It is situated 4 miles (6.4 km) south-east of Barnstaple and twinned with the town of St.Honorine Du Fay in Normandy, France.
The honour of being a tenant-in-chief in feudal times was generally restricted to great warriors and close followers of the king, but Sawin was given this land in alms by Queen Matilda,[1] wife of William the Conqueror.
According to Tristram Risdon, writing in the early 17th century, John Mules of Ernesborough built the north aisle of Swimbridge Church, and gave his estate of Furse for the maintenance of it.
It includes an interesting squint in the form of the corner of a wall being removed and held up with a column, which would allow the family to view the priest elevating the host at the high altar, the holiest point of the Roman Catholic mass.
The surviving roof bosses of the North Chancel Chapel display various arms of Moels, repainted in 1727 as a date shows.