Whitstone

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Whitstone is a village roughly halfway between Bude and Launceston in Cornwall, England, UK.

1 History
2 Physical Geography
3 Layout & Communications
4 Business & Economics
5 Religion

[edit] History

The earliest mention of the village is in the Doomsday Book of 1086, when Whitstone was called 'Witestan', and thanks to William I, was controlled by Ralph from the Count of Mortain. The Witestan area, called a "hundred" was 12 acres, holding 8 cattle, 8 pigs, 40 sheep and 40 goats. And from the Doomsday survey, of the houses in Whitstone entered into it, one still remains and is still lived in.

In the 19th Century, the parish was called Whitstone. There were around 500 villagers, and the village had its own 'POST OFFICE', and the entire parish comprised of around 4000 acres, with part of the Bude Canal passing through the parish.

[edit] Physical Geography

Whitstone is situated in North Cornwall, on the B3254, halfway between Bude (a major tourist destination) and Launceston (Ex-Capital of Cornwall). Whitstone is around three miles from the coast, at Widemouth and surrounded by rolling hills and fields. From the higher points of the village, you can see as far as Dartmoor (to the east) and Bodmin Moor (to the south). Down a minor road, from the B3254, is the entrance to Whitstone Woods, which reaches over to Week St Mary, and includes a river that creates the border to Whitstone parish and is a tributary for the larger river that runs through Bude, the River Neet.

[edit] Layout & Communications

The village of Whitstone itself is set out in a linear pattern, built along the B3254, with houses, detached or semi-detached, bungalows or terraces. There are also two small housing estates off the main road, one much smaller than the other and many farms on the outskirts of the village. There are also adjoining roads in the village which have a large majority of the population living along them.

[edit] Business & Economics

In 2006, the village now has the most businesses it has ever had. Over the last ten years or so, the village has grown and now has around nine businesses, which could be considered quite a lot for a small village. Some of these businesses are big nationally, some are just local and some are just known within the village, selling homemade items from home.

Whitstone Village Stores Opened in the 1980s, and has changed hands a couple of times, with closures during the handovers. After a long closure, it was opened again in 1996 with a brand new interior. After changing hands again in 2001, the Shop was expanded to have Movie Rental and the Post Office. Now the Village Shop is a convenience store selling a limited numbers of most things, including bakery and dairy produce, a limited fruit and vegetables, a large variety of canned food, as well as some cereal and biscuits. At the front of the store is a wide variety of confectionery and snack food. As well as food there is some pet food and a few health/body products, alcohol, cigarettes and stationery.

The village even has a recording studio, owned by international singer/songwriter Tori Amos.

Other Businesses include:

Business	Type	Providing...
J.R.J.Rees	Construction	Housing & Repairs
John Guest Ltd	Manufacturing	Jobs
St Annes Nursing Home	Health/Care	Care for the Elderly
Bridgmans	Sales/Retail	Agricultural Hardware
Whitstone Post Office	Post Office	Posting & Banking
Hamblys Ltd	Sales/Retail	Agricultural Hardware
AJ Moore and Sons Ltd	Hiring	Agricultural Machinery
Bennetts Court	Tourism	Self Catering Cottages
Pondacre Boarding Kennels	Animal Care	Temporary Dog Boarding
Hilton Woods Park	Tourism	Self Catering Chalets

[edit] Religion

Whitstone has two places of worship, a Methodist Chapel and a Church of England Church.

Methodist Chapel

The Methodist Chapel is in the centre of the village, next to the Village Shop, with a private car park on the opposite side of the road.

Church of England

The Church is located on one of the smaller lanes leading off of the main road leading through the village. Unlike the Methodist Chapel, there is a long path by the cemetery leading down to the church. The church, named St. Annes Church, is one of the oldest buildings in the village, as it was built around 1400AD. The church, as already stated, has it own cemetery, but also has a separate cemetery dedicated to people who don't attend the Church, that was given to the village in 1926.

Civil Parishes of North Cornwall District