Pubs of Shebbear
The Shebbear History Project is delighted to announce it has released it’s first publication.
The Devil’s Stone Inn is a well-known, popular pub in North Devon, South West of England. Today it has no competition, but many local residents are unaware that it hasn’t always been the only hostelry in the village.
The Shebbear History Project has unearthed some fascinating tales of brawls, court cases and ghosts.
This publication reveals which buildings housed the Shebbear pubs and who ran them.
“In 1859, the annual meeting of the Friendly Society met in the New Inn. As members drank through until 2am fighting began. Six customers attacked PC Drewe. PC Roberts tried to help but was held back by the crowd, as PC Drewe, by now on the floor, continued to be violently attacked. Perhaps Friendly Society is a misnomer?
Although James Bowman (The New Inn, now the Devil’s Stone Inn)wasn’t reported as being directly involved in the Friendly Society fight, he had his own incident the following year. He was in custody for assaulting his wife Mary and daughter Sarah Jane, when he decided to assault the arresting officer as well. He was convicted of assaulting P.C Damerell and given the maximum fine. Unsurprisingly, James was subsequently refused a renewal of his license due to keeping a disorderly house. “
An essential addition to the bookshelf of anybody who has even a passing interest in Shebbear’s history.
All proceeds go to the Shebbear History Project to benefit the people of Shebbear and everybody interested in it’s history.
There was be printed in July 2025 and is available from the South View Stores and the Devil’s Stone Inn in Shebbear, Holsworthy Museum and Torrington Museum, as well as direct from the Shebbear History Project. If you can’t get to Shebbear, you can order your own E-Book version by clicking on this link, or print your own personal paperback copy by clicking on this link.
People
We haven’t uncovered confirmed connections with any famous historical figures that easily spring to mind, but there are certainly some influential people and human interest stories, many of which will be shared in due course. This will include oral history interviews.
Religion
As with any community, religion has had an enormous influence in many ways. In the first half of the 19th century The Bible Christians started in Shebbear and ended up not only leaving a huge legacy in Shebbear, Devon and Cornwall, but other parts of the old British Empire.
Medical services
The Project has a good amount of information about medical provision to the community over the years.
Doctors Hall and Miller have been very helpful in this research, but as ever there is much still to understand and record.
We were lucky enough to recover some old medical equipment when Beech House was sold for residential use, which now forms part of an aspiring archive collection.
Everyday Life
Far too often, the life stories of everyday folk, like those on the Shebbear History Project, are not told. This is understandable, most of us do not have country estates named after us, headed huge armies to invade and subjugate others, murder people, well you get the idea.
The Project intends to redress some balance where possible. Of course we won’t ignore the the more colourful characters.
Last updated on 8 August 2025 by Paul Watts