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Axminster is a
market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...
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 ...
on the eastern border of the county 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 ...
in England. It is from the county town 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 ...
. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
at
Axmouth Axmouth is a village, civil parish and former manor in the East Devon district of Devon, England, near the mouth of the River Axe. The village itself is about inland, on the east bank of the Axe estuary. The parish extends along the estuary ...
, and is 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). ...
local government district. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 5,626, increasing to 5,761 at the 2011 census. The town contains two
electoral wards The wards and electoral divisions in the United Kingdom are electoral districts at sub-national level, represented by one or more councillors. The ward is the primary unit of English electoral geography for civil parishes and borough and distri ...
(town and rural) the total sum of both wards being a population of 7,110. The
market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...
is still held every Thursday. Axminster gave its name to a type of
carpet A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fibers such as polypropylene, nylon, or polyester hav ...
. An Axminster-type power loom is capable of weaving high quality carpets with many varying colours and patterns. While Axminster carpets are made in the town by Axminster Carpets Ltd, this type of carpet is now manufactured all over the world as well.


History

The town dates back to the Celtic times of around 300 BC. It lies on two major
Roman roads Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
: the
Fosse Way The Fosse Way was a Roman road built in Britain during the first and second centuries AD that linked Isca Dumnoniorum (Exeter) in the southwest and Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to the northeast, via Lindinis (Ilchester), Aquae Sulis ( Bath), Corini ...
from
Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...
to Seaton, and the Dorchester to
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 ...
road. There was a
Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
on the crossroads at Woodbury Farm, just south of the present town. Axminster appears on the
Peutinger Map ' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the ''cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire. The map is a 13th-cen ...
, one of only 15
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
towns on that
Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
map. Axminster was recorded in the late 9th century as and in 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 ...
of 1086 as . The name means "monastery or large church by the River Axe" and is a mixture of languages; the river name ''
Axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has ma ...
'' has Celtic origins and is an
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
word. The history of the town is very much linked to the carpet industry, started by
Thomas Whitty Thomas Whitty (1713–1792) was an English carpet manufacturer who founded Axminster Carpets in 1755. Whitty was impressed by a large Turkish carpet he saw at Cheapside Market in London, and upon his return to Axminster he used his skills as a we ...
at Court House near the church in 1755. The completion of the early hand tufted carpets was marked by a peal of bells from the parish church as it took a great amount of time and labour to complete them.
Axminster carpets Axminster Carpets Ltd is an Axminster, Devon based English manufacturer of carpets, particularly the same-named Axminster carpets. Background Whilst visiting Cheapside Market, London, Devon-based weaver Thomas Whitty was impressed by a large Tu ...
continue to this day providing carpets for Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and other royalty-owned addresses. In 1210, a charter was granted to the town that included the right to hold a weekly cattle market which took place in the market square until it was moved to Trinity Square in 1834. It then moved in October 1912 to a site off South Street where it was held for 94 years. It finally closed in 2006 in the aftermath of the
2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom in 2001 caused a crisis in British agriculture and tourism. This epizootic saw 2,000 cases of the disease in farms across most of the British countryside. Over 6 million cows and ...
.Historical Axminster
Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...
Blue Plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
s
A building on the site then continued to be used for a general auction until all the buildings were demolished and replaced by a housing development. The town was on the coaching route from London to Exeter. In 1760 a
coaching inn The coaching inn (also coaching house or staging inn) was a vital part of Europe's inland transport infrastructure until the development of the railway, providing a resting point ( layover) for people and horses. The inn served the needs of tra ...
named The George Hotel was opened on the corner of Lyme Street and Chard Street on the site of an old inn called the Cross Keys that was destroyed by fire in 1759. Over 16
coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
a day would stop at the hotel in its heyday for refreshments and to change horses, the building is now currently under refurbishment. Axminster was on the route of
The Trafalgar Way The Trafalgar Way is the name given to the historic route used to carry dispatches with the news of the Battle of Trafalgar overland from Falmouth to the Admiralty in London. The first messenger in November 1805 was Lieutenant John Richards Lapeno ...
which is the name given to the historic route used to carry dispatches with the news of the
Battle of Trafalgar The Battle of Trafalgar (21 October 1805) was a naval engagement between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (180 ...
overland from
Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; kw, Aberfala) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,797 (2011 census). Etymology The name Falmouth is of English or ...
, to the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...
in London in 1805 and there is a plaque commemorating this fact in the town centre. Part of the parish of Axminster had historically been an
exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of
Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
until the
Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 The Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844 (7 & 8 Vict. c. 61), which came into effect on 20 October 1844, was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom which eliminated many outliers or exclaves of counties in England and Wales for civil purposes. ...
, when it was fully incorporated into Devon. Axminster railway station was opened on 19 July 1860, with the
London and South Western Railway The London and South Western Railway (LSWR, sometimes written L&SWR) was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Originating as the London and Southampton Railway, its network extended to Dorchester and Weymouth, to Salisbury, Exeter ...
(LSWR) offering direct services between Queen Street station in Exeter and
Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...
. The station building was designed by the LSWR's architect
Sir William Tite Sir William Tite (7 February 179820 April 1873) was an English architect who twice served as President of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He was particularly associated with various London buildings, with railway stations and cemetery ...
in mock gothic style. In 1903, the branch line from Axminster to
Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Herita ...
was opened. This branch line was closed with the Beeching cuts, in the 1960s. One engine has been preserved on the Bluebell Line, in
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
, while the station was dismantled and reconstructed at
New Alresford New Alresford or simply Alresford ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in the City of Winchester district of Hampshire, England. It is northeast of Winchester and southwest of the town of Alton. New Alresford has independent shops, a t ...
, on the
Watercress Line The Watercress Line is the marketing name of the Mid-Hants Railway, a heritage railway in Hampshire, England, running from New Alresford to Alton where it connects to the National Rail network. The line gained its popular name in the days w ...
, in
Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
. Axminster is the southern starting point of the
Taunton Stop Line The Taunton Stop Line was a World War II defensive line in southwest England. It was designed "to stop an enemy's advance from the west and in particular a rapid advance supported by armoured fighting vehicles (up to the size of a German medium ...
, a
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
defensive line consisting of
pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military) A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, norm ...
es and anti-tank obstacles, which runs north to the
Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...
coast near Highbridge. Nearby Kilmington was used as a location for the 1998
LWT London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 un ...
adaptation of '' Tess of the d'Urbervilles''. The celebrity chef and TV presenter
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Hugh Christopher Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall (born 14 January 1965) is an English celebrity chef, television personality, journalist, food writer, and campaigner on food and environmental issues. Fearnley-Whittingstall hosted the ''River Cot ...
has his River Cottage H.Q. at a farm in the Axe valley. He has since purchased an old inn that once provided the ballroom of the town, now converted to an organic produce shop/market and canteen.


Geography

The
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
of Abbey Gate lies to the south of the town near the A35 and A358 intersection. Other villages within of Axminster include
Chardstock Chardstock is a village and civil parish located on the eastern border of Devon, England off the A358 road between Chard and Axminster. The parish population at the 2011 Census was 828. The parish also contains the hamlets of Bewley Down, Birc ...
,
Colyford Colyford is a village in East Devon, England situated midway between Lyme Regis and Sidmouth on the A3052 road. To the north the village borders the town of Colyton and lies within the latter's civil parish boundaries. To the south is the seas ...
,
Combpyne Combpyne is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Combpyne Rousdon, in the East Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is off the A3052 road between Colyford and Lyme Regis in Dorset. In 1931 the parish had a popu ...
,
Dalwood Dalwood is a village and county parish in the East Devon district of the English county of Devon. It is approximately away from the nearest town, Axminster, and away from Honiton. Dalwood can be accessed by the nearby A35 road. The village is ...
, Hawkchurch, Kilmington, Membury,
Musbury Musbury is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England. It lies approximately away from Colyton and away from Axminster, the nearest towns. Musbury is served by the A358 road and lies on the route of the East Devo ...
,
Raymond's Hill Raymond's Hill is a village and residential area off the A35 road in Devon, England, right on the border with the county of Dorset. It is about southeast of Axminster in East Devon, and about northwest of Charmouth in Dorset. The housing is ...
,
Rousdon Rousdon is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Combpyne Rousdon, in the East Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is off the A3052 road between Colyford and Lyme Regis in Dorset. In 1931 the parish had a popul ...
, Shute, Smallridge,
Tytherleigh Tytherleigh is a village in the civil parish of Chardstock in Devon, England (historically in Dorset), close to the borders with Dorset and Somerset on the A358 road between the towns of Axminster and Chard. It was in Dorset until 1896. The ...
,
Uplyme Uplyme is an English village and civil parish in East Devon on the Devon-Dorset border and the River Lym, adjacent to the Dorset coastal town of Lyme Regis. It has a population of approximately 1700 recounted as 1663 at the 2011 census. ''Uply ...
and Whitford.


Landmarks

*
Axminster Museum Axminster Museum is a town museum situated in the Old Police Station and Courthouse opposite St. Mary's Church in the centre of the town of Axminster, Devon, England. It was founded in 1982. The Old Court House was built in the 1860s on the site ...
* Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty * East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty *
East Devon Way The East Devon Way is a long-distance footpath in England. It runs for between Exmouth Exmouth is a port town, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 ...
*
Forde Abbey Forde Abbey is a privately owned former Cistercian monastery in Dorset, England, with a postal address in Chard, Somerset. The house and gardens are run as a tourist attraction while the estate is farmed to provide additional revenue. Forde Abbe ...
*
Jurassic Coast The Jurassic Coast is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about , and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-December ...
*
Lambert's Castle Lambert's Castle is an Iron Age hillfort in the county of Dorset in southwest England.
*
Loughwood Meeting House Loughwood Meeting House is a historic Baptist chapel, south of the village of Dalwood, Devon in England. There was a meeting house on this site in 1653, although the current building may date from the late 17th century or early 18th  ...
*
Musbury Castle Musbury Castle is an Iron Age Hill fort situated above the Village of Musbury in Devon. The fort occupies a commanding hill top approx 175 Metres above Sea Level overlooking the Axe An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spellin ...
*
Shute Barton ::See also: New Shute House Old Shute House (known as Shute Barton between about 1789 and the 20th century), located at Shute, near Colyton, Axminster, Devon, is the remnant of a mediaeval manor house with Tudor additions, under the ownershi ...


Amenities

The town has Cloakham Lawns, the Axe Valley Sports Centre and Flamingo Swimming Pool, a library, several churches and a museum of local history. Shops include three supermarkets, Trinity House, and several independent retailers. The Guildhall is a theatre with meeting rooms that hosts many events and clubs such as Axminster Drama Club and Axminster Operatic Society. The town is also home to a small, local hospital.


Education

*
Axe Valley Academy Axe Valley Academy, previously known as The Axe Valley Community College, is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in Axminster, Devon, Axminster, Devon in the South West of England. The school was awarded specialist Business ...
* Axminster Community Primary School * St. Mary's Primary School * All Saints Community Primary School


Transport


Road

Axminster is at the crossroads of the A358, which links with the
A303 The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a prim ...
at
Ilminster Ilminster is a minster town and civil parish in the South Somerset district of Somerset, England, with a population of 5,808. Bypassed in 1988, the town now lies just east of the junction of the A303 (London to Exeter) and the A358 (Taunton to ...
, and the A35 from
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
to
Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...
, which has been diverted by a bypass to the south of the town.


Rail

Axminster railway station is on the
West of England Main Line The West of England line (also known as the West of England Main Line) is a British railway line from , Hampshire, to in Devon, England. Passenger services run between London Waterloo station and Exeter; the line intersects with the Wessex M ...
that runs from
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 ...
via
Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...
to
London Waterloo Waterloo station (), also known as London Waterloo, is a central London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of ...
.


Bus

Axminster is served by AVMT Buses' service 885 to local towns & villages including Seaton, Beer & Colyton. Stagecoach South West,
The Buses of Somerset The Buses of Somerset is the trading name used by bus operator First South West for services operated in Somerset from depots in the towns of Taunton and Bridgwater since 2014. The services were formerly managed as part of First Somerset & Avon ...
and
First Hampshire & Dorset First Hampshire & Dorset is a bus operator providing services in the counties of Hampshire and Dorset. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup. History First Hampshire & Dorset was created out of various different smaller companies which were merged o ...
provide long-distance services to
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 ...
, Weymouth, Dorchester and
Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...
.


Twin towns

*
Douvres-la-Délivrande Douvres-la-Délivrande () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. The name was simply Douvres until 1961, when it was expanded to refer to the basilica Notre-Dame de la Délivrande ("Our Lady of Del ...
, France


Historic estates

* Weycroft, Axminster


Notable people

*
Steve Benbow Stephen George "Steve" Benbow (29 November 1931 – 17 November 2006), was a British folk guitar player, singer and music director, who was influential in the English folk music revival of the 1960s. His obituary in ''The Times'' described hi ...
, folk musician *
William Buckland William Buckland Doctor of Divinity, DD, Royal Society, FRS (12 March 1784 – 14 August 1856) was an English theologian who became Dean of Westminster. He was also a geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. Buckland wrote the first full ...
, geologist and palaeontologist


See also

*
Taunton Stop Line The Taunton Stop Line was a World War II defensive line in southwest England. It was designed "to stop an enemy's advance from the west and in particular a rapid advance supported by armoured fighting vehicles (up to the size of a German medium ...


Notes


References

* Mee, A. ''The King's England: Devon'' (Hodder and Stoughton, 1965); pp. 25–26. * Mills, A. D. ''Dictionary of English Place-Names''. Oxford University Press. .


External links

* *
Devon Local Studies – Axminster community page
* {{authority control Towns in Devon Market towns in Devon East Devon District