Sampford Courtenay
Sampford Courtenay
Sampford Courtenay Location within Devon
Population	600 (2019)
OS grid reference	SS6301
Civil parish	Sampford Courtenay
District	West Devon
Shire county	Devon
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	OKEHAMPTON
Postcode district	EX20
Dialling code	01837
UK Parliament	Torridge and West Devon
List of places UK England Devon 50°47′32″N 3°56′42″W / 50.7923°N 3.9451°W / 50.7923; -3.9451

Sampford Courtenay is a village and civil parish in West Devon in England, most famous for being the place where the Western Rebellion, otherwise known as the Prayerbook rebellion, first started, and where the rebels made their final stand. It has a population of around 600.^[1]

The Church of St Andrew is mainly built of granite and has an elegant tower.^[2]

Between 1867 and 1972, the village was served by the nearby Sampford Courtenay railway station at Belstone Corner. The station reopened for the heritage Dartmoor Railway between 2002 and 2021, after which it closed permanently. Network Rail reclaimed ownership of the Dartmoor line between Yeoford and Okehampton in 2021, but have no plans to reopen the station.

Literature

Sampford Courtenay is the area author M.R. James had in mind for his short ghost story Martin's Close published in More Ghost Stories in 1911. The New Inn featured in this story is also a real place and a grade II listed old coaching inn originally built in the 16th century.