Brendon

Brendon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Brendon and Countisbury, in the North Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is close to the border with Somerset within the Exmoor National Park, the village is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of Lynton and 15 miles (24 km) west of Minehead in the East Lyn Valley. It is located just off the A39 and is on two long distance footpaths, the Coleridge Way and the Samaritans Way South West. The Church of St Brendon is 2 mi (3 km) from the village and was built in 1738, possibly with building material brought from another site. In 2001 the parish had a population of 159.

This article is about the village in England. For other uses, see Brendon (disambiguation).

Brendon
Main road through Brendon
Brendon is located in Devon
Brendon
Brendon
Location within Devon
Population159 
OS grid referenceSS769482
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLYNTON
Postcode districtEX35
Dialling code01598
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireDevon and Somerset
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

The village

The Church of St. Brendon was built in 1738, possibly using the stones from the original church at Cheriton. It lies midway between Cheriton and Brendon, about two miles (3 km) from each, and has a tower and four bells. The church was further restored in the nineteenth century and houses a Norman font. There is a sundial above the porch dated 1707.[1]

The village is located just off the A39, the parish of Brendon is roughly square in shape and is defined by the East Lyn River to the north, the Hoaroak Water to the west and the Badgworthy Water to the east; a tributary of the latter, the Hoccombe Water defines part of its southern boundary. Brendon Common occupies a part of the moorland area which characterises the south of the parish. Badgeworthy Water is crossed by the 17th century packhorse Malmsmead Bridge.[2][3][4]

History

The name contains two Old English place-name elements, the first – from brom – referring to the plant broom and the second – from dun – which tends to signify a fairly extensive and flat hill or upland expanse.[5] It is recorded in the Domesday Book as Brandone. It is not connected with the Brendon Hills in Somerset, the name of which has a different origin.[6]

White's Devonshire Directory (1850) describes Brendon as follows:

A small village 1½ miles SE of Lynton & 15 miles W of Minehead is in a picturesque valley of the river Lyn, has in its parish 271 souls & 6733 acres of land including Leeford hamlet & a large tract of moorland on the borders of Somersetshire where the rivers Exe, Lyn and Barle have their sources. F. W. Knight Esq. is the Lord of the mannor owner of most of the soil, and patron of the rectory ... valued in 1831 at £148. The Rev. T. Roe of Oare, Somerset is the incumbent, and has 57a, 2r, 22p, of glebe. The parsonage is a small cottage, and the church [St. Brendon] is an ancient structure with a tower and 4 bells.[1]

Brendon is home to the Exmoor Folk Festival,[7] and is both on the route of the Coleridge Way and the Samaritans Way South West.

On 1 April 2013 the parish was abolished and merged with Countisbury to form "Brendon and Countisbury".[8]

  • The Stag Hunters Inn
    The Stag Hunters Inn
  • The East Lyn River
    The East Lyn River
  • Deer on the hillside over Brendon
    Deer on the hillside over Brendon

References
  1. "Brendon". GENUKI. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. Historic England. "Malmsmead Bridge (35099)". Research records (formerly PastScape). Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  3. Historic England. "Malmsmead Bridge (1289346)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  4. "MSO7729 – Malmsmead Bridge". Exmoor National Park Historic Environment Record. Exmoor National Park. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
  5. Gelling, M. and Cole, A. 2000 The Landscape of Place-names Shaun Tyas, Stamford, Lincs ISBN 1900289261 pp. 164–168
  6. Ekwall, E. 1981 The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, Fourth edition, Clarendon Press, Oxford p63
  7. "Exmoor Folk Festival". Exmoor and Devon. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  8. "The North Devon District Council (Reorganisation of Community Governance) No. 1 Order 2012" (PDF). North Devon District Council. 26 October 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
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