Northlew is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of the county of Devon, England. To the west of the village, but within the parish, are the hamlets of West Kimber and East Kimber. The village falls within the electoral ward of Lew Valley. Its population at the 2011 census was 2,024. Geography and history The village is approximately 7 miles (11 km) northwest of the town of Okehampton, and most places in the village have excellent views over Dartmoor. The village is relatively isolated, not being served by any main roads. It has an attractive main square surrounded by traditional buildings, some of them thatched; just off the square are a pub, the local primary school and two churches, the Church of England parish church of Saint Thomas of Canterbury and the Methodist church (originally Bible Christian). The evangelical Christian preacher Ann Freeman was born here in 1797. The ecclesiastical parish of Northlew has been combined with the neighbouring village of Ashbury, and since the school is a Church of England voluntary controlled school, it bears the name of both villages. The hamlet of Crowden is on the Highampton side of the village. Historically, Northlew formed part of Black Torrington Hundred. It gets its name from the ancient manor of Lew, mentioned in the Domesday Book; the village of Lewdown and the River Lew are nearby. The village has the melancholy distinction of having lost the highest proportion of its enlisting population of any municipality in the United Kingdom during the First World War: of 100 men who enlisted in the forces, 24 died. A stone memorial to them was recently erected in the churchyard, replacing wooden memorial tablets within the church. Legend has it that the devil died of the cold in Northlew. There is a stone in the village that represents where the devil is meant to have died of the cold. The Bell Ringers song The village features in the song The Bellringing popularised by Tony Rose. The song harks back to the days of "prize ringing", when bands of ringers would compete for a prize. The bells were rung in the English "full-circle" style, and the winners would be those who "struck" or caused the bells to strike, in the neatest and most regular way. The "Men of Northlew" – who "rang so steady and true", beat the bell ringers of Broadwood