Woolfardisworthy is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district in the English county of Devon. The village is accessible via the A39 road, 2 miles (3 km) from the village.
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Woolfardisworthy
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![]() All Hallows' Church | |
![]() ![]() Woolfardisworthy Location within Devon | |
Population | 1,123 [1] |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county |
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Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | Bideford |
Postcode district | EX39 |
Police | Devon and Cornwall |
Fire | Devon and Somerset |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament |
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The name of the village is a local curiosity, as its pronunciation (and occasional spelling) differs from what one might expect. On local signs, the village is sometimes marked as Woolsery alongside the original name. This is due to the pronunciation of the village's name being /ˈwʊlzəri/. The name also provides evidence for the power of the written word in conserving place-names: the shortened pronunciation is known to have been in use since the 17th century.[3]
According to the Oxford Dictionary of English Place Names (Eilert Ekwall, 4th ed., 1960), the origin of the name is probably "Wulfheard's homestead". The element "worthy" is from Old English worþig, one of several words used by the Anglo-Saxons to denote a homestead, farmstead or small settlement.
Woolfardisworthy (the full name) - along with a few other places in Devon, is one of the longest place names in England with 16 letters.
In the parish church dedicated to All Hallows is the large monument with effigy to Richard Cole (d.1614) of Buckish within the parish, also of Slade in the parish of Cornworthy, Devon. It is a Grade 1 British Listed Building.[4]
The Centre for Fortean Zoology is based here.
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List of civil parishes in Devon | |
Exeter1,2 |
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East Devon1 |
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Mid Devon1 |
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North Devon1 |
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Torridge1 |
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West Devon1,3 |
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South Hams1 |
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Teignbridge1 |
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Plymouth2,4 |
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Torbay4 | |
Bold text denotes a parish council referred to as a "town council".
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