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The village lies 800ft above
the Exe Valley, roughly equidistant between the north and south Devon coasts, close to the Devon/Somerset border. Tiverton lies some 6 miles to the south and Bampton about 5 miles to the north.
The village has easy access onto the A361(T) North Devon Link Road with links to Barnstaple to the north and the M5(J27) to
the south where is situated Tiverton Parkway mainline railway station. One of the main approaches to the village is the Drive which is two and a half miles long and connects Stoodleigh
via a bridge over the River Exe to the Tiverton/Bampton road. This beautiful winding and wooded lane gives the traveller the
impression of being transported back in time. St Margaret's Church was probably first built in Norman times near the manor known as Stoodleigh Barton. The first recorded incumbent was installed in 1264. In 1879 extensive restoration took place. A hill to the West of the parish is known as Stoodleigh Beacon. Rising to nearly 1,000ft. It is the
highest point between Exmoor and Dartmoor. It is said to have accommodated a beacon on the top by order of King Edward II
more than 600 years ago. The history of the village has been agricultural from the time of the Domesday Book. 900 years ago the area already had five or six substantial farms and manors. Parish boundaries were not defined until the 12th Century although the Devon Hundreds were subdivisions of the Wessex administrative area. Hill farmsteads have been populated since Saxon times. Currently the parish covers almost seven square miles and contains 134 dwellings.The centre of the village is a Conservation Area. There are several early buildings in the village, notably Carscombe which is mentioned in the Domesday Book and Barns Cottage the old tithe barn. Church Cottage dates back to the early 1500's and was originally the single storey medieval Church Hall. It is possibly the oldest house in the Conservation Area.
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The lane between the village and the Tiverton to Bampton Road is still known as "The Drive". It is understood to have been built for the sole use of the occupants of the Court in the about 1880 and was called The New Road. The villagers had to use the other lanes and footpaths in and out of the village. How times have changed from when the carriage would have been brought round from The Old Coach House, passing the Old Rectory and down the driveway to Stoodleigh Court. The
Court is a magnificent gothic style building and pictures can be found on the website of the owners (who now run a business
from it, together with hiring it out as a conference centre and for weddings). Previous to this it was Ravenswood School
which closed in 1992. The children from the village attended Stoodleigh School (now a dwelling) until it closed in July 1976.
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