapel for the Lord of the Manor and his retainers and was probably dedicated to Our Lord’s blessed Mother - St. George being added later, possibly during the period of the Crusades or at the Reformation when the Cult of Mary was being played down. What indigenous population the Normans found here we do not know. Certainly the arrival of the Normans would have subjugated the locals. The Normans were now in charge and being in charge meant they owned everything, decided everything, particularly matters relating to justice and material well-being The Lord of the Manor was responsible for many things, though he would have been often absent - away fighting battles with William I. No doubt also he would have returned to Falaise, for that would have been part of his domain. So what of the people, who probably had lived here for centuries. Now they had new masters, not just the Lord of the Manor but many of his knights. The people lived in cottages (often a single room). They probably had had some land of their own, but now it belonged to the Lord of the Manor; thus, they were Serfs in the real sense of the word. Their work on the lands would have been for the Lord of the Manor, and no wage would have been paid. Some may have worked in the Manor House as servants. The Blacksmith would have been in great demand, not only for the shoeing of horses but also for the making of weapons for the “big house”. Life expectancy would have been low. Infant mortality would have been high. How William de Cockington behaved is unknown but on the whole the de Cockington’s were probably well respected and of good heart. So, it was that in the 12th century that a descendent of William of Falaise, another William de Cockington diverted Sherwell Brook to give wholesome drinking water to the Monks of Torre Abbey, the Premonstre Order of Cannon Monks who came and took services regularly at the Church in Cockington. Monastic miserecords are to be found in the Sanctuary of the present Church. Obviously the big house at Cockington got on well with Torre Abbey. For, William and his wife were privileged to be buried at the Abbey for their act of charity in diverting Sherwell Brook. Recently their bones were discovered during some work at the Abbey and were re-interred in the Abbey precincts. The Monks vowed that a Requiem Mass would be said for William and his wife each Wednesday at noon in the Chapel at Cockington. This was held until the Reformation and was started again in 1988 when it was decided to start a weekly Communion Service when all were surprised to learn that it was actually re-establishing an old tradition .Cockington was in the Parish of Tormohun and this Parish was abutted by three other Parishes, St. Marychurch, Paignton and Marldon, all meeting at Gallows Gate the name still used which was the site for executions, men being hanged, women being drowned. The death penalty was inflicted for what we would call today the most trivial of crimes. It was rather an unjust rule for women. If the victim sank, she was innocent (but was usually drowned in sinking). If she floated she was guilty and was subsequently drowned. You could escape immediate punishment if you claimed sanctuary in the Church. This meant getting to the Church, closing the door and pulling the sanctuary bar across. Whilst in the Church you had sanctuary. Otherwise you could flee to Torre Abbey. Once in the grounds of the Abbey you had sanctuary for the Abbey was ruled by the Abbot. People in the Middle Ages can truly be called ‘God fearing’ for death seemed always just around the corner. Infant mortality was high and often life ended by the age of forty. People were not as tall as today and, for the peasants, the diet was not too good either. Life was harsh, work was hard and recreation, if any, left to the official holydays. This fear of death has left its mark not least in some countries of Europe where such things as the dance of death takes place on certain days in the year. The one great fear was plague - it was a scourge - it was indiscriminate. When it struck a village most of its population was wiped out. Thousands upon thousands died because of what became known as the Black Death. Sadly, the plague came to Cockington in 1348. Joan Lang, in her book on Cockington, writes: In 1348-1349, the year of the Black Death, probably occurred the death of James, who was alive in 1348. William de Kokinton, a younger brother, and Johanna, his wife, were buried in the church of Torre Abbey about the same time. As James died without issue he settled Cockington Manor on Joan his wife, with the remainder to Walter de Wodeland. In 1351, the Manor came to Walter de Wodeland, Usher of the Chamber to the Black Prince, by whom he was knighted in 1350. He served as Sheriff of Devon in 1363 and 1368. Charter Rolls show a grant made in 1352 of Free Warren and of a market and fair on Monday in each week to Cockington, Walter de Wodeland being then lord thereof. 1371, Katerina, widow of Sir Walter Wodeland (daughter of Polglass) was in possession of Cockington. In this year in Edward III’s reign the estate passed - probably by sale - to William Cary. Sir William Cary represented the County of Devon with his brother John in the Parliaments of 1363 and 1368. By 1400 the Church of the Manor House was almost as we see it now as far as its outside structure was concerned. An addition was to be made to the Sanctuary in the 17th Century. The tower had three bells and whilst the centre of the Church was clear, there were probably ledges around the walls for those who were infirm and who could not stand throughout the Mass. Village life would have continued apace as the seasons went by. However, life was not plain sailing for the residents of Cockington Court. In those days it was wise to be on the same side as the King. To be even doubtful concerning the monarch would be considered treason. So the house went through a turbulent period. Joan Lang writes:- 1381, Sir John Cary (possibly William’s brother) succeeded to the estate. He became Lord Baron of the Exchequer in 1386. The heir of a race from Kari (Clovelly) in North Devon, he was one of the five judges who suffered for the constitutional advice given to their sovereign Richard II. He was attainted on the 6 March 1388 and sentenced to death for supposed treason against the King. The sentence of death was commuted to banishment for life, forfeiture of his estates and of the right of his children to succeed to them. His possessions were forfeit to the Crown. 1388, 4 August. Cockington was granted to John, Earl of Huntingdon, who is his turn, forfeited the manor in 1399. 1400, 3 December. It was granted by Henry IV to Sir Robert Chalonus or Chalons, who held it for seventeen years. 1404, Sir John Cary died in exile in Waterford, Ireland, to which he had been banished and restricted to a two mile radius of the city. He lived on an allowance of twenty pounds p.a. and his family were forbidden to see him. He left two sons, Sir Robert Cary and John Cary. The former petitioned unsuccessfully in 1402 for the restitution of Cockington and all other manos forfeited on the attainder of his father. 1418, 1 December, Sir Robert Cary received restitution of his father’s estates, including Cockington, from King Henry V, after his accession. 1437, 1 June. Sir Philip Cary died having settled the manor on his wife Cristina. Philip Cary’s son, Sir William Cary, was baptised between 1457 and 1462 about the same time he came of age. Like his great, great grandfather, Sir John, he was attained for loyalty, this time to the cause of Margaret of Anjou (21 January, 1465) and his estates confiscated. 1467-68, After Cristina Cary’s death, Edward IV, by Letters Patent, granted Cockington and other Cary estates to Sir Thomas Bourghchier. 1471, Sir William Cary was taken prisoner at Tewksbury and in spite of the royal pardon and the sanctuary of the Abbey, was treacherously beheaded on the field two days later with other men of note. 1485 Robert Cary, son of the beheaded Sir William, had Cockington and the other estates restored to him by King Henry VII. So what of the people of the village. They still continued their chores, lived in their cottages and doffed the hat or curtsied to the Lord of the Manor and his family. The changing of the Lords of the Manor was above them. They had enough to contend with in the humdrum of life. Day began for them at sunrise and ended at sunset. They could not read or write and even living as they did probably in only one room, (at the maximum two rooms) (see the gamekeeper’s cottage), they did enjoy life, which for them centred around the Church. The open space in the Nave was excellent for meeting. The Mass celebrated by monks from Torre Abbey was the main meeting point on Sundays and Holy Days (holidays). For the people, the only part of the Mass for them was when the bell sounded in the prayer of consecration (as it does today at the words of “Hear us O Father”) when the congregation left off their conversation and fell to their knees looking to the Altar as the Priest elevated first the bread and then the wine. When the bell next rang at what we call the administration, they resumed where they had left off in conversation on deals. The idea of receiving Holy Communion was not considered. They heard Mass (that was, the crucial part) and that was that. They may have received Holy Communion as part of the last rites but otherwise that was for the Priests and Monk, not for them. It is probable that the Monks of Torre Abbey took turns (in threes) to come to Cockington. The Lord of the Manor would have fed them (the labourer is worthy of his food) and stayed in cells in the Church (one above the present Church, one in the tower and one by the Altar). Thus the monastic offices could be said and the people felt prayed for. Holy Days (holidays) were special occasions (95 of them), the longest being the period from Christmas to Plough Monday (Plough Monday the day after Plough Sunday, which is the Sunday after the Feast of the Epiphany). On Holy Days, after Mass, there would be an ox, lamb or pig roast and games would be played. As today, football was popular, the bladder of a pig being used as the ball. Just think of it, was Cockington football team the Manchester United of yesteryear. There were rival villages around to compete with Marldon, Paignton, St Marychurch and, of course, those who lived outside Cockington, in the Parish of which Cockington was part, Tormohun. Festivals were great days. No wonder they are so popular today, it is in the blood. Thus, the mediaeval years passed by. Baptism of infants had to be within seven days of birth on pain of ex-communication. Thus, mothers never attended the baptism of their offspring. The prayer book says at start of its baptismal rite “Dearly beloved forasmush as all men are conceived born in sin”. This reflects the view held hundreds of years before that book was written that a child had the devil in him/her and that had to be removed or all the village would be contaminated. So, when the child was brought to Church, salt was put on the child’s tongue. The child screeched and the devil came out. It is not unknown for modern Godparents to tweak a baby’s bottom to cause a yell. Marriage was also conducted in the porch by the Priest, couple and two witnesses before entering the Church for the blessing and to great the throng of guests.
THE REFORMATION AND ITS AFTERMATH On Whitsunday 1539, a cataclysmic event occurred throughout England and affected the people of Cockington no less than any other part of the land. The Church had become Protestant (Catholic but reformed) and alteration occurred to the service. The first such alteration ever for the people of the village. I know from today how much people hate change in their Churches, whether it be in their furnishings or in their service order. When I arrived at Cockington in 1988, I changed the Hymn Book from Ancient and Modern Standard (published 1880) to Ancient and Modern Revised (published 1951), and was reminded by some members of the congregation that they were a traditional Church! For the people of Cockington, it was more upsetting than that which has happened in the last half century in the Church of England with its Series 1, Series 2, ASB and Common Worship. for them in ten years they had three prayer books, the Latin Mass in between and a continuing threat from Continental Europe who supported, in its immediate areas to Britain, the Pope. King Henry VIII needed a male heir, for England at this time had never had a Queen as Sovereign. His wife, Catherine of Aragon, had only born him a female child - Princess Mary. Henry petitioned the Pope for a decree of nullity and when this was refused he declared “The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm”. He divorced Catherine and married Anne Bolyn. The situation was dangerous for the King - remember what the Church and nobility had done to King John - so to establish himself securely, he broke with Rome and declared the Church of England part of the Catholic Church but a part not answerable to the Pope in Rome. There is no doubt that in many parts of the Kingdom the King had great support, but not here in the West Country. The King suppressed the monasteries, closing down Torre Abbey and passing it to lay owners. So to Whitsunday 1539, when, for the first time, the people of Cockington would have heard the Bible read in English as part of the Mass. A rebellion broke out in the West Country, it was widespread and engulfed the County, including Exeter. This was mercilessly suppressed. The Vicar of St Thomas’s Exeter, was hanged in full vestments on the top of his Church tower as a warning to other potential rebels. Liturgical changes now came thick and fast with the last years of Henry VIII and the reigns of Edward VI and Mary. Worst of all, for the people of the village the changes brought about a reduction in Holy Days from 95 to 27. The Parish had enjoyed its social occasions too - the holy days and their vigils, above all the Patronal festival. These were now sadly removed. It was argued that they meant idleness and the sapping of National strength. Yet much still remained. There was Plough Monday and Mothering Sunday, Shrovetide with its traditional football and its licensed horseplay among scholars and apprentices, less exuberant versions of the continental Carnival and Mardi Gras; there was Halloween and the beating of the bounds at Rogationtide, and, of course, the Parochial Wakes. All of them showed remarkable power of weathering successive bans; and no one had succeeded in seriously abridging the twelve days of Christmas merrymaking from which Plough Monday sounded the recall to labour in the fields. Possibly they had never had it so good as before the reformation - and even today in our so called enlightened times for leisure do we get as many days off as they did then? Other changes also occurred and were the reason for Cockington having Churchwardens even though it was part of the Parish of Tormohun. In some ways Tudor policy made the Parish more important than ever before. Thomas Cromwell had turned the Parson into a Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths. Queen Mary had wished upon the Parish a new official, the surveyor of highways, elected to take his turn for a year, without payment, directing the reluctant and not very effective efforts of his fellow parishioners towards filling in ruts and pot holes in the Parish roads. The Parish had always looked after its own poor in its own fashion, but Elizabeth added yet another bevy of statutory officials, the overseers of the poor, selected by the County magistrates from among substantial parishioners to relieve the Churchwardens in the discharge of this task and to help them out in other ways. For the wardens, and, of course, the Parson with them, were also now charged with a growing burden of civil duties and charitable donations. The petty constable, whose job was the maintenance of order, was still a manorial official appointed in court, but offences which could be regarded as moral and not merely legal fell within the province of the wardens, whose obligation it was to see that the offenders were brought before the Bishop’s court; above all, they must see that all the Parish attended divine worship and that alehouses were not open during service hours to lure them away. The religious events of the 16th century were going to play a major part in the lives of the people of Cockington. The change to the English language was completed in 1549 with the first prayer book. In 1552 a second Prayer Book was ordered to be used. The Mass or Holy Communion was now superseded by the Orders of Morning and Evening Prayer, Holy Communion being shunted to the beginning of the day - the eight o’clock as we now call it. The emphasis now changed from Sacrament to the sermon - often a long discourse lasting anything from an hour or two, or even three. This Prayer Book of 1552 was short-lived for in 1553 Mary came to the throne and restored the Roman Catholic Faith to the Realm. Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury and other Bishops being burnt at the stake as heretics. Her reign was short for she died in 1558 but one act she did in marrying Philip, the Prince of Spain, was to have effect long after her death. Elizabeth I who succeeded Mary brought about the third book of Common Prayer and England settled down to a period of worship that reflected that of the Prayer Book of 1552. In the 1549 Prayer Book was added an order for Holy Communion for ordinary folk to receive the Sacrament. This was incorporated into the main service in 1551 and 1559, but with the growth of Morning and Evening Prayer, the laity rarely received the Sacrament. Hence the rubric of 1662 that all shall receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion at least three times a year, of which Easter shall be one. Consequences of the reformation were now to dominate the minds of the village. Philip, the bereaved husband of Mary, was now King of Spain, and a holy man in piety and prayer, who believed that he should have succeeded his wife Mary to the throne of England. Being a devout Catholic, he believed that England should be Catholic also, and so he prepared to invade this island. The Armada sailed in 1588. It failed, as we know, to achieve its object, mainly because of our Devon sailors - men like Drake and Raleigh. Two ships were actually stopped off the Devon Coast, one beached at Torre Abbey sands, the other sunk off Start Point as the Armada was fleeing back to Spain. But think of the villagers who, on a walk to the coast, could see part of the Armada passing by and think of the Lords of the Manor of Cockington and Torre Abbey. I quote: Sir George Cary won favour from his kinswoman, Queen Elizabeth. He was a distinguished lawyer and active in defence against the threatened Spanish Armada in 1588 - he was MP for Devon in that year. With Sir Edward Seymour of Torre Abbey, he raised and took command of two small Devon regiments, each 800 strong. He was called back to Devon from Dover, where he had been directing the defences. With Sir John Gilbert of Compton Castle, he had charge of 400 Spanish prisoners after the defeat of the Armada. They were at first held in Sir Edward Seymour’s barn at Torre Abbey, still known today as the Spanish Barn. They came from the crew of the Spanish galleon Capitana and the Rosario”. The prisoners were later marched from Torre Abbey to Cockington, where Sir George was given a penny a day to keep them. Needless to say, the ship was pillaged. The Pulpit was brought eventually to Cockington and placed in the Church, which had no pulpit, so that the greater emphasis could be placed on the sermon. When looking at the pulpit, note the lack of any Christian symbol. The Captain’s/Chaplain’s head pokes over the top of the pulpit. On one side, he has normal ears, but on the other side “big ears”. He heard too much! Such a thing was not so funny for Protestant reformers, for not only did they paint out the rosary pictures on the panels, but turned the big ears into angel wings. The only angel I know who flies by his head! The Altar, now known in the 16th century as the Holy Table, was turned 90 degrees so that the priest could stand at the end facing the people (hence the reference to the North end, which had been its geographical position previously). So the people and the village changed. This was now Protestant England. However, like in Russia in the 20th century, many still remained faithful to the old ways. Some remained firm Catholics in loyalty to the Pope, others despising the Pope and all he stood for, rather like the situation in Northern Ireland a few years ago. The defeat of the Armada was not the end of the saga of attempted religious upheaval. The gunpowder plot of 1605 led to a new service being ordered to be read each November 5th. It only ceased to be read in the reign of Queen Victoria. Then came the Civil war and the eclipse of the Cary family from Cockington and the arrival of the Mallocks. In 1643, George Cary died. His son, Henry Cary, (born 1613) was the last of his name to own the Manor of Cockington. He served as Sheriff of Devon in 1638 and was knighted by Charles I at Crediton, having raised a regiment in the King’s cause in July 1644. George Cary’s second son, Robert, (Henry’s brother) who was born at Cockington in 1615, was a distinguished author and poet and Archdeacon of Exeter. He went to Exeter College, Oxford, in his 16th year, gaining first BA, then MA and in 1644 Doctor of Civil Law. He was well traveled and a prolific writer of much repute. In 1646, Sir Henry Cary surrendered Kingswear Castle to Fairfax “yielding to superior force”. His pardon contained a heavy fine and he was compelled to sell his estates at Cockington. In 1654, 10th July (Conveyance 1 September) Roger Mallock, goldsmith of Heavitree, near Exeter, purchased Cockington from Sir Henry Cary for ten thousand pounds. Sir Henry Cary paid the fine and emigrated to Virginia in America with his family He subsequently returned to England in greatly reduced circumstances and depended on the charity of others, apparently passing his declining years at Stanton Barton. He was buried at Marldon, as also is his wife, who died a few days later. His children are believed to have remained in Virginia and their descendants taking part in the American Civil War. The Civil War and the Commonwealth period was no doubt a different period for the villages. Deryck Seymour writes in our Church Guide:-
The Commonwealth Period After the execution of Charles I in 1649, Cromwell ruled for eleven years. During this time, the Chapel must have passed through its darkest hours. Any remaining vestiges of mediaeval beauty would be torn down the stained glass windows smashed and a liberal coat of whitewash applied to the whole building. Even so, there was one bright spot, In 1653, there was enough enthusiasm among Church people to have a new bell cast. Now Cromwell forbade the ringing of Church bells at all - yet here at far away remote little Cockington a bell was cast, thereby openly defying the Lord Protector’s behests. No doubt it was duly hung in the tower and rung. We have it still, mounted in the corner of the north aisle, showing how the Church-folk here of 1653 openly resisted the bigotry of the ruling party of the day. The restoration of Charles II returned England to that which had been before - a new book of Common Prayer was issued in 1662 and by the Fourth Act of uniformity compelled to be used in all Churches - it is this Prayer Book that is the Church of England today. A slight hiccup occurred in the reign of James II but the arrival of William of Orange (William III) was to see the owners of Cockington Court playing a major part in the hospitality of this noble. Ellis mentions that Rawlin Mallock served the Whig interests in Parliament and was one of a small band of peers and gentlemen who welcomed William of Orange when he landed at Brixham on 5 November 1688. As I have said previously, change was not welcome and now the change of Lord of the Manor was even less welcome. The people would have continued their humdrum life. The sermon now occupied the majority of their service in Church, often lasting in excess of an hour. No doubt they learnt a little of what went on in Virginia with the return of Sir Henry Cary, and news of the Fire of London and the Great Plague of the 1660’s. Excitement was no doubt aroused by the arrival of William of Orange, but with his arrival the Protestant faith was preserved. That which had started in the reign of Edward VI was preserved now by William III. Charles II had added a new service to commemorate the Martyrdom of his father Charles I and William’s arrival was added in the rubric to the Service for 1605. Saints days and the regular reception of Holy Communion were ignored. The Bible and the Sermon were now the focus of religious life. There started the tradition of the family Bible. A large copy of the Bible in which on the opening pages births, marriages and deaths were inscribed. Death was still an important topic of family life. Lift expectancy was between 40 and 50 years. To live beyond that time was to be long lived indeed!. Diseases now conquered were prevalent, and whilst the birth rate was high so was infant mortality. For the people of Cockington, seasons came and season went, they lived for the most part in peace with occasional periods of celebration, particularly at Christmas and the period following, up to Plough Sunday.
VICTORIAN COCKINGTON This was for the most part a time of peace, though the effects of the Oxford Movement and the Evangelical movements were going to play their part in the spiritual life of the Parish. The former starting in Oxford in 1830 and the latter being a strong movement throughout Victoria’s reign. The most important changes were the arrival of hymns that now became popular in public worship. There was also the start of the change that moved from sermon to Altar. The pattern of life was so different for the Manor House as opposed to those who worked off the land. The former were the leaders, the latter the led. A quote from Mrs Alexander’s hymn ‘All things bright and beautiful’: The rich man in his castle, the poor man at his gate. God made them high or lowly and ordered their estate. This was the period in which the Parish was inaugurated (1881) and had its first Vicar appointed (1882). This Church, until now the Chapel of the Court, became the Parish Church. A restoration took place inside the Church - the open space was filled with chairs and the pews to the left and right were removed and replaced with chairs. The Court now ceased to have control over the things ecclesiastical though Richard Mallock was still a major philanthropist where the Church was concerned and had considerable influence. He gave the land on which our daughter Church of St Matthew was built and no doubt gave towards its building costs. He was a good man, well respected, attested to by the large crowds that lined his funeral route mourning his passing. The coming of the railway was, of course, the catalyst that led to the need for a separate Parish, and the building of a daughter Church. The owners of Torre Abbey refused to allow the railway to travel through their domains - Mallock permitted it to travel along the border of his domain and that is why Torquay Railway Station is in the Parish of Cockington, far removed from Torquay town centre but close enough for the Lord of the Manor of Torre Abbey to hear the noise of the trains and smell their smoke. The people of the village would have heard of the Crimean War and of the great Queen Victoria. Bishop Philpotts of Exeter had his summer residence at the Palace Hotel in Torquay before it became a hotel, and had a special chair for worship at St John’s Church Torquay which he attended. I have little doubt that he dined at Cockington Court on more than one occasion. It was in this period that the Almshouses left the park and moved to their new abode on the other side of the lane. Cottages, as now seen in the village, and a school replaced the old huts, but still the village was a village untouched for the most part by the world around. The arrival of the railway meant new development over the hill in what we call Chelston. Large houses were built and the population grew. The Grand Hotel was built, being called the Railway Hotel, and had two letting rooms. The beach could be used for leisure with bathing machines for decorum. Communication became more common. The arrival of the postal service and gas lamps both in well-to-do homes and on the streets. There is the base of a gas lamp in the grounds of St Matthew’s. But it was in the Church that change again was coming. It is interesting to look at St Matthew’s Church, built 1896. The foundation stone was laid by Miss Mallock. The original plans make clear that the Oxford Movement had really made an impact in the Parish. The Altar was clearly the focus of the Church rather than the pulpit, reflecting that already achieved at Cockington. St Matthew’s Church has in its roof bosses the seven sacraments depicted and the four gospel symbols are portrayed on the pulpit. It is clear that the Eucharist was to be its main service. The windows were all donated and the Crucifix is seen in many places. St Matthew’s became the High Church, Cockington less so, but still transformed from its previous focus on the “Word of God” in the Bible and pulpit to what was to be called ‘the middle-of-the-road’ Church of England with clear emphasis on the Altar. Church going was popular with the ladies and middle classes at the morning service and the working class, particularly the servant class, at the evening service, commonly called Evensong. The choir came into being so that hymns and anthems could be sung and in many ways be like Cathedral worship. Hymns now common to many in the population such as ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’, and the Christmas Carols (many of which were written or translated from ancient texts) were very popular. Think of the Carol singers on Christmas Cards. Christmas was, I suspect, as always a very popular occasion. “The Penny in the Old Man’s Hat”, the Christmas goose, the Christmas tree and the Christmas and Boxing Day gifts, toys of wood and material were popular (the rag doll, the soft toys, the golly, the wooden engine and wooden toy carts would have been the toys of the day). It was, therefore, a great shock to the Nation when in January 1901 the great queen died. Churches held memorial services. All were sent notices to be displayed, edged in black, special prayers were written. Not only had the 19th century ended but a great epoch with it. The world was going to change dramatically in the new century and the people of Cockington with it.
TO THE END OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR The 20th Century has seen vast changes in the Parish of Cockington. Its border stretches from the former gas works, on the edge of Preston, to Avenue Road, though for some reason it turns left there at Cockington School and takes the railway line to Pilmuir Avenue, where, excluding that area, links across to Queensway, taking in one third of the road to link across to Sherwell Valley Road, Frobisher Green and Nutbush Lane, and then to a line with the toe of Livermead and finally going down Preston Down Road to the stream and so through to its link with Preston on Torbay Road. At the start of the Century, the people of Cockington were now independent tenants of the Mallocks whilst in the remainder of the Parish, they were mostly home owners on Mallock land. Where Mallock allowed housing, there was always to be a green area - note the houses in Sherwell Lane and in St Matthew’s and Vicarage Roads. Now came transport and shopping areas (Walnut Road and Old Mill Road), but still vast areas of the Parish were undeveloped. No Livermead, no building beyond Herbert Road, and no estates in Sherwell Valley. It was a compact area which had its own Parish Council until 1923, when it lost its independence and became part of Torquay, and yet, still it feels different from Torquay, and in ecclesiastical terms seems neither to be Torquay or Paignton but on an island of its own. In 1882, with the formation of the Parish, Cockington Fayre started - mainly a Victorian tea party which was to grow to what it is today. The people of the Parish worshipped where they used to, in either Cockington or St Matthew’s, though it is important to note that at the back of St Matthew’s two great statues were erected, one to St George and the other to St Mary. I have often thought, erected to remind the people that the Parish Church was over the hill and the daughter Church should remember its place and not become above its station. Six bells were hung at Cockington in 1910 and the Rood Screen completed in 1917. The Vicarage was equidistant from both at the top of St Matthew’s Road on the corner of Herbert Road. I suspect that the Edwardian period was a joyful period at the big house, as probably in most of the Parish. Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals took place in the normal way. Life went on with each person knowing their place in society. The Christmas period was probably one of great rejoicing with the new carols of the 19th Century, though there were no Carols by Candlelight or Midnight Mass. Christmas Day was the day with the Morning Service and the celebrations in the Big House and homes alike. All this was to end in the summer of 1914 with the Great War. Public rejoicing and National pride at the outset were to be shortlived as the horrors of that war unfolded. Many men of Cockington and Chelston gave their lives, but the strange thing is that the War Memorial was built at St Matthew’s on the green beside the Church and duplicated with a second memorial inside the Church. Cockington had but a shabby board placed in the tower porch, and this sufficed until the end of the 20th Century. One interesting feature on the War Memorial inside St Matthew’s is what someone hand wrote on a card and affixed to the hidden part of the doors of the Memorial. “Here is affixed the names of all who went to War with the letters RIP after the names of those who did not return.” One casualty of the War was the Lord of the Manor of Cockington. Charles Mallock was gassed and died near Ypres on 5th November 1917. His son, too young to have responsibility for the estates, was sent away to school and would not return until 1930 for his 21st birthday. The Great War had a devastating effect on the people of the Parish. Much of the male population had died, and it is true to say that the village has never recovered. It was now destined to become the chocolate box cover village of the tourist. There have been few Vicars of Cockington because most have stayed for a long time, one notable Vicar was Marcus Knight (1936-1939), who came to the Parish at a difficult time and left to become a Canon of St Paul’s Cathedral, London, and later became Dean of Exeter Cathedral. As the years went by, Cockington would have felt the depression of the thirties and the unemployment that came with it. Poverty would have been quite evident. It was during this period that another piece of history occurred at Cockington. The young Mallock son returned for his 21st birthday and immediately took a dislike to the Parishioners attending the Parish Church, particularly if they used transport to get there. He erected a gate and refused entry. The Attorney General, on behalf of the Church Commissioners, contested his action in the High Court, and won. Mallock now sold up to Torquay Council and left the area, but his deeds were neither forgotten or forgiven. When I became Vicar in 1988, I received a request for a plaque in the memory of him after he died, to be erected on the wall of the Church near the other Mallock plaques. I assumed this would go through on the nod. I was wrong. A debate ensued, and, to my surprise, the PCC turned it down. His plaque is now in Cockington Court. The War that was to end all wars was nothing of the sort. The poverty in Germany and the Treaty of Versailles led to the rise of Hitler, and so in 1939, England went to war again. This time Cockington and Chelston were on the front line for everyone was affected. Some were killed by air raids, others were killed when a Home Guard gun blew up on Corbyn Head (where the National Home Guard “Dad’s Army” memorial now stands. One bomber who ditched a bomb on St Marychurch caused the deaths of many children. It also ditched a bomb on Cockington Park which blew out the stained glass windows and brought down the horrible white ceiling plaster. In May and August, hostilities ceased and now Cockington prepared for the second half of the 20th century.
TO THE PRESENT DAY Cockington and Chelston emerged from the Second World War with most of its infrastructure in place. The population of the next 60 years was to grow until the Parish would become the largest single Parish (10,000) in Torquay and second in Torbay to that of Paignton (16,000). This meant tremendous development of the area. Livermead was developed, the area behind Herbert Road was built on, Nut Bush Lane, once a lane for lovers to walk along, now became a major road with housing stretching down into the valley beneath. Sherwell Valley School was built, Cockington School rebuilt in the new location and Preston School built at Livermead. The biggest development was to be in Queensway where a large council estate was built. It was in the late 50’s, that Prebendary Chatfield and his curate, Father Manhire, decided to build a new Church for the estate in Queensway, and dedicated it to St Peter. For a time, this Church was thriving, but slowly as the years went by, its congregation dwindled. No so in the other Churches in the Parish, which have thrived. (St Matthew’s went through a low period in the 60’s and 70’s). This post war era was to see the rise of a second Elizabethan age with the coronation of Elizabeth II, who has now reigned for fifty-six years. This was to see a real revolution in how people lived. Already the movies had flourished in the cinema but now was to come the video and the DVD. The typewriter was replaced by the computer and youth organisations and youth clubs were seen as yesteryear. Sadly, this has not been all to the betterment of society. The miners strikes of the sixties and seventies and the Thatcher years have tended to make the individual rather than the family become a priority. Not that in itself Thatcherism did the country harm; in fact it gave the Nation National pride, which had long been needed. Parenting, however, was not practised by some and the need of both parents to work led to the latch key kid, and children retreating into their own world with the computer and the mobile phone. In some cases this has led to the breakdown of society and the growth of a yob culture, indiscipline in schools and the need for new structures. The Parish of Cockington has suffered from such culture, the breaking of all the windows at St Peter’s, and of stained glass windows at St Matthew’s. plus windows in Cockington Church But for the most part, the Parishioners have continued to lead their lives as best as possible in the new culture which some feel has left them behind. The growth of television with its multi channels has given a new meaning to the word “entertainment”, so with DVD’s, multiplex cinemas, no one should be able to say they are bored - but they do. So what has happened in the Parish in these years leading to the 21st Century. Christmas as in days of yore is still a great occasion - so great that Carols by Candlelight now has two services instead of one. The moving of the Midnight Mass to Cockington from St Matthew’s developed at the end of the 20th century, has a massive attendance. Cockington Fayre has gone from strength to strength, until now it is the largest Fayre of its type. Cricket, first played in the park in 1947, is a Saturday summer activity. The Willow, the bells, the carriages, what an idyllic feature for visitor and Parishioners alike. And what of Cockington Court? For a long period, it went into disuse, but with the establishment of Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust, it now seems to have a more stable future than in the past fifty years, exhibiting rural skills that are as important as they were in yesteryear. St Peter’s Church now has a new future. House and Hall have been sold for housing the Church is in the process of being turned into a centre for the 21st Century that will cater for all ages, but in particular for the youth and elderly. A new Youth club is proposed and with cafe, Chapel and Hall, it should send out a message to the new Century. Who knows what may happen in the future, but with the heritage we have inherited, I can only believe the future looks great for this Parish. |
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Born in Torquay in 1890, she spent much of her life in the area. She played here as a child, worked and socialised here as a young lady and gathered ideas that were to come to life in her best selling books with immortal characters such as Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Today Agatha Christie is internationally famous as the most prolific mystery writer of all time with 79 crime novels and many plays to her name.
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Christie's CountryAcross the English Riviera you will find many locations linked with Agatha's life and works. Many are easily accessible or open to the public and all combine to make a visit to the home of the Queen of Crime a must for all fans.The Agatha Christie Mile was established in 1990, her centenary year, and marks 11 specific locations along a one mile route around Torquay seafront, each marked by a centenary plaque. It was here at the Four Star Grand Hotel that Agatha and Archie Miller spent their honeymoon night after their wedding in Bristol on Christmas Eve 1914. Two days later Agatha travelled up to London with her new husband and waved him goodbye as he set off for war in France. It was to be 6 months before they would see each other again and nearly four years before their married life could really begin. The Grand Hotel now has an Agatha Christie Suite. The hotel's popular restaurant and bar have fine sea views and are well worth a stop on your tour of the Agatha Christie Mile. CockingtonAgatha enjoyed riding through Cockington estate. Visitors today can take a horse and carriage ride through hidden gardens and along the grand driveway to Cockington Court. In the 1900s, Cockington Court was home to the Mallocks, friends of the Miller family.
Amateur theatricals were often organised and Agatha was
encouraged to take part in the open air dramatics on the lawns in front
of the house!
Cockington Court and Country Park are open all year round. Princess PierThe Agatha Christie Exhibition at Torquay Museum includes a delightful image of Agatha as a young lady in her fine, feathered hat enjoying roller-skating along the pier with her friends.
Skating on the pier cost tuppence and was a noisy and bumpy
affair but incredibly popular!
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This website is run by the craft workers of Cockington court as an open resource for information on Cockington. Our aim is to help people get a broader view of everything Cockington has to offer If you would like to contribute info or pictures, or have an interesting idea please email me at (contact@tashong-studios.co.uk)
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