The
History
The history of Cockington stretches back far longer than you'd
imagine. It's history has been traced back over 2,500 years
with evidence of two irona age hill forts on either side of
cockington valley. Evidence has also been found of a Saxon
settlement near where the Drum Inn currently stands and overall
evidence seems to suggest that Cockington was primarily a
fishing and farming village. Cockington is first officially
documented in the 10th century and during the next thousand
years, up until 1931 when the estate was sold to the Torquay
Corporation, just three different families owned it. The first,
as documented in the 10th century, was the de Cockington family
who lived there for 281 years. Then the Carys bought the estate
and lived there from 1375 to 1654. At that time the Mallocks
(who were a family of rich silversmiths from Exeter) bought
the estate and lived there for 279 years until it was eventually
sold to the Torquay Corporation.
Although the village is very
small, there are a small number of notable buildings. The
first one you'll most likely encounter when you visit is the
Drum Inn. This fine building was built in the 1920's and replaced
the old ale-house that stood there before. It was designed
by the architect Lutyens. The other main feature of the village
are the Almshouses, a small cluster of seven terraced cottages
that were built in the Elizabethan period by the Cary family
to house the poor and those who could not work within the
village itself. When the Mallock family took over the estate
they fell into disrepair. In the 1840's they were moved brick
by brick to their current location and rebuilt. The cricket
ground was originally a deer park during medieval times and
cricket only started to be played on it from the 1900's onwards.
The current cricket house was built after the original burnt
down in the 1990's. Cockington Court was built over the remains
of the original medieval court. Today it is used for various
arts and crafts workshops. The forge is also worth mentioning
for it has stood in the same place in the village for over
500 years.
Paranormal Stories
Which brings us to Cockington Church, and one of the main
reasons why we visited Cockington. Cockington Church is a
beautiful old church that was originally built in the 1800's.
A few years ago when group member Kim originally visited the
place with family she was suddenly overwhelmed with a pain
in her chest and a loss of breath - as if she had been forcibly
shoved or hit - and had to make a hasty retreat back outside
to recover.
Our Day Out
Upon our arrival we had a quick bite to eat at the Drum Inn
and then took the short walk up to the Church to have a look
around and to see if Kim experienced the same as what she
did when she last visited. When we arrived Mike started filming
Kim as she ventured back into the Church for the first time,
and she said that although it wasn't as strong as before,
it was still there. The video that was recorded can be viewed
on the left. A number of photos were taken by the group and
a couple appear to show small anomalies known as orbs in them.
Kim, Chris and Dennis also felt that there was something unusual
about the large church bell they have on display, and whilst
standing under it the name Edward was suggested. After we
left the church we ventured over to the court to have a look
around and then afterwards we walked through the trail to
go and see the old Gamekeepers Cottage that lies isolated
in the grounds. Unfortunately it was closed but after a walk
around we headed back.
The Location The village as a whole is beautifully
tranquil and is a true snap-shot in time of your typical picture-postcard
village of days gone by. It's such a lovely, quiet place and
has not been touched by development or modern life. If anybody
is travelling to Torquay then the group would recommend spending
some time in Cockington.
Below are a selection of photographs
that were taken during our visit.
Welcome to the beautiful village of Cockington.
The Drum Inn - built in the 1930's where the old ale-house
stood before.
This is Cockington Church as you walk across the Cricket
ground to get to it.
This is the view of inside the church as you enter
it. The carving on the wood that protects the altar and stained
glass window is phenomenal!
The view of the church looking back up towards the
entrance.
This photo was taken by Kim and shows two small orbs
in the church.
This photo was also taken by Kim of the stained glass
window. In this photo a mist can be seen on the left side.
Since it is the only photo out of the high number that Kim
took that had such an anomaly on it the likelihood that it
is the edge of a finger in the way of the lens is very remote.
Cockington Court, as seen from the cricket ground.
This is the walk up towards the lake-side stroll and
to the Gamekeepers cottage. An orb anomaly was captured that
looked remarkable like the one photographed back in the church.
Frog voyeurism! We spotted these two little frogs
on our walk up towards the Gamekeepers cottage.
This is the Gamekeepers cottage. It's currently unoccupied
and used as a storeroom.
The front side of the Gamekeepers cottage.
Another interesting photo that Kim took. This water
feature was shut behind a 'No Entry' sign and there was no
glass in the way that could have caused a reflection, which
makes you wander what the twisting red shape is in the picture.
This following photo was taken later in July, 2007
as a comparison to the above. As you can see, no such mist
or red light appears.
How to get there:
The road you need to be on is Torbay Road. If you're heading
out from Torquay then the road you want is Cockington Lane
which is on the right just before you get to the Livermead
Cliff Hotel (the turn is marked on the map provided at the
circled junction numbered 1). If you're heading in towards
Torquay then the road is just after the hotel on the left.
The lane is small but is signposted. You'll know if you've
got the right road because the first thing you'll do is go
under a small rail bridge. Keep driving up this small lane
until you reach the village then turn right and the car-park
will be on your right. The charge is £2 for the day
and there are toilets there (but they do charge).
