Historically, in minor matters of law and taxation, Culmstock contributed to Hemyock Hundred. It saw prosperity as a centre of weaving and the wool trade, but this prosperity, and the relative population to that nationally, declined considerably in the latter part of the Industrial Revolution.[3] The population was around 1446 for the forty years before the 1841 census but fell in the next 40 years to 863. In 1961 after a non-linear descent, the population was 692, broadly similar to today's total.[citation needed]
Harold Sumption (1916-1998), an English advertising executive and fundraiser, was born in Culmstock.[7]
The village was served by a station on the Culm Valley Light Railway, which connected to one of two main lines leaving the south-west peninsula, at Tiverton Junction. The Light Railway ran from 1876 to 1975, though the last passengers were carried in 1963.[citation needed]
50°55′44″N 3°17′06″W / 50.929°N 3.285°W / 50.929; -3.285