d and murdered
people.' A little to my surprise, he said he liked reading books about
Devonshire, and admired some well-known novels dealing with the county,
though he thought them quite inaccurate. 'But,' he added tolerantly,
'they say that, to get at the truth from a guide-book, you must divide
what you read in three, and then take away half.' He admitted, all the
same, that there had been a certain amount of wrecking in the days of
the pirates (smugglers?), and putting lights in the wrong places. When
he was a boy, what they liked best was a wreck with a 'general' cargo,
so that the men could sell the mineral and the wives could wear the
silk; but there were fewer wrecks of any kind nowadays. It is very quiet
in the winter (east of Kingsbridge), unless anyone is going to be
buried, and the only other chances of any stir are if there is a wedding
or a christening, or a wreck in Start Bay.

Thurlestone takes its name from a 'thirled' or pierced rock, on the
shore through which the waves have drilled an arch. The rector of
Thurlestone has very kindly allowed me to make some extracts from a
manuscript history of the parish in his possession, the earlier notes of
which have been taken from entries made at the time of the events, in
the Bishop of Exeter's registers, and have, therefore, the value of
contemporary evidence. They are very interesting, as giving glimpses at
the course of events in a remote parish through several centuries.

During part of the fourteenth century the parishioners seem to have been
rather turbulent and the history tells of storms. Some while before the
first entry, in June, 1328, someone had not only been murdered, but
actually done to death within the church. There is no record of the
punishment of the culprit or culprits, or of any sign of penitence shown
by the parish; but probably some steps had been taken, for at that date
Bishop Grandisson commissioned the Archdeacon of Totnes to reconcile the
parish church of Thurlestone, 'which had been polluted by the shedding
of blood therein. For some reason not given the Archdeacon was excused
from performing this duty, and Stephen Abbot of Buckfast was
commissioned to officiate.... On the 8th of the Kalends of August, 1328,
the Bishop issued his mandate to the Archdeacon of Totnes, informing him
that the Abbot, having proceeded to Thurlestone, had reconciled the
church, and that he was to require the Parishioners to pay the customary
dues within eig