Ermington
| Ermington | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 Ermington as seen from West Strode Cross | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX637531 |
| Location: | 50°21’40"N, 3°55’2"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 824 (2011) |
| Post town: | Ivybridge |
| Postcode: | PL21 |
| Dialling code: | 01548 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Hams |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South West Devon |
Ermington is a village in southern Devon some two miles south of Ivybridge. The parish population was recorded at 824 at the 2011 census.
It is known well for its crooked church spire, after which a pub has been named.
Parish Church
The parish church, St Peter and St Paul, stands in the heart of the village. It is remarkable for its twisted spire.
The church is largely of the 14th century. There was a church on the present site from Norman times and some Norman stonework survives between the porch and the present tower and those remnants show that it had a single central aisle and a lower chancel than today. In the 14th century, the Norman tower was demolished and a new tower built, along with new north and south aisles. The spire was added in the 15th century, and the north transept in the 16th century.
The twisted spire has come into village legend: they say that one of the earliest brides who came to be married in the church was very beautiful and the spire bowed to her. (It is at least a more respectable legend than that at Chesterfield.) Sober reality suggests that the timbers were not properly seasoned when the spire was built and warped, pressed down too by the weight of the stone upon them.
In 1856, the spire was struck by lightning and the Rector felt this was a good chance to build a straight spire but the people of the parish protested that the spire it had always been crooked and must be meant to be so. The present-day spire is built of stone carefully laid to preserve the crookedness – though inside it is a perfect cone.[1]
History
Ermington appears in the Domesday Book as a royal manor. Near the boundary of the parish there is a place, called Penquit, which has probably been continuously inhabited since the Iron Age as the name is from the Old Welsh for "head of the wood".
From the early 13th century a mansion at nearby Strashleigh was the seat of the Strashleigh family, until the family died out in 1583. Nearby Strode was inhabited by the Strode family from 1238 and probably earlier. Although, since the 15th century, their principal residence has been in Plympton.
In the 14th century, its church, named after Saint Peter, was constructed and was later enlarged in the 15th century.[2]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Ermington) |
- St Peter and St Paul, Ermington
- Three Rivers Mission Community – St Peter and St Paul, Ermington
- www.ermington.devon.sch.uk, Ermington Primary School website
References
- ↑ Ermington Church – the spire
- ↑ Hoskins, W. G. (2003). Devon. Phillimore. ISBN 1-86077-270-6. http://www.devon.gov.uk/localstudies/110511/1.html.
