Inwardleigh is a rural parish in West Devon, about 2 miles north west of Okehampton. There are two main settlements, the villages of Inwardleigh and Folly Gate, and numerous scattered farms and hamlets. The main A386 Okehampton to Hatherleigh and Bideford road runs north-south through the parish.

Free Parking in Okehampton From 3pm on Thursdays and Fridays in

December the catch being only in the Mill Road car park!

^{The next meeting of the Parish Council will be on the 17th January 2025.}

At the meeting on the 20th November, one of our West Devon Councillors provided a 3 page report which can be found attached to the current minutes, in the webpage marked Parish Council, then click on Meetings Agendas and Minutes and look for Minutes 20th November.

^{Prism Lane}

Prism lane pot hole/ road surface, has been reported by a number of people and it was reported again this morning (19th October) to the emergency highways response team.  This along with numerous other pot holes that have been raised at our meetings and reported accordingly.  If you have a smartphone, please use the link below to report pot holes, it doesnt require any in depth information and perhaps if they receive a lot of reports it might prompt some action.  The matter of Prism Lane junction with the A386 has also been raised with our West Devon Councillor along with the Devon County Councillor.

^{https://www.devon.gov.uk/roads-and-transport/report-a-problem/map/map_src/poth/#gf_52}

Roadworks, how to find out the latest in your area:-

https://one.network/ click on this link and expand the page and it shows all the roadworks that are currently being carried out. Sadly it doesnt show any emergency roadworks.

Bus timetable Changes:-

Bus timetable changes Service 5A ( Okehampton – Hatherleigh – North Tawton – Crediton – Exeter):

The 13:50 bus operating Monday to Saturday from Okehampton will operate 30 minutes earlier.  

The 16:50 bus operating Monday to Saturday from Exeter, will depart 10 minutes later, to logically follow after a 5 bus, to ensure there is capacity for passengers travelling beyond Crediton.

Inwardleigh appears in the Domesday Book, where it is listed as belonging to Ingvar in 1066. Ingvar was a Viking thegn and member of the court of King Cnut, and held several estates across southern Britain. Inwardleigh – meaning Ingvar’s meadow – is derived from his name.

After the Norman Conquest the estates passed to Baldwin FitzGilbert, who accompanied William at Hastings, and who subsequently administered Devon from Exeter as Sheriff of Devon.

The estates were subsequently owned first by the Coffin or Coffyn family, and then by the Portman family.

St Petroc’s Church was built in the 14th century on an earlier Norman church, and has been restored in the nineteenth century, although much of the earlier building is intact.

Folly Gate, on the main road through the parish, was on the turnpike from Okehampton to Hatherleigh, and may take its name from a nearby house. In 1928 Folly Gate army aerodrome was opened for visiting RAF squadrons. During WW2 it was  a maintenance base and artillery spotter aircraft were based here. The airfield is now decommissioned and returned to agricultural use, but the WAAF quarters remain and have been converted to Folly Gate Village Hall.

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