Ford Street

Ford Street

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On the Green Trail, we now take a right hand turn from Lime St on to Ford St. originally there was a stream here which ran across the road through Kinsmansdale to Millbrook which was called a ford and how the street got it's name. Here you pass Moreton House on your right standing in a commanding position at the turn of the road. Moreton House is a four-square late Georgian building, once the home of the Whites, tanners and prominent merchants of the town. Ford St seems narrow enough today as large lorries push through, but in the last century it must have been much worse, for the centre of the road was occupied by the Shambles, a collection of wooden huts where the butchers plied their trade. Careful shoppers needed to watch where they put their feet, and nice shops made sure their entrances were well raised. This can be seen in the old mill stone that forms the entrance to the village pharmacy - there has been a chemist shop here since 1835. One of the pharmacists was Henry Rhill, a descendant of one of the French prisoners of war here in 1811. This was also the place where farmers sold their butter and eggs. Ford St was used to passing traffic in those days too. before the chemist shop is now an empty gap where there were once shops, a cafe and an old petrol pump. In the early hours on Tuesday 11 September 2007, one of the towns oldest thatched buildings caught fire. A total of eight pumping appliances were mobilised by fire control along with a Water/Foam Carrier, Aerial Ladder Platform, Incident Command Vehicle, Hose Laying Lorry and 4x4 vehicle. These appliances came from a number of stations across Devon; Moretonhampstead, Chagford, Bovey Tracey, Okehampton, Crediton, Ashburton, Exeter, Exmouth and Tavistock were needed to control the blaze, which started at around 2.20am on Tuesday morning. The building consisted of three ground floor shops, of which only one was in use. The other two shops, and a flat above were empty. No-one was hurt during the incident and the house next door (Moreton house) had to be evacuated.