Newton St Cyres

Welcome to Newton St Cyres

A welcoming and historic Parish, Newton St Cyres lies about 5 miles from Exeter and 3 miles from Crediton.

Surrounded by the beautiful rolling countryside of Mid Devon, the parish has easy access to road and rail networks with its own station on the picturesque Tarka line.  The A377 main road running through the village is a major bus route with a regular timetable.

A designated Conservation Area covers some of the village.  The village is twinned with Rots, in Normandy, France

Interesting Facts

• Hugh Downman, physician and poet, was born in 1740 at Newton House in Newton St Cyres.  Besides many poems, Downman published a number of plays, helped to translate an edition of Voltaire’s works, and founded a literary society with 12 members in Exeter in 1796.
• Children’s author Dorothy Osborne (also known as Dorothy Arthur) lived in Newton St Cyres.
• During the reign of Edward VI, Newton St Cyres was the site of a battle over religion and revenge.  The ‘battle of Newton St Cyres’ being the culmination of a series of other battles locally between royal protestant troops against local catholic clergy and their followers.  The leader – a Geoffry Arundel – died at Newton having sought to rescue his daughter who had been taken by the royal troops.
• During the English Civil War, Parliamentary Commander-in-Chief Sir Thomas Fairfax rested in Newton St Cyres with his army on 22/10/1645.
• In the 1700’s, Newton St Cyres and nearby Upton Pyne were famous as sources of Manganese, supplying the United Kingdom from their mines.

Places to See and Things to do

• Newton St Cyres Arboretum: Well worth a visit, this is a great place for a walk and to enjoy the amazing collection of  trees and shrubs.  The arboretum is accessed via the Churchyard and is open during daylight hours all year round.
• The Parish Church of St Cyr and Julitta is a thirteenth century building situated in an elevated position in the middle of the village.  This church is home to the rare feature of the royal coat of arms of James II, erected in 1685.
• Downes House hosts an annual Festival of Gin in June.
• The Parish Council have produced a walking leaflet for you to discover the area NSC walking leaflet which one or two can also be viewed in the walking section of our website.
• There is also a golf course, tennis club and recreation ground in the village.

Places to Eat

• The village offers plenty of food choices for visitors.  Just past the Village Green is “Belluno”, an Italian Restaurant serving a wide selection of excellent food.  Travelling out of the village towards the Railway Station, is the Beer Engine gastro pub.  Heading out of the village towards Crediton is Hanlons Brewery, which not only brews its own beer, but has its own restaurant ‘The Beer Factory and Kitchen’.
• and if you bear right past the Beer Engine you will eventually come to Newton St Cyres Golf Course.  The railway station is close to the Beer Engine Pub.
• For local produce, Quickes Farm Shop sells award-winning clothbound cheddar. The Quicke family have been in Newton St Cyres since the 1500’s and are famed for their quality cheeses.  The farm also host the occasional open days and run cheese-making courses.
• Outside of the village is Bernaville Nurseries with a café and next door is the restaurant ‘The Stables at Cowley’.

Nearby

• Brampford Speke
• Crediton Hamlets
• Exeter
• Shobrooke
• Tedburn St Mary

Acknowledgements

Image courtesy of John Walton / Newton St Cyres Ford / CC BY-SA 2.0

Our thanks to Newton St Cyres Parish Council for providing much of the information for this page