East Allington
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
East Allington is a village in south Devon, 3 miles south of Halwell and just off the A381. It lies about three miles from Kingsbridge and about ten miles from Totnes. The coast at Slapton Sands is about five miles to the south-east. East Allington also includes the hamlet of The Mounts, about a mile away.
The Church of St. Andrew's overlooks the village from a hillside position, and East Allington Primary School nestles in the shadow of the church.
East Allington is located within The South Hams local authority area. Historically, it formed part of Stanborough Hundred, and for ecclesiastical purposes, East Allington falls within Woodleigh Deanery.
Population has varied over the years - it was 468 in 1801, 396 in 1901 and 617 in 2000.
It was in East Allington Church, on the 12th November, 1943, that the announcement was first made to the people of a large part of The South Hams that they were all to be evacuated from the area by 20th December, 1943. Although nobody was told the reason, it was because The War Office had chosen to use Slapton Sands to rehearse the D-Day Landings, as the beach at Slapton is very similar to the beach at Normandy which had been chosen for the landings. Ultimately, 749 American soldiers lost their lives at Slapton Sands in April, 1944 in a German attack during the exercises.
Today, East Allington is a thriving village, with some new housing recently completed. It has a Church, Primary School, Village Hall, Pub and Recreation Ground.
