Brampford Speke
Encyclopedia
Brampford Speke is a small village in Devon
, 4 miles to the north of Exeter
. The population is 307. It is located on red sandstone
cliffs overlooking the river Exe
. Its sister village of Upton Pyne
lies to its southwest, and Stoke Canon
is across the river, to the east. To the south is the hamlet
of Cowley
with its chapel of ease
, which was formerly part of the ecclesiastical parish of Brampford Speke.
Brampford Speke has a Church of England parish church
dedicated to St Peter. There is a primary school in the heart of the village near the river Exe, which was built as a national school
in 1867. A baptist
chapel
was built near the school in 1894. The village also has a corner shop/tea room and a local pub, the Lazy Toad (formerly the Agricultural Inn Owned by Herbert and Lil Staddon from the 1920s til the mid 70s when Herberts nephew (Norman Whiddon)inherited it and it was sold). The village is graced by a number of fine houses, including the former landowner's Brampford House in the centre of the village and some traditional cob and thatch
cottages and farmhouses.
The village's name perhaps means 'bramble
ford
'. Speke is derived from the Anglo-Norman
family Espek or Speke who held the manor
from the reign of King Stephen
. In 1815, the manor was purchased for the Northcote family, later Earls of Iddesleigh
.
George Cornelius Gorham
was recommended as vicar
of the parish
of Brampford Speke in 1847. However, when examined by the bishop of Exeter
, Henry Phillpotts
, he was declared to hold Calvinist views on baptismal regeneration
. The bishop's decision was later overturned by the Privy Council
, and Gorham was instituted as vicar of Brampford Speke. The furore led some to abandon the Church of England
to become Roman Catholics. As vicar, Gorham restored
the church building, entirely rebuilding the tower, for which Bishop Phillpotts gave some money. The church's north aisle
had been added in 1840. A marble tablet on the east wall of the south transept
commemorates Gorham.
Brampford Speke was served by the Exe Valley line of the Great Western Railway
, which opened in 1 May 1885, until the Beeching Axe
of 7 October 1963 closed its station
. Both the old railway station and the old station house remain in residential use, and are situated across the river from the village. An iron footbridge over the river Exe connects a path from the school, down the cliff and across the meadow to the station. The current bridge is the third. The old railway embankment can be walked to Stoke Canon
, whereas the line to Thorverton
is now impassable due to collapsed bridges.
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...
, 4 miles to the north of Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
. The population is 307. It is located on red sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
cliffs overlooking 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...
. Its sister village of Upton Pyne
Upton Pyne
Upton Pyne is a parish and village in Devon, England. The parish lies just north west of Exeter, mainly between the River Exe and River Creedy. The village is located north of Cowley and west of Brampford Speke and Stoke Canon.-History:...
lies to its southwest, and Stoke Canon
Stoke Canon
Stoke Canon is a small village near the confluence of the rivers Exe and Culm on the main A396 between Exeter and Tiverton in the County of Devon, England.There is a pub, The Stoke Canon Inn, and a post office & general stores in the centre of the village....
is across the river, to the east. To the south is the hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
of Cowley
Cowley, Devon
Cowley is a hamlet in the parish of Upton Pyne in Devon, England. It is chiefly notable for a fine three-arched bridge of classical design, built over the River Creedy in 1813-14 by James Green, pupil of John Rennie and surveyor to the county of Devon...
with its chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
, which was formerly part of the ecclesiastical parish of Brampford Speke.
Brampford Speke has a Church of England parish church
Church of England parish church
A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative region, known as a parish.-Parishes in England:...
dedicated to St Peter. There is a primary school in the heart of the village near the river Exe, which was built as a national school
National school (England and Wales)
A national school was a school founded in 19th century England and Wales by the National Society for Promoting Religious Education.These schools provided elementary education, in accordance with the teaching of the Church of England, to the children of the poor.Together with the less numerous...
in 1867. A baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
was built near the school in 1894. The village also has a corner shop/tea room and a local pub, the Lazy Toad (formerly the Agricultural Inn Owned by Herbert and Lil Staddon from the 1920s til the mid 70s when Herberts nephew (Norman Whiddon)inherited it and it was sold). The village is graced by a number of fine houses, including the former landowner's Brampford House in the centre of the village and some traditional cob and thatch
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge , rushes, or heather, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates...
cottages and farmhouses.
The village's name perhaps means 'bramble
Bramble
Brambles are thorny plants of the genus Rubus, in the rose family . Bramble fruit is the fruit of any such plant, including the blackberry and raspberry. The word comes from Germanic *bram-bezi, whence also German Brombeere , Dutch Braam and French framboise...
ford
Ford (crossing)
A ford is a shallow place with good footing where a river or stream may be crossed by wading or in a vehicle. A ford is mostly a natural phenomenon, in contrast to a low water crossing, which is an artificial bridge that allows crossing a river or stream when water is low.The names of many towns...
'. Speke is derived from the Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
family Espek or Speke who held the manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
from the reign of 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...
. In 1815, the manor was purchased for the Northcote family, later Earls of Iddesleigh
Earl of Iddesleigh
Earl of Iddesleigh, in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1885 for the Conservative politician Sir Stafford Northcote, 8th Baronet...
.
George Cornelius Gorham
George Cornelius Gorham
George Cornelius Gorham born in St Neots, Cambridgeshire was a priest in the Church of England. His legal recourse to being denied a certain post, subsequently taken to a secular court, caused great controversy....
was recommended as vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
of the parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
of Brampford Speke in 1847. However, when examined by the bishop of Exeter
Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The incumbent usually signs his name as Exon or incorporates this in his signature....
, Henry Phillpotts
Henry Phillpotts
Henry Phillpotts , often called "Henry of Exeter", was the Anglican Bishop of Exeter from 1830 to 1869. He was England's longest serving bishop since the 14th century and a striking figure of the 19th century Church.- Early life :...
, he was declared to hold Calvinist views on baptismal regeneration
Baptismal regeneration
Baptismal regeneration, the literal meaning of which is "being born again" "through baptism" , is the doctrine within some Christian denominations that holds that salvation is dependent upon the act of baptism; in other words, baptismal regenerationists believe that it is essential for one to be...
. The bishop's decision was later overturned by the Privy Council
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
, and Gorham was instituted as vicar of Brampford Speke. The furore led some to abandon the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
to become Roman Catholics. As vicar, Gorham restored
Victorian restoration
Victorian restoration is the term commonly used to refer to the widespread and extensive refurbishment and rebuilding of Church of England churches and cathedrals that took place in England and Wales during the 19th-century reign of Queen Victoria...
the church building, entirely rebuilding the tower, for which Bishop Phillpotts gave some money. The church's north aisle
Aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of seats on both sides or with rows of seats on one side and a wall on the other...
had been added in 1840. A marble tablet on the east wall of the south transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
commemorates Gorham.
Brampford Speke was served by the Exe Valley line of the Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
, which opened in 1 May 1885, until the Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
of 7 October 1963 closed its station
Brampford Speke Halt railway station
Brampford Speke was a railway station on the Exe Valley Railway from Exeter St Davids to Dulverton. It opened in 1885 on the section from Stoke Canon to Tiverton....
. Both the old railway station and the old station house remain in residential use, and are situated across the river from the village. An iron footbridge over the river Exe connects a path from the school, down the cliff and across the meadow to the station. The current bridge is the third. The old railway embankment can be walked to Stoke Canon
Stoke Canon
Stoke Canon is a small village near the confluence of the rivers Exe and Culm on the main A396 between Exeter and Tiverton in the County of Devon, England.There is a pub, The Stoke Canon Inn, and a post office & general stores in the centre of the village....
, whereas the line to Thorverton
Thorverton
Thorverton is a village in Devon, England, about a mile west of the River Exe and north of Exeter. It is almost centrally located between Exeter and the towns of Tiverton and Crediton and contains the hamlets of Yellowford and Raddon. It is surrounded by beautiful hill scenery. It has two churches...
is now impassable due to collapsed bridges.