Brushford, Somerset
| Brushford | |
| Somerset | |
|---|---|
 Church of St Nicholas, Brushford | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SS922257 |
| Location: | 51°1’14"N, 3°32’14"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 519 (2011) |
| Post town: | Dulverton |
| Postcode: | TA22 |
| Dialling code: | 01398 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Somerset West and Taunton |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Bridgwater & W. Somerset |
Brushford is a village in Somerset, on the River Barle two miles south of Dulverton and twelve miles north of Tiverton, the latter across the border in Devon. Brushford stands close by the border with Devon which here is formed here by the River Exe, in its upper reaches having run down from Exmoor. The 2001 census recorded a population of 535 in 243 households, reducing to 519 at the 2011 Census.
The wider parish covers an area of 2,839 acres of which seven acres are within the Exmoor National Park.
The River Barle runs along the eastern edge of the village and joins the River Exe just south of the village at Exebridge. The Barle is bridged twice at Brushford; crossed by the New Bridge dating from 1870, which led to Pixton Park,[1] and the Weir Bridge which dates from the mid 19th century.[2] The Exe, to the east, forms the boundary of both the parish and the county, and below Brushford it is crossed by the 18th century Exe Bridge.[3]
History
The village was known as Brucheford or Brigeford in the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was held by Robert, Count of Mortain, and Briggeford in 1270.
In Saxon times the village was a tributary manor of Dulverton, held by Ordwulf on behalf of King Edward and paid a tax of 24 sheep.[4]
Here stood Dulverton railway station which was the largest intermediate station on the Devon and Somerset Railway, which ran from Taunton to Barnstaple. The station served the town of Dulverton and from 1884 acted also as the junction station for the Exe Valley Railway. Exe Valley services ceased with the closure of the line on 7 October 1963. Goods services were withdrawn at Dulverton the following year and complete closure of the Devon and Somerset line came on 3 October 1966.
The station buildings survived as part of the Caernarvon Arms Hotel, which was visited by the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson in 1891,[5] and has since been re-developed into flats.
Parish church
The parish church is the Church of St Nicholas. It was built in the 15th century, but has undergone a range of rebuilding and development since.
The Herbert memorial chapel, designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, includes a chest tomb with effigy of Aubrey Herbert of Pixton Park, the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for the Southern division of Somerset from 1911 to 1918, and for Yeovil from 1918 until his death in 1923. It was constructed by Cecil de Banquiere Howard of Paris under a wooden canopy also designed by Lutyens.[6]
The church has a mediæval screen, 13th century font and possibly the oldest parish chest in the country, hollowed from a tree trunk.[7]
The church is a Grade I listed building.[8]
About the village
West Somerset Polo Club used to play in fields below the village alongside the River Barle. The fields in the area are now mainly grazed by livestock.
The village consists of a local garage, some housing areas, a playground with a basketball court, a village hall and a church.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Brushford, Somerset) |
References
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (429206) New Bridge
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (429208) Weir Bridge
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (429119) Exe Bridge
- ↑ "Brushford History". Brushford Parish. http://www.brushfordparish.com/Brushford_History.html. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
- ↑ Bush, Robin (1994). Somerset: The complete guide. Wimborne, Dorset: Dovecote Press. pp. 46–47. ISBN 1-874336-26-1.
- ↑ Images of England — details from listed building database (429118) Church of St Nicholas, Brushford
- ↑ "Brushford". Everything Exmoor. http://www.everythingexmoor.org.uk/_B/Brushford.php. Retrieved 30 November 2008.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1263949: Church of St Nicholas, Brushford