Widey

Mentioned in Domesday the name Widey is thought to come from "Withey" from the withies or willow trees growing around the spring at the heart of the manor of Widey and which area still to be found in that small section of Widey Woods that has so far resisted the encroachment as Eggbuckland, Crownhill and Plymouth itself have relentlessly developed the land around.

Not so fortunate though was the manor house itself. Substantially rebuilt down the years on an original Tudor dwelling, Widey, after some 300 years in the hands of the Morshead family, was, at the beginning of World War II, in the hands of two naval gentlemen who proposed to convert this former headquarters of Charles I into a first-class hotel.

However in 1941 it was requisitioned by the City Police and after the war following years of neglect it was eventually pulled down in 1954 to make way for Widey Primary School.