Strete

Strete is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, on the coast of Start Bay, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

For other uses, see Strete (disambiguation).

Strete

Looking down Church Hill, Strete
Strete
Location within Devon
Population474 (2011)
OS grid referenceSX841469
Civil parish
  • Strete
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDartmouth
Postcode districtTQ6
Dialling code01803
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireDevon and Somerset
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

The village is about 5 miles south-west of the town of Dartmouth on the A379 road between Dartmouth and Kingsbridge, atop the cliffs behind Pilchard Cove at the north end of Slapton Sands,[1] which part of the beach is known locally as Strete Sands.[2] The northern end of the beach has been a naturist beach for many years.[3]

The parish of Strete was created out of the south-eastern part of Blackawton parish in 1881. There was a small medieval chapel of ease in the village until 1836 when the present church, dedicated to St Michael, was built on the same site, incorporating the chapel's tower.[4][5]

The population of the parish was 520 in 2001,[4] decreasing to 474 in 2011.[6] Its western boundary is formed, in part, by the Gara Brook which separates it from the parish of Slapton, and it also has boundaries with the parishes of Blackawton and Stoke Fleming.[7] The Gara Brook flows into the Higher Ley of Slapton Ley, part of which is in the parish and at the northern end of which is Strete Gate where there is a small, free and a larger, pay-and-display car park with access to Strete Sands and a woodland walk.[8]

The first documentary mention of the place was as Streta in 1194. In 1244 it was called Strete. The name derives from Old English Strǣt, meaning a road or Roman road; the village lies on an ancient trackway.[9] Donn's One-Inch map of 1765 records the village as Street,[10] which it remained until the late 19th century, when it was altered to be spelled Strete.[lower-alpha 1]

Strete was one of the parishes evacuated in December 1943 as part of Exercise Tiger.[4]

Notes
  1. According to a District Council document published in 2009, the re-naming occurred in 1870,[11] but it is still shown as "Street" in White's Gazetteer of 1878.[12]
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References
  1. Ordnance Survey 1:25000 Outdoor leisure Map 20
  2. "Minutes of Strete Parish Council, 16 April 2015 (section 0414/10)". Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  3. "Clothes Free / Naturist / Nudist Beaches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland - Slapton Sands - South Devon". Saturday Walkers' Club. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  4. Harris, Helen (2004). A Handbook of Devon Parishes. Tiverton: Halsgrove. p. 163. ISBN 1-84114-314-6.
  5. Cherry, Bridget & Pevsner, Nikolaus (1989). The Buildings of England — Devon. Harmondsworth: Penguin. p. 770. ISBN 0-14-071050-7.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  7. "Map of Devon Parishes" (PDF). Devon County Council. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  8. "Teachers Beach Guide – Strete Gate" (PDF). South Devon AONB. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  9. Watts, Victor (2010). The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-names (1st paperback ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 586. ISBN 978-0-521-16855-7.
  10. Donn, Benjamin (1965). A map of the County of Devon, 1765. Reprinted in facsimile with an introduction by W. L. D. Ravenhill. London: Lund, Humphries.
  11. Strete Conservation Area Appraisal. South Hams District Council, July 2009. p. 6. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  12. White, William (1878). History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon (2nd ed.). pp. 163–5.
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