West Putford

{{Short description|Village and civil parish in Devon, England}}

{{Use British English|date=September 2020}}

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

{{Infobox UK place

| official_name= West Putford

| civil_parish = West Putford

| country= England

| region= South West England

|coordinates = {{Coord|50|55|N|4|19|W|display=title|region:GB_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}

| os_grid_reference=

| post_town=

| postcode_area=

| postcode_district=

| dial_code=

| constituency_westminster =

| shire_district= Torridge

| shire_county= Devon

| hide_services= Yes

| population =181

| population_ref = (2001 census)

| area_total_km2=

|static_image=West Putford Church - geograph.org.uk - 81500.jpg

|static_image_caption=West Putford parish church

|website=

}}

West Putford is a small settlement and civil parish in the local government district of Torridge, Devon, England. The parish, which lies about {{convert|8.5|mi}} north of the town of Holsworthy, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of East Putford (with which it is joined for ecclesiastical purposes), a small part of Bulkworthy, Abbots Bickington, Sutcombe, Bradworthy and Woolfardisworthy.{{cite web

|url=http://www.devon.gov.uk/devon_districts_2002_.pdf

|title=Map of Devon Parishes

|publisher=Devon County Council

|access-date=20 June 2013

}} In 2001 its population was 181, compared to 216 in 1901. The eastern and northern boundaries of the parish mostly follow the River Torridge over which is the 13th-century Kismeldon Bridge. Tumuli on the high ground provide evidence for early inhabitants here.{{Cite book

|last = Harris|first = Helen

|title = A Handbook of Devon Parishes

|publisher = Halsgrove|location = Tiverton|year = 2004

|pages = 183–4|isbn = 1-84114-314-6

}}

The cruciform early 14th-century parish church is dedicated to Saint Stephen. It has a Norman font, and the tower has been dated to around 1500. According to W. G. Hoskins (writing in the early 1950s) the church is clean, well-preserved and it largely avoided the attention of the Victorian restorers, making it "a pleasure, not merely to the antiquary, but to all who see it".{{cite book

| last = Hoskins| first = W. G.| author-link=William George Hoskins

| title = A New Survey of England: Devon

| publisher = Collins| location = London

| year = 1972| edition = New

| page = 467| isbn = 0-7153-5577-5

}}

Other notable buildings in the parish include Churston House, near the church, which was built in around 1600 by one of the Prideaux family and retains many original features; and Cory Barton, about half a mile to the north, which dates from the 16th century and was the seat of the Cory family.{{cite book

|title=Devon (The Buildings of England)

|author=Cherry, Bridget & Pevsner, Nikolaus

|publisher=Penguin |location=Harmondsworth |year=1989

|page=350|isbn=0-14-071050-7

}}

There is a Gnome Reserve, founded in 1979.