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Devon Test | England

From north coast to south coast, Devon spreads across the south-west peninsula - there's no-where quite like it. Test your knowledge of the county, especially its south-west corner.

A multiple-choice quiz by Saranna. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Saranna

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
175,959

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
1019

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What famous early mediaeval text was found in Devon? Hint

The Exeter Book

The Barnstaple Book

The Plymouth Book

The Totnes Book

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Question 2 of 10

2. What is the name of the south-western area of Devon? Hint

The Western Ribs

The West Chops

The South Hams

The Southern Edges

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Question 3 of 10

3. Where can you cross to an island on foot at low tide, but have to take a water taxi at high tide? Hint

Mothecombe

Hope Cove

Bigbury

Bantham

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Question 4 of 10

4. What is the name of the dangerous point in the Hamoaze, so named by sailors over hundreds of years? Hint

Devil's Elbow

Devil's Channel

Devil's Rock

Devil's Point

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Question 5 of 10

5. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle practised medicine in Plymouth for a short time.

True

False

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Question 6 of 10

6. What word appears over the door of St. Andrew's Church, and was first put up the morning after it was seriously damaged in the blitz? Hint

Resurgam

Renaissance

Revival

Restoration

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Question 7 of 10

7. What great favour did Drake do for Plymouth in particular? Hint

Built the Citadel.

Played bowls on the Hoe and founded the bowling green.

Brought water from the moors to supply the town.

Founded the Drake's Drum pub.

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Question 8 of 10

8. Sir Joshua Reynolds was born in Plympton.

True

False

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Question 9 of 10

9. Plymouth was once known as the Three Towns.

True

False

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Question 10 of 10

10. Pennycomequick in Plymouth is so called because one old penny was the fare on a ferry that plied nearby.

True

False

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What famous early mediaeval text was found in Devon?

Answer: The Exeter Book

Discovered in Exeter Cathedral, this is a treasury of Anglo-Saxon riddles and poetry which greatly extended our knowledge of early mediaeval literature.

2. What is the name of the south-western area of Devon?

Answer: The South Hams

Kingsbridge, at the head of the drowned valley known as the Salcombe estuary, is the capital of the South Hams, but it is the vast parish church at Ugborough under the shelter of the Moor, that is called its cathedral.

3. Where can you cross to an island on foot at low tide, but have to take a water taxi at high tide?

Answer: Bigbury

The island is called Burgh Island, and its splendid Art Deco hotel features in Agatha Christie's "Evil Under the Sun." The hotel was nearly derelict for many years until restored for a film of the book but under its current owners is a thriving tourist centre. The "taxi" is a sea-tractor with its passenger accommodation high up a ladder above its huge wheels.

4. What is the name of the dangerous point in the Hamoaze, so named by sailors over hundreds of years?

Answer: Devil's Point

Now the site of a pleasant Sunday stroll for Plymothians, Devil's Point is near the 18th century William Yard and has one of the oldest buildings in Plymouth, a tower dating from Henry VIII's time, as well as remnants of WW2 installations and Napoleonic defences.

A plaque records the departure of The Beagle with Darwin aboard, ready to blow science to smithereens with his discovery of natural selection.

5. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle practised medicine in Plymouth for a short time.

Answer: True

Doyle lived briefly in Durnford Street on the Stonehouse peninsula, but managed to give a fair impression of Dartmoor in the "Hound of the Baskervilles" despite the brevity of his stay!

6. What word appears over the door of St. Andrew's Church, and was first put up the morning after it was seriously damaged in the blitz?

Answer: Resurgam

The word means, "I will rise again", and the ancient doorway - under which Sir Francis Drake passed on his wedding day - still stands to prove the truth of the pledge.

7. What great favour did Drake do for Plymouth in particular?

Answer: Brought water from the moors to supply the town.

Drake's Leat can still be seen on the moors, as can the reservoir it supplied, on North Hill. Until the late 19th century when Burrator was built, the leat supplied all the needs of the burgeoning city.

8. Sir Joshua Reynolds was born in Plympton.

Answer: True

Reynolds was born in Plympton, which is now part of Plymouth, in 1723. He used sailcloth from Plymouth Dock for his first paintings.

9. Plymouth was once known as the Three Towns.

Answer: True

The first settlement at the mouth of the Plym was called Sutton; Plymouth came later, and then Plymouth-Dock on the Hamoaze, later known as Devonport. The three towns were amalgamated finally in 1914. I can remember the Three Towns Dairy when I was a child in the 1950s.

10. Pennycomequick in Plymouth is so called because one old penny was the fare on a ferry that plied nearby.

Answer: False

Pennycomequick originates in the Celtic Peny-cum-cuic, which means "The head of the creek." A pub of the same name stands at the roundabout to which this name refers, but the creek is no longer visible.

Source: Author Saranna

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor minch before going online.
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