Cofton

Cofton is a small village, parish and former historic estate, near Dawlish in South Devon, of which parish it formed a part until 1839.Parish ChurchThe parish church, dedicated to St Mary, was rebuilt in 1838-9 by William Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon (1777–1859), of Powderham Castle, a leader of the High Church revival and eldest son of Rt. Rev. Henry Reginald Courtenay, Bishop of Exeter. The architect was Charles Fowler.ChapelsThere were formerly two chapels in the parish of Dawlish:Cofton ChapelAs reported by the Devon historian Polwhele, the original structure of St Mary's Church was a private chapel built for his own use by Dr George Kendall (1610-1663), Doctor of Divinity, who owned and resided at the estate of Cofton, and conducted the services personally. Pevsner however suggests the chapel had stood since the 13th century. In 1793 Cofton Chapel was in ruins, but still contained two monuments, one to Dr Kendall, the other to Mrs Charity Cooke (d.1646), a daughter of William Cooke of Exeter.Dr George Kendall was the son and heir of George Kendall (d.1648) of Cofton by his wife Anne Cooke, a member of the Cooke family of Exeter, probably a junior branch of the Cooke family of Thorne in the parish of Ottery St Mary, Devon. George Kendall (d.1648) was the Customer of Exeter and Dartmouth and other member ports, but shortly before 1620 had been "wrongfully dispossessed". The Kendall family had been seated in at Treworgie in Cornwall four generations prior to Dr George Kendall.