Wednesday, 29 November 2023 - 11:00 am (CET/MEZ) Berlin | Author/Destination: Great Britain / Großbritannien Category/Kategorie: GeneralReading Time: 4minutes
Clovelly is a privately owned harbour village in the Torridge district of Devon, England. The settlement and surrounding land belongs to John Rous who inherited it from his mother in 1983. He belongs to the Hamlyn family who have managed the village since 1738.
The village, which is built into the wooded sea cliffs of the north Devon shore, has a steep pedestrianised cobbled main street with traditional architecture. Due to the gradients, donkeys (now mostly replaced with sledges) have been used to move goods and cargo from Clovelly Bay. Visitors to the village entering via the visitor centre are required to pay an entrance fee which covers parking, entrance to two museums, Clovelly Court gardens, and an audiovisual history guide. The village is a tourist destination and is host to an annual Lobster and Crab festival.
At the 2011 census, the parish population was 443, a decrease of 50 on the 2001 census. The island of Lundy is part of the electoral ward of Clovelly Bay.
Almost all the terraced buildings along the village’s cobbled street are architecturally listed. More than 50 out of 71 are on the main street itself. Only seven buildings are not listed. The village’s only Grade I listed building is the Church of All Saints, parts of All Saints’ Church might still have some late Norman. Although its listing summary states, “Virtually all C15 and early C16, restored in 1843 and again in 1884”. The Grade II* buildings are numbers 16, and 45–47, 53–54 (53 has the house name Crazy Kate’s), and 59–61.
The Clovelly Estate Company owns all of the buildings in the village and is responsible for maintaining the village and preserving its character. The company is led by John Rous, a descendant of the Hamlyn family who lives at Clovelly Court. John Rous is the only son of Keith Rous, the 5th Earl of Stradbroke, by his second marriage, to Mary Asquith, granddaughter of former prime ministerH. H. Asquith. As of 2021, Clovelly included approximately “80 cottages, two chapels, two hotels”, woodlands and about 2000 acres of farmland. The village encourages tourism and has been financially successful in that endeavour as of 2019.
The village main street is not accessible by motor vehicles. The lack of vehicular access to the main street has led to deliveries being made by sledge. This is not done as a tourist attraction, but as a matter of practicality. Goods are delivered by being pulled down on a sledge from the upper car park, and refuse is collected by being pulled down the hill to a vehicle at the harbour. The village is served by Stagecoach bus service 319; the route includes Barnstaple, Bideford and Hartland. The South West Coast Path National Trail runs from the top of the village.
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