Northlew

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Northlew
Northlew shown within Devon
Population	592 ^[1](2001 Census)
OS grid reference	SX504991
- London	207 miles (333 km)
Parish	Northlew
District	West Devon
Shire county	Devon
Region	South West
Constituent country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	OKEHAMPTON
Postcode district	EX20
Dialling code	01409
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
European Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	Torridge and West Devon
Website: http://www.northlew.com/
List of places: UK • England • Devon

Coordinates: 50°46′20″N 4°07′16″W / 50.7721, -4.1212Northlew is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of the county of Devon, England, located at 50.77° N 4.12° W, UK National Grid reference SX5099. The post code for the village post office is EX20 3NZ.

Thatched cottage and parish church at Northlew

The village is approximately 7 miles (11Km) northwest of the town of Okehampton, and most places in the village have excellent views over Dartmoor. The village is relatively isolated, not being served by any main roads. It has an attractive main square surrounded by traditional buildings, some of them thatched; just off the square are a pub, the local primary school and two churches, the Church of England parish church of Saint Thomas Becket and the Methodist church (originally Bible Christian). The ecclesiastical parish of Northlew has been combined with the neighbouring village of Ashbury, and since the school is a Church of England voluntary controlled school, it bears the name of both villages.

Historically, Northlew formed part of Black Torrington Hundred. It gets its name from the ancient manor of Lew, mentioned in the Domesday Book; the village of Lewdown and the River Lew are nearby. The village has the melancholy distinction of having lost the highest proportion of its enlisting population of any municipality in the United Kingdom during the First World War: of 100 men who enlisted in the forces, 24 died. A stone memorial to them was recently erected in the churchyard, replacing wooden memorial tablets within the church.