Bridgerule ( kw, Ponsrowald) 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 authorit ...

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. Devo ...

, England, a mile from the border with

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. The parish is divided by the

River Tamar The Tamar (; kw, Dowr Tamar) is a river in south west England, that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A part of the Tamar Valley is a World Heritage Site due to its historic mining activities. T ...

, which no longer forms the border between Devon and Cornwall there. The river often floods the High Street. An electoral ward exists in the area titled Tamarside. The population at the 2011 census was 1,734

History

Bridgerule was mentioned (as ''Brige'') 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 manus ...

in 1086, when the local manor was held by 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 ...

, Ruald Adobed. The name is thought to come from ''bridge'' and Ruald. Until 1844 the Tamar formed the border between Devon and Cornwall, and the western part of the parish was in Cornwall. West Bridgerule was transferred to Devon by 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 civil parishes were created in 1866, East Bridgerule and West Bridgerule became separate parishes, but the two were re-united in 1950. Whitstone and Bridgerule railway station on

the line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

from

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. It is situated at the northern edge of Dartmoor, and had a population of 5,922 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards are based in the town (east and west) ...

Bude Bude (; kw, Porthbud) is a seaside town in north east Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as Bude Haven.''Corn ...

served the village, opening in 1898 and closing in 1966.

Church

There is a 15th-century church dedicated, as at

Bridestowe Bridestowe () is a civil parish and village in the district of West Devon, Devon, England. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Bratton Clovelly, Sourton, Bridestowe and Sourton Common, Lydford, Lewtrenchard a ...

, to Saint Bridget, who is commemorated with a statue. There are also several paintings and carvings within. The baptismal font is very old, dating from Saxon times. The vicar's daughter, Emmeline Maria Kingdon, who was born here in 1817 went on to be a notable head teacher.

References

External links

Bridgerule at GENUKIBridgerule at Devon County Council websiteBridgerule Village Website
{{authority control Villages in Devon Civil parishes in Devon Torridge District