MODBURY IN SOUTH DEVON  map ref SX6551
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Modbury is a pleasant little town, almost completely tucked away within the folds of the local landscape. Modbury consists of three steep streets, which converge close to the town's public house. The town itself dates back to the 8th Century, and has a very colourful history. The name Modbury is derived from the Saxon phrase"Moot Burgh" or meeting place.

The streets are lined with many old fashioned, teashops, art galleries and antique shops, many with period frontages. Modbury also has a fine collection of houses dating from the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries. Though many are from the 18th - possessing fine examples of carved and pillared porticoes. The church of St George, built in 1300, is very impressive; and well worth a visit.

Modbury during the English Civil War

The Exeter Inn in Church street was a Royalist meeting place during the English Civil War. Two Civil war battles were fought at Modbury in 1642 and 1643. Nearby Plymouth was besieged by Royalist forces in 1642; the Parliamentarians, under Oliver Cromwell, raised an army of some 8000 men in the north, and marched them down to relive the town.

The Royalists dispatched Sir Nicholas Slanning and Col. John Trevanion with 2000 men to intercept the Parliamentarian army. On the 21st February the two armies met at Modbury. The superior numbers in the Parliamentarian army prevailed and the Royalists were driven through the streets of Modbury. The Royalists rallied at a fortified house in the town, but the next morning they were overwhelmed again, being forced to retreat down a street adjacent to the church; a street still known today as 'Runaway Lane'. The Parliamentarians went on to relieve the siege at Plymouth.

TIC

Poundwell Meadow Car Park, MODBURY.
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