Dowland
Dowland is located within Torridge local authority area. Historically it formed part of North Tawton Hundred. It falls within Torrington Deanery for ecclesiastical purposes. The Deaneries are used to arrange the typescript Church Notes of B.F.Cresswell which are held in the Westcountry Studies Library. The population was 184 in 1801 119 in 1901 . Figures for other years are available on the local studies website. In 1641/2 66 adult males signed the Protestation returns.
A parish history file is held in Torrington Library. You can look for other material on the community by using the place search on the main local studies database. Further historical information is also available on the Genuki website.
Maps: The image below is of the Dowland area on Donn's one inch to the mile survey of 1765.
On the County Series Ordnance Survey mapping the area is to be found on 1:2,500 sheet 41/15 Six inch (1:10560) sheet 41SE
The National Grid reference for the centre of the area is SS568103. On the post 1945 National Grid Ordnance Survey mapping the sheets are: 1:10,000 (six inch to a mile: sheet SS51SE, 1:25,000 mapping: sheet Explorer 127, Landranger (1:50,000) mapping: sheet 191. Geological sheet 309 also covers the area.
Extract from Devon by W.G.Hoskins (1954), included by kind permission of the copyright holder:
DOWLAND has a very attractive little church (St. Peter), almost entirely unrestored. It has a good, plain 15th century tower. The body of the church is roughcast and whitewashed, and therefore difficult to date; but the S. doorway is Norman and the nave and chancel may also be of this date. The N. aisle has a remarkable arcade of oak, i.e. oak arches and pillars, c. 1500 in date, which replaced an older arcade. The only other arcade of this kind in Devon is at Nymet Rowland. There are a number of carved bench-ends, probably c. 1500, some 18th century Box-pews, and floor-slabs to the Staffords of Stafford Barton.
Dowland Barton, beside the church, appears to be Tudor, remodelled in the 18th century. At the entrance to the churchyard are two cottages of early 16th century date with a number of windows having crudely carved oak mullions. This was probably the Church House originally.
