Coordinates: 50°45′36″N 4°27′32″W / 50.760°N 4.459°W
Whitstone is a village and civil parish in east Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is roughly halfway between the towns of Bude and Launceston.
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History
The earliest mention of the village is in the Domesday Book of 1086, when Whitstone was called 'Witestan', and thanks to William I, was held by Ralph from the Count of Mortain. The Witestan area, called a "hundred" was 12 acres, holding 8 cattle, 8 pigs, 40 sheep and 40 goats: from this time one of the houses in Whitstone still remains and is still inhabited.
In the 19th century, the parish was called Whitstone. There were around 500 villagers, and the village had its own 'Post Office', and the entire parish comprised around 4,000 acres (16 km2), with part of the Bude Canal passing through the parish.
Physical geography
Whitstone is situated on the B3254 road, halfway between Bude (a major tourist destination) and Launceston (a former capital of Cornwall). Whitstone is around three miles (5 km) from the coast, at Widemouth and surrounded by rolling hills and fields. From the higher points of the village, you can see as far as Dartmoor (to the east) and Bodmin Moor (to the south). Down a minor road, from the B3254, is the entrance to Whitstone Woods, which reaches over to Week St Mary, and includes a river that creates the border to Whitstone parish and is a tributary for the larger river that runs through Bude, the River Neet.
Layout and communications
The village of Whitstone itself is set out in a linear pattern, built along the B3254, with houses, detached or semi-detached, bungalows or terraces. There are also two small housing estates off the main road, one much smaller than the other and many farms on the outskirts of the village. There are also adjoining roads in the village which have a large majority of the population living along them.
Business and economics
In 2006, the village now has the most businesses it has ever had. Over the last ten years or so, the village has grown and now has around nine businesses. Some of these are big nationally, some are just local and some are just known within the village, selling homemade items from home.
Whitstone Village Stores opened in the 1980s, and has changed hands a couple of times, with closures during the handovers. After a long closure, it was opened again in 1996 with a brand new interior. After changing hands again in 2001, the shop was expanded to have movie rental and the Post Office. Now the Village Shop is a convenience store selling a wide variety of products, including bakery and dairy produce, fresh fruit and vegetables, a large variety of canned food, as well as cereal and biscuits. At the front of the store is a wide variety of confectionery and snack food. As well as food there is some pet food and a few health/body products, alcohol, cigarettes and stationery.
The village even has a recording studio, owned by international singer/songwriter Tori Amos.
Other Businesses include:
| Business | Type | Providing... |
|---|---|---|
| J.R.J.Rees | Construction | Housing & Repairs |
| John Guest Ltd | Manufacturing | Jobs |
| St Anne's Nursing Home | Health/Care | Care for the Elderly |
| Bridgmans | Sales/Retail | Agricultural Hardware |
| Whitstone Post Office | Post Office | Posting & Banking |
| Hamblys Ltd | Sales/Retail | Agricultural Hardware |
| A J Moore and Sons Ltd | Hiring | Agricultural Machinery |
| Bennetts Court | Tourism | Self Catering Cottages |
| Pondacre Boarding Kennels | Animal Care | Temporary Dog Boarding |
| Hilton Woods Park | Tourism | Self Catering Chalets |
Places of worship
Whitstone has two places of worship, a Methodist Chapel and a Church of England Church.
Methodist Chapel
The Methodist Chapel is in the centre of the village, next to the Village Shop, with a private car park on the opposite side of the road.
Anglican Church
The Church is located on one of the smaller lanes leading off the main road leading through the village. Unlike the Methodist Chapel, there is a long path by the cemetery leading down to the church. The church, named St. Anne's Church, is one of the oldest buildings in the village, as it was built around 1400 AD: it has two aisles and a west tower. Notable features are the Norman doorway and the Norman font. Restoration work was done in 1882.[1] The church, as already stated, has its own cemetery, but also has a separate cemetery for those people who do not attend the Church (given to the village in 1926).
References
- ^ Pevsner, N. (1970) Cornwall, 2nd ed. Penguin Books; pp. 240-241
External links
- "Online Catalogue for Whitstone". Cornwall Record Office. http://crocat.cornwall.gov.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Overview.tcl&dsqSearch=((text)='whitstone').
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