Axmouth is a village,
civil parish and former
manor in the
East Devon district of
Devon, England, near the mouth of the
River Axe. The village itself is about 1 mile (1.6 km) inland, on the east bank of the
Axe estuary. The parish extends along the estuary to the sea, and a significant distance to the east. The village is near
Seaton and
Beer which are on the other side of the Axe estuary. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 493.
According to
Historic England, 'Axmouth was ranked as a major port by the mid-14th century and accounted for 15% of the country’s shipping trade'.[2]
The remains of a late medieval fishing boat can be seen at low tide in the River Axe, just south-west of the village.[2][3]
Historic estates
Within the parish of Axmouth are various historic estates including:
Bindon, an ancient seat of the Wyke family, and inherited on marriage to Mary Wyke by
Walter Erle (died 1581) of
Colcombe in the parish of
Colyton in Devon, an officer of the
Privy Chamber to King Edward VI and to his sisters Queen Mary I[4] and Queen Elizabeth I.[5][6] Erle purchased the manor of Axmouth following the
Dissolution of
Syon Monastery of which it had been a possession.[7]
Stedcombe House is a Grade I listed William and Mary house and estate, to the north of Axmouth village. It was built in about 1697 by
Richard Hallett on the site of the earlier Stedcombe House, that was destroyed during the English Civil War. The Hallett family acquired the estate in 1691 from
Sir Walter Yonge of
Escot.
Architecture
The village includes some thatched cottages, the church has a fifteenth-century tower and a carved
Norman doorway and pillars. The
Tudor period
Bindon House is nearby and the remains of a
hillfort can be seen on Hawkesdown Hill above the village. An early concrete bridge crosses the mouth of the river close to the harbour which is home to a
yacht club.[8] There is also a
golf course.
References
^"S1507". Electronic Sawyer. Archived from
the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2019.
^"The Henrician Partbooks belonging to Peterhouse, Cambridge (Cambridge University Library, Peterthouse Manuscripts 471-474): A Study, with Restorations of the Incomplete Compositions Contained in them". Submitted by Nicholas John Sandon to the University of Exeter as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Music in the Faculty of Arts February 1983. Revised summer 2009 for inclusion in DIAMM (Digital Image Archive of Medieval Music) Source:Chapters I-II
[2]; Chapter III, Volume I: "The Composers in Ph", pp.81-114, including Walter Erle (d.1581), pp.86-96
[3]
^Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, pp.25-6
^Peter Long (2005). The Hidden Places of Devon. Travel Publishing Ltd.
ISBN1-904434-30-4.