Cheldon


Cheldon is a village and former civil parish, north-west of Exeter, now in the parish of Chulmleigh, in the North Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. In 1961, the parish had a population of 32.

Features

Cheldon has a church called St Mary with a 12th century font and 16th century bells.

History

The name "Cheldon" means "Ceadela's hill". Cheldon was recorded in the Domesday Book as Cadeldone/Cheledone/Chaeledona. The parish was historically in the Colyton hundred. On 1 April 1986, the parish was abolished and merged with Chulmleigh.

"Doing a Cheldon"

The village is thought to be the origin of the phrase "to do a Cheldon", meaning "to inadvertently cause a series of calamitous events", although alternative theories have been proposed. Longtime Cheldon resident Agnes P. Widdicombe attributes the phrase to an incident in 1918 in which a resident attempted to kill a marauding badger with a homemade flamethrower; the burning badger entered the village church and ignited a First World War munitions dump, causing an explosion that killed all 17 people inside at the time.