Houndiscombe

In 1244 we had Hundescumb and in 1318 Hondescumbe and there seems to be little doubt that this can be somewhat literally translated to give us the hound's combe ... or valley of the hounds.

Certainly the original Houndiscombe estate lends itself to this suggestion. Occupied from earliest times - various Neolithic stone axes have been found within the estate boundaries - this deep, long and doubltess well-wooded valley, carrying two branches of the ancient Houndiscombe Brook, would have been an ideal hunting grounds for dogs.

The two streams in question would have met where Dale Avenue and Central Park Avenue now meet, one coming down from the Venn Estate, the other running down from Mutley, and having joined they ran down to Houndescombebrigge.

This modest but old structure which dated back to at least the time of Henry VII (1485-1509) stood roughly where Pennycomequick Roundabout now sits and would then have carried the Saltash Road across the brook just as it was about to flow into the now long since in-filled Stonehouse Creek.