Aylesbeare is a village and
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 ...
in the
East Devon
East Devon is a 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).
The district was formed ...
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, east of
Exeter
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
. According to the 2001 census the parish, which includes the hamlet of
Nutwalls, had a population of 527. Known for the Site of Special Scientific Interest on Aylesbeare Commo
that is managed by the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment thr ...
, Aylesbeare was in the news during 1978 as the scene of the disappearance of
Genette Tate.
Aylesbeare is on the northern side of the East Devon Pebbled Heathlands. Locally known as Woodbury Common, the heathlands are made up of 8 parish commons, including Aylesbeare Common.
History
Aylesbeare has a long, but lightly recorded, history.
Tumuli
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...
on Aylesbeare Common indicate that the area was inhabited in prehistoric times. By the time of the
Domesday Book
Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
, the village was known as Ailesbergon though, in common with many place names, it had many spellings over the years, including Aillesbir and Ailesberga.
The oldest building in the parish is the church, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It dates to the 13th century. Gregory was the first recorded incumbent, in 1261. The church has been rebuilt and restored many times – in the 14th century, a
major refurbishment in 1899 and a new roof in 2004.
Aylesbeare made national headlines in August 1978 after the disappearance of 13-year-old
Genette Tate, who lived in the village. She has never been found. In 2016, the police announced that they believed serial killer
Robert Black to be responsible, but could not charge him as he had since died.
Geography, geology and environment
From the highest point of the parish on the Common, the land gradually falls away to the northwest reaching its lowest point of near
Exeter International Airport
Exeter Airport , formerly ''Exeter International Airport'', is an international airport located at Clyst Honiton in East Devon, close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England. Exeter has a CAA Public Use Aerodr ...
. With an area of , Aylesbeare is slightly below the average for a
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 ...
parish. The village gives its name to a sequence of mudstone and sandstone rocks of
Triassic
The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 Mya. The Triassic is the first and shortest period ...
age, the
Aylesbeare Mudstone Group
The Aylesbeare Mudstone Group is an early Triassic lithostratigraphic group (a sequence of rock strata) in southwest England. The name is derived from the village of Aylesbeare in east Devon. The Group comprises the Littleham Mudstone Formation ...
which occurs from the east Devon coast northwards into Somerset.
Although the population is widely distributed around the parish, it clusters in Aylesbeare Village itself, the hamlets of Rosamundford and Withen, and small groups of houses on the site of former farm buildings.
Economy
Originally a farming parish, Aylesbeare still has two working farms within the village itself with many others spread throughout the parish. However, agriculture is no longer the main source of employment, with many people working in Exeter and surrounding towns.
References
External links
Devon Local Studies - Aylesbeare community pageRSPB - Aylesbeare Common*
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Villages in Devon
Civil parishes in Devon