Thurlestone is a village located 5 miles west of Kingsbridge in the South Hams district in south Devon, England. There is an electoral ward in the same name. The population at the 2011 census was 1,886.The village takes its name from Thurlestone Rock, the so-called "thirled stone", an arch-shaped rock formation just offshore in Thurlestone Bay. Thurl, or Thirl being an Anglo-Saxon word meaning hole. The village's All Saints church is built of the dark grey local slate.