Berry Pomeroy 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

South Hams South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Services divide between those provided by its own Council headquartered in Totnes, and those provided by Devon County Council headquartered in the city of Exete ...

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 the town of

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of

Ipplepen Ipplepen is a village and civil parish located within the Teignbridge district of the county of Devon in south-west England. A Ipplepen Priory, priory was located there. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The population at the Unite ...

Marldon Marldon is a village in the South Hams in Devon, United Kingdom, to the north-west of Paignton. It is the most northeasterly Civil Parish in the South Hams and includes the village of Compton with Compton Castle. Beacon Hill transmitting station ...

Torbay Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...

(unitary authority),

Stoke Gabriel Stoke Gabriel is a village and parish in Devon, England, situated on a creek of the River Dart. The village is a popular tourist destination in the South Hams and is famous for its mill pond and crab fishing (known colloquially as ''crabbing'') ...

Ashprington Ashprington is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England. The village is not far from the River Dart, but high above it, and is about three miles south of Totnes. There is a local pub, hotel and phonebox. The ci ...

, and

Littlehempston Littlehempston is a village and civil parish in the South Hams District of Devon in England consisting of 83 households, with a population of 207 in the parish. It has also been called Little Hempston and Hempston Arundel. The village has many ...

. In 2001 its population was 973, down from 1193 in 1901. The main road access is via the A385 road between

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

and Totnes that runs through the parish, south of the village.

History

Berry Pomeroy was the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

of the large

Feudal Barony of Berry Pomeroy The Feudal Barony of Berry Pomeroy was one of eight feudal baronies in Devonshire, England, which existed during the mediaeval era. It had its ''caput'' at the manor of Berry Pomeroy, 20 miles south of the City of Exeter and 2 miles east of the ...

, which was held at 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 ...

(1086) by

Ralph de Pomeroy Ralph de Pomeroy (died pre-1100) (''alias'' de la Pomeroy, Pomeraie, Pomerei, etc.) was one of the 52 Devon Domesday Book tenants-in-chief of King William the Conqueror and was the first feudal baron of Berry Pomeroy in Devon. He held 58 landholdi ...

. The Pomeroy family retained the barony until 1547. William of Orange is said to have held his first

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at Parliament Cottage in Longcombe within the parish, after landing at

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fish ...

at the start of the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

in November 1688. He was afterwards entertained at Berry Pomeroy Castle by

Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet (10 September 1610 – 4 December 1688) of Berry Pomeroy Castle was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1688. He fought for the Royalist cause in the English ...

. Between 1681 and 1834 the village was served by just three vicars: John Prince, John Fox and John Edwards. In World War II, American soldiers were stationed in the village during the build up to

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

and were billeted in tents opposite the church, in which items of that time are on display. American veterans revisited Berry Pomeroy for the 60th anniversary of the invasion. On 5 October 2019, more than fifty people were injured when a double-decker bus overturned at high speed on the A385 road in the parish.

Berry Pomeroy Castle

Berry Pomeroy Castle, about one mile north-east of the village, was built as the home of the Pomeroy family probably in the late 15th century. In 1548 it was sold to

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...

. The castle was abandoned in the late 17th century and was later considered a 'romantic ruin' by the

Victorians In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardian ...

. It is still owned by the

Duke of Somerset Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

, but is now maintained by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses. The charity states that i ...

. The castle has often been cited as being the most haunted castle in Britain. SeymourMonumentBerry PomeroyDevon

Parish church

St Mary's Church, in the village, has a

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

forty-two feet long. Described by

Pevsner Pevsner or Pevzner is a Jewish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Aihud Pevsner (1925–2018), American physicist * Antoine Pevsner (1886–1962), Russian sculptor, brother of Naum Gabo * David Pevsner, American actor, singer, da ...

as "one of the most perfect in Devon", it is unusual in being complete from the north to south walls and also in retaining its original coving, cornice and cresting. The wainscoting has painted figures. The

stained-glass window Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

s include a few reset old fragments, but are most notable for the panels by

Christopher Whall Christopher Whitworth Whall (1849 – 23 December 1924) was a British stained-glass artist who worked from the 1880s and on into the 20th century. He is widely recognised as a leader in the Arts and Crafts Movement and a key figure in t ...

(1897 and 1908) and by his daughter, Veronica Whall (1926). Monuments in the church include a chest tomb to Sir Richard Pomeroy (died 1496) and his wife. Also a monument of 1613 to Lord Edward Seymour (died 1593) and his son, and daughter-in-law. The carving of its figures were described by Pevsner as "astonishingly naive". A display as a remembrance of wartime events (

WWII 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 ...

) is inside the church. The church features in the final wedding scene of

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...

's 1995 film ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor (age 19) a ...

''.

Today

Berry Pomeroy's Parish Council meets at the Village Hall, next to Berry Pomeroy Parochial Primary School. Berry Pomeroy, along with nearby villages, is part of the East Dart ward which is represented by a councillor on the South Hams District Council. Berry Pomeroy is also within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). To celebrate the Millennium in 2000, a new bench was erected opposite the War Memorial, and every summer, a fete is held in the grounds of the manor house next to the church, which includes

maypole dancing A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at ...

, Devonshire

cream tea A cream tea (also known as a Devon cream tea, Devonshire tea, or Cornish cream tea) is an afternoon tea consisting of tea, scones, clotted cream (or, less authentically, whipped cream), jam, and sometimes butter. Cream teas are sold in tea ro ...

s and a

coconut shy A coconut shy (or coconut shie) is a traditional game frequently found as a sidestall at funfairs and fêtes. The game consists of throwing wooden balls at a row of coconuts balanced on posts. Typically a player buys three balls and wins when e ...

. In 2005, Berry Pomeroy revived "

Queene's Day Queene's Day celebrates the accession of Queen Elizabeth I to the throne of England on 17 November 1558. Observance of the accession was a national holiday in England and Wales for about 300 years, often with the building of enormous bonfires. I ...

", the anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth the First on 17 November. Celebrations begin with evensong in the parish church and culminate with a bonfire in the adjacent field, upon which is burned an effigy of Satan.

References

External links