Exminster

Coordinates: 50°40′39″N 3°29′40″W / 50.677568°N 3.494527°W / 50.677568; -3.494527
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Axminster.

St Martin's Church, Exminster

Exminster is a village situated on the southern edge of the City of

Exeter ship canal and River Exe in the county of Devon, England. It is around 6 km (3.7 mi) south of the centre of Exeter, and has a population of 3,478 (census 2011), increasing to 4,379 at the 2021 census.[1]

Exminster is an ancient village associated with a

Aethelweard in his will of 889.[3] In the 14th century, it was the seat of the Courtenay family, the Earls of Devon. William Courtenay, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury from 1381 to 1396, was born here.[4]

Exminster is a major part of the

electoral ward of Kenn Valley. Its population at the above census was 5,906[5] Exminster Marshes, to the east of the village, are a major site for birds, especially migratory ones[6] including the rare cirl bunting.[7]

Landmarks

The present parish church of

Christ carrying the cross and the Resurrection. There is also a notable monument to Otho Petre of Bowhay who died in 1607.[8] The churchyard contains the war graves of eight British servicemen of World War I - the first and highest ranking being Major General Robert Kekewich[9] - and three servicemen of World War II.[10]

The football club is

Turf Lock
.

Part of Devington Park.

On a hill overlooking the Exe estuary at the north-west side of the village is the former Devon County Asylum (a "lunatic asylum") which was designed by Charles Fowler and opened in July 1845. It featured a central administration block with six radiating arms and had a capacity of around 800 beds. The hospital closed in the mid-1980s when it was known as Exminster Hospital.[11] After years of neglect, the surrounding land was built upon for housing and the grade II listed hospital was converted to apartments and town houses; it is now known as Devington Park.[12]

Exminster railway station, now a reclamation yard open to the public.

signal box remained standing on the site until September 2006, was subsequently removed for preservation to Broadway, Worcestershire.[13]
although it has since been scrapped.

Economy

Exminster's amenities include a surgery, pharmacy, a

RSPB
reserve.

The Exeter Canal

cycle path leads from Exminster into the centre of Exeter, giving commuters in the village a traffic-free route into the city.[14]

Historic estates

Notable residents

References

  1. ^ "Exminster population 2011". Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Exminster". Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
  3. ^ Anglo-Saxon charters S 1507 (873x888), King Alfred's will, tr. S.Keynes & M.Lapidge, 'Alfred the Great', Harmondsworth, 1983, pp. 173-8, with notes, pp. 313-326. The identification of the estates inherited by Aethelweard is based on the corresponding notes translated by Keynes and Lapidge.
  4. ^ "Parishes: Exminster - Exmouth | British History Online".
  5. ^ "Kenn Valley ward population 2011". Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  6. ^ BBC Devon article. Retrieved on 18 May 2007
  7. ^ BBC Devon article. Retrieved on 18 May 2007.
  8. ^ "Church of St Martin, Exminster, Devon".
  9. ^ [1] CWGC Casualty Record.
  10. ^ [2] CWGC Cemetery Report, details obtained from casualty record.
  11. ^ Index of English and Welsh Lunatic Asylums and Mental Hospitals. Archived 2009-05-27 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 18 May 2007
  12. ^ "Transformation at former hospital", Western Morning News, Plymouth., 27 March 2001(Subscription required.)
  13. ^ Broadway signal box website. Retrieved on 18 May 2007
  14. ^ "Local map of cycling route between Exminster and Exeter" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 February 2006. Retrieved 15 May 2006.
  15. Hoskins, W.G.
    , A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954), p.395
  16. ^ Per inscription on his mural monument in nearby Dunchideock Church

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Exminster.

50°40′39″N 3°29′40″W / 50.677568°N 3.494527°W / 50.677568; -3.494527

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