Axmouth is a village,

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

and former manor in the

East Devon East Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council has been based in Honiton since February 2019, and the largest town is Exmouth (with a population of 34,432 at the time of the 2011 census). ...

district of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England, near the mouth of the River Axe. The village itself is about inland, on the east bank of the

Axe estuary The River Axe is a long river in the counties of Dorset, Somerset and Devon, in the south-west of England. It rises in Dorset and flows south to Lyme Bay which it enters through the Axe Estuary in Devon. It is a shallow, non-navigable river, a ...

. The parish extends along the estuary to the sea, and a significant distance to the east. The village is near Seaton and

Beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

which are on the other side of the Axe estuary. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 493.

History

In the will of

King Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf, King of Wessex, Æthelwulf and his ...

, a copy of which is in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

, Axmouth was left to his youngest son Aethelweard. According to

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

, 'Axmouth was ranked as a major port by the mid-14th century and accounted for 15% of the country’s shipping trade'. The remains of a late medieval fishing boat can be seen at low tide in the River Axe, just south-west of the village.

Historic estates

Within the parish of Axmouth are various historic estates including: * Bindon, an ancient seat of the Wyke family, and inherited on marriage to Mary Wyke by

Walter Erle (died 1581) Walter Erle (c.1515/20-1581) (''alias'' Erley, Erell, etc.) of Colcombe in the parish of Colyton, of Bindon in the parish of Axmouth, both in Devon, and of Charborough in Dorset, England, was a courtier and servant of the Royal Household to ...

of Colcombe in the parish of Colyton in Devon, an officer of the

Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

to King Edward VI and to his sisters Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I. Erle purchased the manor of Axmouth following the

Dissolution Dissolution may refer to: Arts and entertainment Books * ''Dissolution'' (''Forgotten Realms'' novel), a 2002 fantasy novel by Richard Lee Byers * ''Dissolution'' (Sansom novel), a 2003 historical novel by C. J. Sansom Music * Dissolution, in mu ...

Syon Monastery Syon Abbey , also called simply Syon, was a dual monastery of men and women of the Bridgettine Order, although it only ever had abbesses during its existence. It was founded in 1415 and stood, until its demolition in the 16th century, on the l ...

of which it had been a possession. Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, pp.25-6 *Stedcombe House is a Grade I listed William and Mary house and estate, to the north of Axmouth village. It was built in about 1697 by

Richard Hallett Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

on the site of the earlier Stedcombe House, that was destroyed during the English Civil War. The Hallett family acquired the estate in 1691 from Sir Walter Yonge of Escot.

Architecture

The village includes some thatched cottages, the church has a fifteenth-century tower and a carved

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

doorway and pillars. The Tudor period Bindon House is nearby and the remains of a

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

can be seen on Hawkesdown Hill above the village. An early concrete bridge crosses the mouth of the river close to the harbour which is home to
yacht club
There is also
golf course

References

External links

*

* {{authority control Villages in Devon