Shaugh Prior

{{Short description|Village in Devon, England}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}

{{Infobox UK place

|coordinates = {{coord|50.44944|-4.05435|display=inline,title}}

|country = England

|official_name= Shaugh Prior

| population = 751

| population_ref = (Census 2001)

|shire_county = Devon

|shire_district= South Hams

|region= South West England

|os_grid_reference = SX5463

|dial_code= 01752

|post_town= PLYMOUTH

|postcode_area= PL

|postcode_district= PL7

|label_position = bottom

|constituency_westminster=

|static_image=Shaugh Bridge - geograph.org.uk - 26212.jpg

|static_image_width=240px

|static_image_caption= Shaugh Bridge, near the village

|london_distance=

|website = {{URL|www.shaughpriorparish.gov.uk}}

}}

Shaugh Prior is a village and civil parish on the south-western side of Dartmoor in the county of Devon, England. It is situated about 8 miles north-east of the historic centre of the city of Plymouth. In 2001 its population was 751.{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Helen |title=A Handbook of Devon Parishes |publisher=Halsgrove |location=Tiverton |year=2004 |page=147 |isbn=1-84114-314-6 }} The parish stretches from the edge of Plymouth to the high moorland of Dartmoor. The River Plym forms its western and northern boundaries up to the river's source at Plym Head. The higher parts of the parish are rich in Bronze Age monuments such as cists and cairns, and there is much evidence of tin mining. The area of Lee Moor that has been much mined for china clay is within the parish, but outside the Dartmoor National Park.

The name derives from Old English {{lang|ang|sceaga}}, a copse, and the fact that the manor belonged to Plympton Priory.{{Cite journal |author=Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M |journal=English Place-Name Society |volume= viii. Part I. |title=The Place-Names of Devon |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1931 |page=258 }}

The grade I listed church dedicated to St. Edward has its origins in the 11th century, but the present building with its prominent granite tower, dates from the 15th.