Musbury is a village and civil parish 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. It lies approximately away from
Colyton and away from
Axminster
Axminster is a market town and civil parish on the eastern border of the county of Devon in England. It is from the county town of Exeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking the River Axe which heads towards the English Channel at Ax ...
, the nearest towns. Musbury is served by the
A358 road and lies on the route of the
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 ...
, a footpath following the
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 ...
Valley. The village is within the
East Devon Area of Natural Beauty. It has a post office, primary school, public house, fuel station and church. The parish population at the
2011 census was 543.
History
The village takes its name from the
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...
of
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 ...
on the hill above it, from which there are views of the Axe Valley. The parish church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, is a 15th-century structure that was much rebuilt and
restored by the Victorians. It contains the Drake Memorial dating from 1611.
A portrait of the village in 1940 appears in the final chapter of
Cecil Day-Lewis's memoir ''The Buried Day''.
Historic estates
*
Ash
Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
, for many generations the seat of the Drake family. It was the birthplace of
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...
(1650-1722) whose mother was Elizabeth Drake.
References
External links
Musbury Primary School
Villages in Devon
{{Devon-geo-stub
