Bradninch
Coordinates: 50°50′00″N 3°25′00″W / 50.8333°N 3.4167°W
| Bradninch | |
 View of Bradninch from Cullompton Hill looking towards Fore Street and Castle Hill. St Disen's Church is to the right |
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 Bradninch
Bradninch shown within Devon |
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| Population | 1,916 (2001 census) |
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| OS grid reference | SS9903 |
| District | Mid Devon |
| Shire county | Devon |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| List of places: UK • England • Devon | |
Bradninch is a small town in Devon, England, lying about three miles south of Cullompton. Bradninch dates back to before the 7th century and at this time there was a Saxon fortress on Castle hill. The feudal Baron of Bradninch in the 12th century was Sir William de Tracy, one of the assassins of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket. Much of the surrounding farmland belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall.
The place-name 'Bradninch' is first attested in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Bradenese'; the name is thought to mean 'broad oak'.[1]
The town was largely destroyed in a fire in 1666 (the same year as the Great Fire of London). It used to be served by the railway station at Hele, which is now closed.
Notable buildings in the town include Bradninch Guildhall, the Castle Pub, the manor house, Earlsland House, Comfort House, and the parish church.
This 15th-century church is currently dedicated to St Disen, a unique dedication in the British Isles, who is considered to have been an Irish missionary saint.[2] Previously this church was dedicated to St Dionysius, and some confusion has arisen between the two. It possesses a finely decorated screen. In the panels at the screen's base are nearly 50 paintings of saints and biblical scenes. Another screen in the church is simpler, with panels of various saints, including an unusual one of St Francis of Assisi receiving the stigmata.
It was here in 1702 that George Boone III, grandfather of the American pioneer Daniel Boone, joined the Society of Friends (Quakers).[3]
In the 2010 UK General Election, the new constituency of Central Devon, which includes Bradninch, returned a Conservative Member of Parliament, Mel Stride.
[edit] Population
According to the Office for National Statistics Bradninch Ward had a population of 1,775 in April 2001.[4] In 1887, according to John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles, the population was 1,705 In 1851 the population was 1,834.[5]
[edit] References
- ^ Eilert Ekwall, Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names, p. 58.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [Morgan, Robert. Boone: A Biography. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2007; ISBN 978-1-56512-455-4]
- ^ "Key Figures for 2001 Census". Office for National Statistics. 1 April 2001. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=6117976&c=Bradninch&d=14&e=16&g=436481&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1263737876600&enc=1. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
- ^ "Census statistics 1801-2001 Devon parishes B.". Devon Libraries Local Studies Service. http://www.devon.gov.uk/localstudies/111873/30.html&s=oqtYyIJB8X1. Retrieved 27 April 2011.
[edit] External links
- The Bradninch Town Council website
- Entry in GENUKI (UK and Ireland genealogy), including description from the year 1850
- Description in Devon County Council / Devon Libraries Local Studies Service
- History of Bradninch
- Bradninch shown on a map of the county of Devon, 1765
- Bradninch at the Open Directory Project
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