Nymet Tracey
| Nymet Tracey | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 St Bartholomew's Church, Nymet Tracey | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SS727006 |
| Location: | 50°47’29"N, 3°48’26"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Crediton |
| Postcode: | EX17 |
| Local Government | |
Nymet Tracey is a hamlet in the midst of Devon, standing half a mile south of the much larger village of Bow; though originally Nymet Tracey was the main village and Bow a "daughter" settlement. The parish church, St Bartholomew's, remains in Nymet Tracey.
The name 'Nymet' may originate in the old British language, and is found in many surrounding place names; amongst them Nymet Barton, Nymet Rowland and Broad Nymet). It appears to be an old name for the river on the course of which all these villages sit the The Lapford Yeo, which used to be called the Nymet.
Parish church
The parish church is St Bartholomew's, and it serves both Nymet Tracey, where it stands, and Bow. It has borne a dedication to St Bartholomew since at least 1742, but it may have previously been dedicated to St Mary, or St Martin.[1]
Over the south entrance to the church is a carving of the face of a de Tracey knight. This might be a representation of William de Tracy, who is said to have who founded the church in penance for the murder of Thomas Becket,[2] although there is no independent evidence for this beyond local tradition.[3]
The church is today a Grade I listed building.[4]
History
Nymet Tracey is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The suffix 'Tracey' comes from the de Tracey family, the lords of the manor for many centuries, whose name in turn comes from Tracy-sur-Mer near Bayeux in Nomandy.
Nymet Tracey was the original village of the parish, with Bow, a mile to the north, being a mediæval creation. Bow was created when the lord of the manor obtained a charter to hold a market, which he established on the main road and the bridge on the River Yeo, where Bow now stands.
At the opening of the nineteenth century, Nymet Tracey was a village of about sixty to eighty cottages. However the village was destroyed by fires in 1833 and 1835, after which the bulk of the people of Nymet Tracey moved to Bow. Nymet Tracey's church, St Martin's at the time, continued to serve Bow.[5]
Outside links
- Nymet Tracey in 'Open Domesday'
References
- ↑ Orme, Nicholas: 'English Church Dedications' (University of Exeter Press, 1996) page 188. ISBN 0-85989-516-5
- ↑ Arthur Mee: 'The King's England, Devon: Cradle of our Seamen'
- ↑ 'The Church of St. Bartholomew'; Church leaflet, 2005
- ↑ Church of St Bartholomew, Bow - British Listed Buildings
- ↑ Bow Genealogy
