Page:Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries.djvu/227

 164 Devon Notes and Queries, 127. CoLLiEPRiEST. — Collicpriest is one of the most beautiful of Tiverton's public walks, and, as no one has traced its long and remarkable connection with the town, a few notes on its past history may be interesting. When Dunsford wrote, more than a hundred years ago, the green slopes of Colliepriest Lawn extended to the old river path ; but when the new water channel, diverting a portion of the Lowman river, was made, the continuous river path was broken, and the public had to cross the new bridge. Cranmore Castle, Tiverton's oldest fort, suggests that just below it was the little town or village on a hill that is our earliest record of a township. The reason for the choice of this site by the inhabitants of pre-historic times presents no difficulty, for in those long past ages instinct guided men as it does animals. They chose this spot for its usefulness — for here was the old ford of the Exe that would enable them, when the river was not swollen, to cross to the other bank. The secret massacre of the Danes by command of Ethelred, on St. . Brice's Day, points to the river ; it being the day on which the Danes bathed, and we know that Tiverton or old Twyford upon the river Isca or Exe, took its share in the slaughter. The original name of Tiverton was Twyford or Two fords, because in olden days before the larger bridges were built, the crossings of the rivers Exe and Lowman were by the fords. The old ford of the Exe where the pack horses crossed was in Colliepriest. Within memory, the Rev. T. Carew used to drive across the old ford to shorten his journey to Bickleigh. My forefathers could speak with awe of one memorable summer when they were able to cross on almost dry stones. Near was erected a wooden bridge across to the Rag. The bridge of Dunsford's day is thus described in his Historical Memoirs, page 291 : '* The elegant and apparently light, though strong, wooden bridge of the arch thrown over the Exe a little way south of the place where it receives the Lowman arrests the attention of almost every traveller." This last bridge fell into the river some years ago, and it was allowed to remain there and decay.