Bishops Nympton - St Marys church - geograph

Bishops Nympton - decayed barn - geograph

Bishop's Nympton 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

North Devon North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. North Devon Council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth ...

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, about three miles east of

South Molton South Molton is a town in Devon, England. It is part of the North Devon local government district. The town is on the River Mole. According to the 2001 census the civil parish of South Molton had a population of 4,093, increasing to 5,108 at the ...

. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 932. The

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected to t ...

has the same name but covers the village and much of the land to the north-east. The ward population at the 2011 census was 1,911. It has been the main area for the filming of a 1990s television program called ''The Passion''. It was also home to wildlife filmmaker

Johnny Kingdom Walter John Kingdon (23 February 1939 – 6 September 2018), known as Johnny Kingdom, was an English wildlife filmmaker and photographer specialising in his local area of Exmoor in north Devon and west Somerset. Early life Before finding fame, ...

who is buried in the village cemetery just outside the village. The tall, 15th-century church tower is a local landmark, and contains a

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 ...

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

, a 15th-century

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

, and a "richly carved"

Easter Sepulchre An Easter Sepulchre is a feature of British church interior architecture. Description The Easter Sepulchre is an arched recess generally in the north wall of the chancel, in which from Good Friday to Easter day were deposited the crucifix and sa ...

monument generally assumed to commemorate Sir Lewis Pollard (d.1526),

Judge of the Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

. It has also been the location of some dispute over the recent closing of many Post Offices across the UK, and therefore the Post Office in Bishops Nympton has been partially reprieved, following a campaign by villagers and intervention by Devon County Council. From June 2009, the Post Office has been open mornings only, a great improvement on the proposed outreach service. The shop on the premises has been run by volunteers as a community shop, again with support from Devon County Council, as well as the villagers themselves. It has been successful since its opening. A replacement for the previous (wooden) village hall was built after a long campaign of fund-raising by the villagers. Sources of funding included £15,000 from the parish council, £95,000 from the sale of the village hall, £100,000 from Leader 4 Funding and £17,000 from a section 106 agreement. It was formally opened by Mrs Frances Gunn on Friday, 3 June 2011. The village shop and Post Office moved to a purpose-built part of the new hall in the summer of 2011.

Historic residences

Ancient historic residences within the parish include: * Whitechapel Manor, home of the Bassett family * Grilstone, Bishop's Nympton, home of the Pollard family

References

External links

History of Loosemore family of Kerscot
{{authority control Villages in Devon