Its
importance gradually declined after the introduction of railways and the
demand for larger ships, and the same causes affected Topsham, its
rival.
[Illustration: POWDERHAM CASTLE.]
Leaving Exminster, we had a delightful walk to Powderham, the ancient
seat of the Courtenay family, the Earls of Devon, who were descended
from Atho, the French crusader. The first of the three branches of this
family became Emperors of the West before the taking of Constantinople
by the Turks, the second intermarried with the royal family of France,
and the third was Reginald Courtenay, who came to England in the
twelfth century and received honours and lands from Henry II. His family
have been for six centuries Earls of Devon, and rank as one of the most
honoured in England.
We called to see the little church at Powderham, which stood quite near
the river side, and which, like many others, was built of the dark red
sandstone peculiar to the district. There were figures in it of Moses
and Aaron, supposed originally to be placed to guard the two tablets
containing the Ten Commandments; and there were the remains of an old
screen, but the panels had suffered so severely that the figures and
emblems could not be properly distinguished.
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