Broadhembury 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 ...

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. Devo ...

, England, north-west of

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 ...

. The civil parish includes the hamlets of Kerswell, Dulford, Crammer Barton, Colliton and Luton, all to the west of the village. According to the 2001 census the civil parish had a population of 654. ''Broadhembury'' is part of the electoral ward of Tale Vale. The total population of this ward at the 2011 Census was 2,514. It is within the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

History

Broadhembury is set in the centre of a horseshoe of the hills of Hembury Fort and North Hill, which rise to 1000 feet and create a sheltered valley. Hembury Fort, a prehistoric hill

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

dating from 3000 BC, was also used by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. After the departure of the Romans, this area of

was sparsely occupied by the

Celtic people The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

. In those years Hembury Fort was called Handria. With the arrival of the

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

, little wattle churches were built and the villagers lived in little cells or wooden huts. The Saxons brought the plough and cultivated the holdings. At the time of the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of Broadhembury was 9 per square mile. During the Black Death of 1364, the population was affected, with two priests dying of it. Henry VIII presented the land at Broadhembury to his faithful courtier, Thomas Wriothesley,

Earl of Southampton Earl of Southampton was a title that was created three times in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1537 in favour of the courtier William FitzWilliam. He was childless and the title became extinct on his death in 1542. The s ...

, who sold it to Sir Thomas Drewe, son of Edward Drewe. Edward Drewe was responsible for the building of the manor house adjoining a small farm house at The Grange in about 1603. Edward was a sergeant at arms to Queen Elizabeth. Broadhembury has changed very little in outward appearance during the last century, with many of the

thatch Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge (''Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of ...

and cob cottages standing since the 16th century. F. W. Boreham, the writer and pastor, wrote in 1926 in his book ''A Faggot of Torches'' (p. 23), "If, on the face of God’s earth, there is anywhere a more peaceful and picturesque place than Broadhembury, I should dearly love to be taken to it." Julius Drewe purchased the inn, and half the village, at the turn of the 20th century. Broadhembury House, the large thatched residence on the north side of the church, was converted by him from an old cottage. The garden is of particular beauty. The descendants of Julius Drewe of

Castle Drogo Castle Drogo is a country house and mixed-revivalist castle near Drewsteignton, Devon, England. Constructed between 1911 and 1930, it was the last castle to be built in England. The client was Julius Drewe, the hugely successful founder of the ...

Drewsteignton Drewsteignton is a village, civil parish and former manor within the administrative area of West Devon, England, also lying within the Dartmoor National Park. It is located in the valley of the River Teign, west of Exeter and south east of ...

, still live in the village in Broadhembury House.

Historic estates

* The Grange, Broadhembury, long owned by the Drewe family.

People

* Augustus Montague Toplady , author of the hymn 'Rock of Ages', was vicar of Broadhembury from 1768 to 1778. * Charles Buller Heberden, Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford and

Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford is the chief executive and leader of the University of Oxford. The following people have been vice-chancellors of the University of Oxford (formally known as The Right Worshipful the Vice-Chance ...

, was born in the village on 14 May 1849. *

Kirstie Allsopp Kirstie Mary Allsopp (born 31 August 1971) is a British television presenter, best known as co-presenter of Channel 4 property shows including ''Location, Location, Location'', '' Love It or List It UK'', ''Relocation, Relocation'' and ''Locati ...

, host of ''

Location, Location, Location ''Location, Location, Location'' is a British reality property programme that has aired on Channel 4 since 17 May 2000 and is presented by Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer. The show follows Allsopp and Spencer as they try to find the perfect ...

'', has a home in Broadhembury.

References

External links

Pictures of Broadhembury

Broadhembury Parish Council
{{authority control Villages in Devon East Devon District