Sampford Peverell

The Grand Western Canal and St John's church (the house in front of the church is one of the rectories built at the expense of the canal company

Sampford Peverell is a village in Mid-Devon, England. Its name reflects its inclusion in the Honour of Peverel, the lands of William Peverel and his family. His great-grandson, Hugh Peverell (the name had changed spelling), is buried in the village church of St John the Baptist.

In 1810 it was reported that the house of a John Chave in the village was experiencing dramatic poltergeist activity. The case was discussed in the national press of the time, and Chave's house gained such notoriety that in 1811 it was besieged by a mob of rowdy workmen known as navvies. In the scenes that followed, Chave was forced to open fire on the crowd in self-defence, killing one person, a George Helps, buried in the churchyard. The paranormal activity turned out to be noises made by smugglers behind a false wall. The house in question no longer stands, but its location can be pinpointed courtesy of a village information board that denominates it 'The Ghost House, Higher Town - now demolished'.

The two rectories were built in 1836, at the expense of the Grand Western Canal Company, in compensation for cutting through the grounds and demolishing the south wing of the Old Rectory.

The Great Western Railway opened a station at Sampford Peverell in 1932 but it closed on 5 October 1964; the site has since been reused as Tiverton Parkway railway station (opened in 1986).

References

• [Stabb, John (1908–16) Some Old Devon Churches http://www.wissensdrang.com/stabb193.htm#197]

External links

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