Brownston is a picturesque hamlet 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...

. It is located within Modbury

Modbury

Modbury is a town and parish in the South Hams region of the English county of Devon. It is situated on the A379 road, which links it to Plymouth and Kingsbridge...

 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...

.

Its church (dedicated to St John The Baptist) is now a private home and was built in 1844 .There is also a converted Wesleyan chapel. Several of the farmhouses in Brownston are of historical significance and are grade II listed. It also has a converted school and forge and was a busier place when the road through Brownston was a main route for people travelling from the South Hams area to Plymouth during the gold rush days.Brownston Cross was renamed California Cross at this time

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