Woodbury 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

East Devon East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the towns of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Ottery St M ...

in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

county of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, south east of the city of

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. At the 2011 Census the village had a population of 1,605, and the parish (which also includes Exton and Woodbury Salterton) had a population of 3,466. It lies on the east bank of the

Exe Estuary The Exe estuary is an estuary on the south coast of Devon, England. The estuary starts just to the south () of the city of Exeter, and extends south for approximately eight miles to meet the English Channel (). The estuary is a ria and so is l ...

, has borders – clockwise from the estuary – with the district of

(near to Topsham) and then the parishes of

Clyst St George Clyst St George (anciently Clyst Champernowne) is a village and civil parish in East Devon, England, adjoining the River Clyst some southeast of Exeter and north of Exmouth. Overview and history The village is the most southerly of six parish ...

Clyst St Mary Clyst St Mary is a small village and civil parish east of Exeter on the main roads to Exmouth and Sidmouth in East Devon. The name comes from the Celtic languages, Celtic word clyst meaning 'clear stream'. The village is a major part of the e ...

, Farringdon,

Colaton Raleigh Colaton Raleigh is a village and civil parish in East Devon East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the t ...

, Bicton and

Lympstone Lympstone is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 2,100. There is a harbour on the estuary of the River Exe, lying at the outlet of Wotton Brook between cliffs of red breccia.

. ''Woodbury'' is part of the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of ''Woodbury'' and

whose population at the 2011 Census was 5,260. The village itself lies about four miles north of the centre of

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

on the B3179 road between Clyst St George and

Budleigh Salterton Budleigh Salterton is a seaside town on the coast in East Devon, England, south-east of Exeter. It lies within the East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and forms much of the electoral ward of Budleigh, whose ward population at the ...

. About two miles to the north lies the east-west A3052 road and about 1.5 miles to the west of the village the

A376 road List of A roads in zone 3 in Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the lar ...

that follows the Exe Estuary from Exeter down to Exmouth passes through the parish. The small settlements of Ebford and Exton are on this road.

History

Woodbury Castle Woodbury Castle is an British Iron Age, Iron Age hillfort near the village of Woodbury, East Devon, Woodbury in the English county of Devon, some eight miles southeast of the city of Exeter. The fort is situated on a high point of Woodbury Comm ...

is an Iron Age fort on Woodbury Common. The ancient manor of

Nutwell Nutwell in the parish of Woodbury on the south coast of Devon is a historic manor and the site of a Georgian neo-classical Grade II* listed mansion house known as Nutwell Court. The house is situated on the east bank of the estuary of the Ri ...

was in the west of the parish, adjacent to the Exe Estuary; it was later owned by a branch of the Drake family. The present house, Nutwell Court was built in 1810. The railway line which follows the estuary between Exeter and Exmouth was opened in 1861. Now known as the

Avocet Line The Avocet Line is the railway line in Devon, England connecting Exeter with Exmouth. It was originally built by the London and South Western Railway, and was historically known as the Exmouth branch railway. The line follows the Exe Estuary f ...

, the nearest station to Woodbury is at Exton. The clergyman and botanist W. Keble Martin lived in Woodbury in retirement, as did the composer and music administrator Christopher Le Fleming.

The village

The village centre has a Londis shop, two antiques shops and a garage. There are two pubs, "The Maltsters Arms" and "The White Hart", and a Chinese take-away/fish and chip shop. A restaurant, The Green Door, closed in 2015. Woodbury Church of England Primary School has over 140 pupils since the building of new classroom facilities in 2010. The parish church, dedicated to Saint

Swithun Swithun (or Swithin; ; ; died 863) was an Anglo-Saxon bishop of Winchester and subsequently patron saint of Winchester Cathedral. His historical importance as bishop is overshadowed by his reputation for posthumous miracle-working. Accordin ...

is early 15th century (consecrated in 1409): the Perpendicular style is mixed with elements of the older Decorated. Interesting features include the woodwork of the screen, the 15th-century font, Elizabethan altar rails, Jacobean pulpit, and an early 17th-century monument to a man and his wife (recumbent effigies on a tomb-chest). Woodbury is twinned with Bretteville sur Odon in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

References

{{authority control Villages in Devon East Devon District