A former rector of Bickleigh, Theodore Carew, was born here in the village in1690, and, after some extraordinary adventures, spent the two last years of his eventful life in his native village, and was buried in the church in 1758. More famous, however, was his son Bampfylde Moore Carew, a rogue, vagabond and imposter, who claimed to be King of the Beggars. Bickleigh church was restored in 1847-48, probably by John Hayward, the official architect of the Exeter Diocesan Architectural Society. There's more about that here. – Robert Cutts from Bristol, England, UK, CC BY 2.0 – Wikimedia Commons St Mary in Bickleigh in Mid Devon is a Anglicana church. It is near Bell Meadow and is also known as St Mary's Church, Bickleigh, Mid Devon. The church belongs to the Diocese of Exeter and is a listed building. St Mary also exists in East Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, North Devon and Torridge.