For the village in Oxfordshire see Bampton, Oxfordshire

Bampton, Oxfordshire

Bampton, also called Bampton-in-the-Bush, is a village and civil parish in the Thames Valley about southwest of Witney in Oxfordshire. The parish includes the hamlet of Weald....

Bampton is a small town in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 close to the south-eastern corner of Exmoor

Exmoor

Exmoor is an area of hilly open moorland in west Somerset and north Devon in South West England, named after the main river that flows out of the district, the River Exe. The moor has given its name to a National Park, which includes the Brendon Hills, the East Lyn Valley, the Vale of Porlock and ...

 and on the River Batherm

River Batherm

The River Batherm is a river which flows through Somerset and Devon in England. The river rises south of the Clatworthy Reservoir near the village of Sperry Barton. It continues through the villages of Blackwell, Batherm Bridge, Petton, and Shillingford before it joins the River Exe just over a...

, a tributary of the River Exe

River Exe

The River Exe in England rises near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, near the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lies in Devon. It reaches the sea at a substantial ria, the Exe Estuary, on the south coast of Devon...

. It is about 10 km north of Tiverton.

History

Its history is thought to have started with a Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

 fort, but it is later Saxon remains that are most easily seen. Some hedges conform to the Saxon furrow measure of 625 feet (later it became a furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

) and traces of their strip farming

Strip farming

Strip cropping is a method of farming used when a slope is too steep or too long, or when other types of farming may not prevent soil erosion. Strip cropping alternates strips of closely sown crops such as hay, wheat, or other small grains with strips of row crops, such as corn, soybeans, cotton,...

 can be seen to the north-east of the castle mound, the remnant of an 11th century Norman

Norman architecture

About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 Bampton Castle

Bampton Castle, Devon

Bampton Castle was in the village of Bampton, Devon .In Saxon times a defensive mound was built. On this mound the Normans built a wooden castle about 1067. In 1136 it was besieged by King Stephen and the fortifications were burnt down...

 built on earlier Saxon fortifications. The circular churchyard is also Saxon in origin.

Bampton now has nearly 100 listed buildings including the Grade 1 listed church, dedicated to Saint Michael & All Angels, whose tower dates from the 13th century. Parts of the former vicarage are said to date from the middle of the 15th century; and the Exeter Inn on the edge of the town was originally a farmhouse built in 1495. The town was caught up in the civil war between King Stephen

Stephen of England

Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...

  and the Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda

Empress Matilda , also known as Matilda of England or Maude, was the daughter and heir of King Henry I of England. Matilda and her younger brother, William Adelin, were the only legitimate children of King Henry to survive to adulthood...

, when Stephen's troops took the town in 1136. The later English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

 reached Bampton in 1645, when Royalists from Tiverton Castle burnt the town, so that few buildings earlier than the 17th century survive.

Bampton Fair was granted a Royal Charter

Charter fair

A charter fair in England is a street fair or market which was established by Royal Charter. Many charter fairs date back to the Middle Ages, with their heyday occurring during the 13th century...

 in 1258, in addition to an earlier Charter of 1212, and is held every year on the last Thursday in October.

This is a popular event, not least for its timing during the school half-term break. As well as a traditional fun-fair, there is a street market, often very crowded, selling novelties, and West Country produce. There was a monthly livestock market until the closure of the railway-line in 1966, and Exmoor Ponies were auctioned at Bampton Fair until 1985, when animal welfare concerns, and the sale of the site of the auction-ring, brought an end to what had been a major attraction at the Fair since the 1840s.

Since 2004, farm-tackle, Exmoor ponies and other livestock have been auctioned as part of the Fair again, a little way out of town, at Luttrell Quarry.