{{Short description|Village in Devon, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use British English|date=June 2025}} {{Infobox UK place | official_name= Stokenham | civil_parish = Stokenham | country= England | region= South West England |coordinates = {{Coord|50.273202|N|3.679744|W|region:GB_type:city|display=title}} | os_grid_reference= | post_town= | postcode_area= | postcode_district= | dial_code= | constituency_westminster = | shire_district= South Hams | shire_county= Devon | hide_services= Yes | population =1895 | population_ref =(2011 census) | area_total_km2= |static_image=Stokenham Church - geograph.org.uk - 824382.jpg |static_image_caption= |website= }} '''Stokenham''' ({{IPAc-en|s|t|ou|k|ən|'|h|æ|m}}) is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district, in the county of Devon, England. The population of the parish at the 2011 census was 1,895.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=7&b=11129153&c=Stokenham&d=16&e=62&g=6416607&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1428316798404&enc=1|title=Parish population 2011|access-date= 6 April 2015}}</ref> right|thumb|Stokenham, Devon.
==Pronunciation== For the great majority of towns in England with names ending in -ham the suffix is very weakly pronounced as /əm/ and the stress is always earlier in the word. In Birmingham, for example, the stress is on the first syllable. Stokenham is a clear exception, with the -ham fully enunciated and stressed.
==Places in the parish== As well as Stokenham the civil parish includes the settlements of Torcross, Beesands, Hallsands, Kellaton, Kernborough, Dunstone, Beeson and Chillington and Bickerton.<ref>[http://www.stokenham-pc.gov.uk/Locality/The%20Locality.htm Stokenham Parish Council]</ref> It forms part of the district of South Hams. {{kml}} {{PoIgb start}} {{PoIgb|Beesands|50.253|-3.6572|SX818406|name=Beesands}} {{PoIgb|Torcross|50.2666|-3.6535|SX822420|name=Torcross}} {{PoIgb end}}
==History== The village of Stokenham was known in Saxon Times as Stoc or ''Stoc Hamme'' ("meaning Stoc meadows").<ref>[http://www.devoncam.co.uk/devon/places,102,Stokenham.html?resultpage=1 Stokenham Devon England Photos].</ref> By the 13th century the town was called Stoke in Hamme.<ref>[http://www.devon.gov.uk/historicstokenham Stokenham] at Devon County Council website.</ref> An electoral ward has the same name. The ward population at the 2011 census was 1,895.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/stokenham-e05003582#sthash.rU3FfCO3.dpbs|title=ward population 2011|access-date= 20 February 2015}}</ref>
In Mediaeval times St. Humbert the Confessor (d.1188AD)<ref>Nicholas Orme, English Church Dedications: With a Survey of Cornwall and Devon (University of Exeter Press, 1996) [https://books.google.com/books?id=yON3x64MR34C&dq=Saint+Humbert+of+Stokenham&pg=PA24 page 24]</ref> was locally venerated as patron saint in the town.
The area was known in the 19th century for the fine crabs, and in World War II local residents were evacuated from the area, on the eve of D-day. thumb|right|Start Bay looking north east
==Geography== To the east of the parish is Start Bay in the English Channel. The principal road in the parish is the A379 running between the nearest towns of Kingsbridge (to the west) and Dartmouth to the north.
==Local landmarks==
===The parish church=== The present church dates from 1431;<ref>[http://www.devoncam.co.uk/devon/places,102,Stokenham.html?resultpage=2 Stokenham Devon England Photos].</ref> an earlier Norman church predated it.<ref>[http://www.stokenham-pc.gov.uk/Churches/Churches.htm Stokenham Parish Church] website.</ref>
"The church as it stands today, is a fine example of the perpendicular style of medieval architecture. It is built on the side of a hill so that its whole length can be seen from below and is dedicated to St Michael and All Angels, which was common practice for churches standing on elevated sites. It was, however, dedicated to St Barnabas and prior to that to St Humbert the Confessor."<ref>[https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2288107 The Church of St Michael and All Angels, Stokenham] at Geograph.org.uk.</ref>
===Stokenham manor house=== Immediately to the east of the church is the site of Stokenham manor house, abandoned in 1585 but possibly dating back to at least the 12th century.<ref>[http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/xarch/stokenham2.shtml Excavations and Survey around the Village of Stokenham, Devon] Department of Archaeology, The University of Exeter.</ref>
===Local pub=== The Tradesman's Arms is an imposing 14th-century, part-thatched pub and restaurant.
On the 27 September 2021, a fire believed to have originated in the kitchen destroyed much of the pub alongside three neighbouring homes. The Tradesman's Arms was repaired having undergone a three-year restoration and building reconstruction, along with the fire damaged adjoining cottages which all reopened in May 2024.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-68802436|title=Tradesman's Arms pub in Stokenham rises from the ashes|date=12 April 2024|newspaper=BBC News|language=en-GB|access-date=24 January 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{Commons category|Stokenham}} {{Reflist|2}}
{{South Hams parishes}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Stokenham Category:Villages in South Hams