Poltimore is a village,

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 ...

and former manor in the

East Devon East Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, 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). ...

district, in the county 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. It lies approximately northeast of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. The parish consisted of 122 households and a population of 297 people during the 2011 census. The parish also includes the

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

of Ratsloe.

History

Two manors were recorded at Poltimore 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 manusc ...

completed 1086: the main one was owned by Haemeric (or Haimer) de Arcis, an officer in the army of

William the Conqueror William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first House of Normandy, Norman List of English monarchs#House of Norman ...

; and a smaller one, Cutton, belonging to the Canons of St. Mary at

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

. The name of the village itself likely comes from

Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...

, ''Pwlltymawr'', which translates to "The Pool by the Great House" (''Pwyll'': pool; ''Ty'': house; ''Mawr'': great). The de Pultymor family, who owned the

Manor of Poltimore The Manor of Poltimore is a former manor in Devon, England. The manor house known as Poltimore House survives in its 18th-century remodelled form, but has been dilapidated for several decades. A charity named the "Poltimore House Trust" has been ...

in the 13th century, also had a residence called Poltymore in

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

. The Devon village was also spelled Poltymore, and the family's name subsequently evolved to de Poltymore, de Poltimore and of Poltimore. Historically Poltimore formed part of

Wonford Hundred The hundred of Wonford was the name of one of 32 ancient administrative units of Devon, England. The parishes in the hundred were: * Alphington * Brampford Speke * Bridford * Chagford * Cheriton Bishop * Christow * Combeinteignhead * Drewsteig ...

. The manor appeared and is the historic seat of the Bampfylde family. The baronetcy, created for

Sir John Bampfylde, 1st Baronet Sir John Bampfylde, 1st Baronet (c. 1610 – April 1650) of Poltimore and North Molton and Tamerton Foliot, all in Devon, was an English lawyer and politician. He was one of Devonshire's Parliamentarian leaders during the Civil War. Origins Bam ...

in 1641, takes its name from the village. The manor was rebuilt into

Poltimore House Poltimore House is an 18th-century country house in Poltimore, Devon, England. The Manor of Poltimore was from the 13th to the 20th century the seat of the Bampfylde family, which acquired the title Baron Poltimore in 1831. The house retains ...

, likely by

Sir Coplestone Bampfylde, 2nd Baronet Sir Coplestone Bampfylde, 2nd Bt., DL, JP (ca. 1633 – 9 February 1692) of Poltimore and North Molton and Warleigh, Tamerton Foliot, in Devon, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1659 and 1689 ...

(1636-1691). The date 1681 is carved on the stone gate at the main entrance to the house.

William Camden William Camden (2 May 1551 – 9 November 1623) was an English antiquarian, historian, topographer, and herald, best known as author of ''Britannia'', the first chorographical survey of the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and the ''Annal ...

, in his 1610 book, ''Britain, or, a Chorographicall Description of the most flourishing Kingdomes, England, Scotland, and Ireland'', makes mention of Poltimore as "the seat of that worshipfull and right antient family of Bampfield." In 1641–1642, 75 adult males in Poltimore signed the Protestation returns. The population was 250 people in 1801, 288 in 1887 and 298 in 1901.

Government

The village is run by the Poltimore Parish Council. Council meetings are normally held on the fourth Monday of each month at the Poltimore Village Hall. Poltimore falls within the

East Devon District Council 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 on ...

and the East Devon Constituency.

Transport

The village lies directly west of the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

Church

Poltimore falls within Aylesbeare

Deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

for ecclesiastical purposes. The village has one church, St. Mary's, which has Renaissance detail in the vaulting (). The tomb with recumbent figures of Richard Bampfylde (d. 1594) and his wife, Elizabeth (d. 1599), is in the south

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

. The church was restored by architect Robert Medley Fulford from 1878 to 1884.

Nearby places

References

External links

Poltimore Parish CouncilPoltimore Village Hall
{{Authority control Villages in Devon East Devon District