Abbotsham Parish

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The parish of Abbotsham borders the North Devon coast with the A39 North Devon Link Road separating the village from the nearby town of Bideford. 

Abbotsham is very proud of its community spirit and independent identity. It comprises a village centre, where the majority of people live and a scattering of hamlets between the village centre and the coast.

There has been a Post Office in Abbotsham for over 150 years but the Post Office and Village Stores finally closed in 2016. An outreach Post Office operates in the Village Hall on Wednesday mornings. 

The parish has the luxury of a public house.  The Thatched Inn in the centre of the village has been a public house since the 1700’s and parts of the building are even older. Over the years it has been enlarged and improved, but still retains a good village pub appearance and atmosphere. 

A stretch of the South West Coast Path runs along Abbotsham cliffs and there are six other designated footpaths and bridleways within the parish. These provide a wide variety of walks and allows access to most of the parish on foot using the same routes that parishioners have used for many centuries.

The village has a busy and varied social life as can be seen from the activities in the village hall, church and chapel. A monthly email is produced and distributed to all all on the circulation list to keep residents informed of what is going on. To be added to the circulation contact Jenna Tolley on abbotshamhallbookings@hotmail.com. Events are also publicised on Abbotsham Village and Community Facebook page. The strong community spirit is well demonstrated by the high percentage of residents who returned the most recent Parish Plan questionnaires. Their unanimous opinion was that Abbotsham should retain its character as a village and not become a suburb of Bideford. 

For those  tracing their family history, there is a wealth of information in the Archive section ranging from Tithe Maps and Listings to the old School Registers. 

Landscape & History

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The whole area is underlain by shaley culm measures which have been dissected by small streams to form a landscape of small hills (highest point 110 m) and valleys.

Tourism, Industry & Employment

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Despite its proximity to Bideford agriculture remains important to the parish with three sizeable working farms within its boundaries. Other farms have concentrated on providing facilities for tourists by converting barns and outbuildings into holiday cottages or providing facilities for outdoor activities.