Beaford

Beaford is a village and civil parish in the Torridge district of Devon, England. The village is about five miles south-east of Great Torrington, on the A3124 road towards Exeter. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 393, compared to 428 in 1901. The western boundary of the parish is formed by the River Torridge and it is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of St Giles in the Wood, Roborough, Ashreigney, Dolton, Merton and Little Torrington. The parish church, which is in the village, is dedicated to All Saints, though before the Reformation it was dedicated to St George. It has a 15th-century doorway, arches and windows, as well as a Norman font, but according to W. G. Hoskins (writing in 1954) it is otherwise dull, having been heavily restored. Its tower was rebuilt with a small spire in 1910. Greenwarren House in the village is the former home of Beaford Arts, the country's longest established rural arts centre. It is now a private family house. Beaford House was host to some of the Great Train Robbers, who are understood to have buried more than £200,000 of the stolen money in nearby woods. Beaford used to have a cricket team which competed in division 2 of the North Devon League. It has now folded.