This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
Buckfastleigh | |
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Hamlyn House | |
Location within Devon | |
Population | 3,326 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SX7366 |
Civil parish |
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District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | BUCKFASTLEIGH |
Postcode district | TQ11 |
Dialling code | 01364 |
Police | Devon and Cornwall |
Fire | Devon and Somerset |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Buckfastleigh is a market town and civil parish in Devon, England situated beside the Devon Expressway (A38) at the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. It is part of Teignbridge and, for ecclesiastical purposes, lies within the Totnes Deanery. It is 18 miles (29 km) east-northeast of Plymouth, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Exeter and has a population of 3,661. [1] It is a centre of tourism and is home to Buckfast Abbey, the South Devon Railway, the Buckfastleigh Butterfly Farm and Otter Sanctuary, the Tomb of Squire Richard Cabell and The Valiant Soldier.
With 13 letters, Buckfastleigh is one of the longest place names in England with no repeated letters, tied with Buslingthorpe, Leeds and Buslingthorpe, Lincolnshire, but exceeded by Bricklehampton in Worcestershire with 14 letters.
Geographically, Buckfastleigh straddles the confluence of two small streams from Dartmoor which feed into the River Dart just to the east of the town. About one mile to the north lies Buckfast, home of Buckfast Abbey. To the northwest lie Holne and Scorriton on the southern breastwork of the Dartmoor upland. Pridhamsleigh Cavern is nearby and is neighboured by Ashburton and Lower Dean.
Historically Buckfastleigh has grown as a mill town known for its woollen mills, corn and paper mills and a tannery supported by the rivers Dart, Mardle and the Dean Burn – water being an essential natural resource used in the manufacturing of wool and other products.
Buckfastleigh is medieval in origin, as is still evident in the original layout of the town. By the seventeenth century, most of the properties had been rebuilt, but the medieval layout, particularly in Fore Street, is still visible today.
The name "Buckfast" means "stronghold" – traditionally a place where deer and buck were held, and "Leigh" would have been the pasture belonging to Buckfast – hence the meaning deer held in a pasture (buck-fast-leigh).
Buckfast probably existed before Buckfastleigh as it is mentioned in the Domesday Book and in 1018 a Benedictine Abbey was founded and endorsed by King Canute at Buckfast.
Buckfastleigh town centre is now an area of mostly late eighteenth- to early twentieth-century buildings with an interesting collection of private dwellings, commercial and retail properties and public houses which retain many, if not all, of their original features, styles and character.
The town centre during the first half of the twentieth century was a lively almost self-sufficient community with locally based employment and a large building programme of local authority housing initiated by Buckfastleigh Urban District Council which commenced in the 1920s and extended the town to the south west and the north west. Census data shows that in 1801 the population was 1,525, and 2,781 in 1901.
The most prominent benefactors of the town were the Hamlyn family [ citation needed ]. who were the original owners of the woollen mills up until 1920 and together with other philanthropists in the town, new cottages were erected. In 1880 the Hamlyn family built Bossell - a large country house with 8 acres of land - as their family home in the town. Run as a guest house in the 1950s (later a hotel), it was later divided into flats and is now the principal building in what is called Bossell Park. The Hamlyn family monogram still adorns the front of the house. In 1887 they were instrumental in the building of a new Town Hall and community building to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Land was also made available at this time for further public facilities which included Victoria Park, the tennis courts and the swimming pool. The new primary school was built in 1875, while the railway line from Buckfastleigh and Ashburton to Totnes had been opened in 1872 (it lost its passenger trains in 1958; and the goods service in 1962).
Pennywell Farm is an organic farm and tourist attraction just outside the town. [2]
To the west of the town is the manor house of Brook, a grade II* listed building, built in 1656 by Richard Cabell (d.1677), lord of the manor of Brook. [3] He was the subject of a local legend which relates that on the night of his death, black hounds breathing fire and smoke raced over Dartmoor and surrounded Brook House, howling. Cabell's unusual tomb was allegedly designed to keep his restless spirit from roaming Dartmoor. [4] Sir Arthur Conan Doyle based his Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901-1902) on this legend. The story's description of Baskerville Hall, however, is based on Cromer Hall [ citation needed ] in Norfolk.
The South Devon Railway Trust is a charitable organisation that operates a heritage railway from Totnes to Buckfastleigh in Devon, alongside the River Dart. The heritage railway itself is known as the South Devon Railway, named in honour of the South Devon Railway Company that originally built much of Devon's railway infrastructure, although its previous name of the Dart Valley Railway is sometimes still heard.
The line was built by the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway and first opened on 1 May 1872. Originally the line connected Totnes with Ashburton but in recent years the line passing between Buckfastleigh and Ashburton was demolished to make way for the A38 expressway. The line was worked by the larger South Devon Railway Company until 1 February 1876 when this was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway.
Vintage steam locomotives and carriages in the tradition of a bygone age are used; it offers unique scenery only seen from the railway. The South Devon Railway has an interesting collection of both steam and diesel locomotives. There are many former Great Western engines and industrial locomotives, the South Devon Railway Trust work with National Railway Museum.
Buckfast Abbey was founded by Earl Aylward in the reign of King Canute in 1018. In 1147 it became a Cistercian abbey and was rebuilt in stone. In medieval times, the abbey became rich through fishing and trading in sheep wool, although the Black Death killed two abbots and many monks – by 1377 there were only fourteen monks at Buckfast.
On 25 February 1539, William Petre arrived at Buckfast and declared the abbey to be dissolved by the order of King Henry VIII. The Dissolution of the Monasteries left monks compelled to leave and the buildings were looted and then destroyed. The abbey then stood in ruins for over two hundred years.
On 28 October 1882, six Benedictine monks arrived at Buckfast having been exiled from France. The land had been leased by monks from the St. Augustine's Priory in Ramsgate and it was later bought for £4,700. The first new abbot was Boniface Natter, who died in a shipwreck in 1906. His travelling companion Anscar Vonier became the next abbot and pledged to fulfil his dying wish, namely to rebuild the abbey.
Buckfastleigh Rangers is a Football and Social Club based in Buckfastleigh, Devon. They were established in 1903, playing in the South Devon League. During recent years Rangers has enjoyed league promotion and cup success. The teams have won the Lidstone, Greenaway, Harry Treeby and the Devon Senior Cups. Over the years Buckfastleigh Rangers Football Club have played hosts to other league clubs including Torquay United, Plymouth Argyle, Watford F.C and Leyton Orient.
Through the ages several residents of Buckfastleigh families have earned a place in history, scholarship or commerce. One such person is Professor William Hosking, who became, in 1840, the first Professor of Architecture at King's College in London.
The curly-coated Devon Rex cat breed was first discovered in Buckfastleigh in the 1960s and is named after the county in which the town is situated.
Caves in Buckfastleigh include:
Ashburton is a town on the south-southeastern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England, adjacent to the A38. The town is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Plymouth and 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Exeter.
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 constructed on the site of the current abbey in 1134. The monastery was surrendered for dissolution in 1539, with the monastic buildings stripped and left as ruins, before being demolished. The former abbey site was used as a quarry, and later became home to a Gothic mansion house.
The River Dart is a river in Devon, England, that rises high on Dartmoor and flows for 75 kilometres (47 mi) to the sea at Dartmouth.
South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Totnes, although the largest town is Ivybridge. The district also contains the towns of Dartmouth, Kingsbridge and Salcombe and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
Teignbridge is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Newton Abbot. The district also includes the towns of Ashburton, Buckfastleigh, Dawlish, Kingsteignton and Teignmouth, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Teignbridge contains part of the south Devon coastline, including the Dawlish Warren National Nature Reserve. Some of the inland western parts of the district lie within the Dartmoor National Park. It is named after the old Teignbridge hundred.
The South Devon Railway (SDR) is a 6.64-mile (10.69 km) heritage railway from Totnes to Buckfastleigh in Devon. Mostly running alongside the River Dart, it was initially known as the Dart Valley Railway. The railway is now operated by the South Devon Railway Trust, a registered charity.
Totnes is a parliamentary constituency in Devon represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since December 2019 by Anthony Mangnall, a Conservative. Mangnall defeated incumbent Sarah Wollaston who had originally been elected as a Conservative but defected to the Liberal Democrats earlier that year.
Totnes railway station serves the town of Totnes in Devon, England. It was opened by the South Devon Railway Company in 1847. Situated on the Exeter to Plymouth Line, it is 222 miles 66 chains measured from the zero point at London Paddington via Box.
The Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway built the broad gauge railway line from Totnes to Buckfastleigh and Ashburton in Devon, England.
Ashburton railway station is a closed railway station situated in the town of Ashburton in Devon, England. It was the terminus of a branch line from Totnes.
Totnes (Riverside) railway station, previously known as Totnes Littlehempston railway station and Littlehempston Riverside railway station, is a railway station situated in Littlehempston in the English county of Devon. It is the southern terminus of the South Devon Railway, a steam-operated heritage railway. The station should not be confused with the Totnes main line station on the National Rail Exeter to Plymouth line, which is a 330 yards (300 m) walk away.
Buckfastleigh railway station is situated on the South Devon Railway, a heritage railway in Devon, England. It serves the town of Buckfastleigh.
Ashburn is a river in the Dartmoor moors in Devon in south-west England, flowing through the Ashburton valley to the River Dart.
West Buckfastleigh is a small civil parish in the South Hams district, on the eastern border of Dartmoor in Devon, England. Situated within the parish are the village of Scorriton and the hamlets of Michelcombe and Combe. In 2011 it had a population of 301.
The River Mardle is a tributary of the River Dart in Devon, England.
Buckfast is a small village near Buckfastleigh in Teignbridge district, Devon, England, on the bank of the River Dart. It is the home of Buckfast Abbey, an active Benedictine monastery, which gave its name to Buckfast Tonic Wine, originally made there, and to the Buckfast bee, a bee breed originally developed at Buckfast Abbey.
Holy Brook is a tributary of the River Dart in Devon, England. It rises on the eastern flank of the 495 m (1,624 ft)-high hill of Snowdon on Dartmoor, at grid reference SX678687. It was once a much longer stream, but its headwaters were long ago captured by the River Mardle, and the physical evidence of this stream capture is clear when viewed from higher up the side of Snowdon.
Richard Cabell, of Brook Hall, in the parish of Buckfastleigh on the south-eastern edge of Dartmoor, in Devon, is believed to be the inspiration for the wicked Hugo Baskerville, "the first of his family to be hounded to death when he hunted an innocent maiden over the moor by night", one of the central characters in Conan Doyle's novel The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901-2), the tale of a hellish hound and a cursed country squire. When asked in 1907 about his inspiration for the novel Conan Doyle wrote in reply: "My story was really based on nothing save a remark of my friend Fletcher Robinson's that there was a legend about a dog on the moor connected with some old family". Cabell's tomb survives in the village of Buckfastleigh.