South Brent is a large village on the southern edge of Dartmoor, England, in the valley of the River Avon. The parish includes the small hamlets of Aish, Harbourneford, Lutton, Brent Mill, and many scattered farmhouses. It is five miles (8 km) north-east of

Ivybridge Ivybridge is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the South Hams, in Devon, England. It lies about east of Andy Hughes’ new house in Ivybridge now he’s forgotten Ugborough. It is at the southern extremity of Dartmoor, a N ...

and 14 miles (22 km) east-northeast of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

.Air distance https://distancecalculator.globefeed.com/UK_Distance_Result.asp?fromplace=South%20Brent%2C%20United%20Kingdom&toplace=Plymouth&dt1=ChIJeeBezWvjbEgRvp27UHcA1ck&dt2=ChIJPeqVDlONbEgRk4X1zrUsKDs

History

On the high moorlands are many

hut circle In archaeology, a hut circle is a circular or oval depression in the ground which may or may not have a low stone wall around it that used to be the foundation of a round house. The superstructure of such a house would have been made of timber an ...

s, enclosures, and barrows, all dating from the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. The manor of Brent belonged to

Buckfast Abbey Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Buckfast first became home to an abbey in 1018. The first Benedictine abbey was followed by a Savignac (later Cistercian) abbey con ...

from the time of the foundation of the abbey in the early 11th century. It was bought at the Dissolution by Sir William Petre, a large receiver of monastic spoils in South Devon. South Brent was originally a woollen and market centre with two annual fairs. Brent Hill is the steep hill just outside the village from which it takes its name (Old English brant – steep). On it are the ruins of an ancient building, supposed to have been a chapel, and of a windmill built about 1790.

Amenities

The village centre is within the boundaries of

Dartmoor National Park Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite which forms the uplands dates from the Carboniferous P ...

. It is a thriving community with shops, pubs, businesses, primary school, village hall, sports ground and community centre. South Brent primary school supports about 250 children. The buildings are modern and replace the old school which is now a community centre.

Parish church

The massive Norman tower of St Petroc’s Church (now at the west end) was apparently the central tower of a cruciform building. The west portion of the church was demolished, perhaps in the early 14th century, when the existing nave was rebuilt with two transepts. In the early 15th century these transepts were enlarged into aisles. The fine font of red sandstone is late 12th century and is similar in style to others in neighbouring churches. On the south of the churchyard is the manor house, part of which is 15th century. In 1436 the vicar, the Rev John Hay, was dragged out of the church and murdered while officiating at divine service. The door through which he was taken has been walled up, though the old doorway is just visible.

Transport

South Brent is next to the

Devon Expressway The A38, parts of which are known as Devon Expressway, Bristol Road and Gloucester Road, is a major A-class trunk road in England. The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it the longest tw ...

which connects

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 ...

to the north-east and

to the west.

Brent railway station Brent railway station was on the South Devon Railway Company, South Devon Railway, serving the village of South Brent on the southern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England. The line through Brent opened on 5 May 1848 but the station was not ready t ...

was opened on the South Devon Railway on 15 June 1848. It served as the junction for the branch line to

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town and tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population at the ab ...

from 19 December 1893. The station closed in 1964, though for some years there has been a movement to reopen it in order to reduce commuter traffic on the roads. The nearest railway station is Ivybridge railway station, which is 4.5 miles away.

Sport and leisure

The Palstone Park recreation ground is the home of the South Brent Football Club. It was founded as South Brent United in 1931. It is also the home of South Brent Judo Club formed in April 1974. Locals complain that South Brent experiences higher rainfall than surrounding towns and villages. It seems likely that the hills of Dartmoor do affect the microclimate of South Brent.

Notable former residents

William Crossing William Crossing (1847–1928) was a writer and chronicler of Dartmoor and the lives of its inhabitants. He lived successively at South Brent, Brentor and at Mary Tavy but died at Plymouth, Devon. Early life Crossing was born in Plymouth on 14 N ...

(1847–1928), Dartmoor historian

References

Sources

*Wall, Greg (2005) The book of South Brent, Halsgrove

External links

South Brent
GENUKI
Sustainable South Brent
{{authority control Villages in Devon Civil parishes in South Hams