Broadhembury, Devon
Historical Description
Broadhembury, a village and a parish in Devonshire. The village stands in a fertile valley, 5 miles ESE of Collumpton station on the G.W.R., and 6 NW of Honiton, under which it has a post and money order office; telegraph office, Sidmouth Junction (R.S.) It was formerly a market-town. The parish includes also the hamlets of Collaton, Luton, Dulford, and Kerswell. Acreage, 4822; population, 601. The manor belonged anciently to the Tovington family, was given to Dunkeswell Abbey, and passed in the time of Elizabeth to the family of Drewe. A Cluniac abbey stood at Kerswell, and was subordinate to Montacute Priory in Somerset. An ancient entrenchment, called Hembury Fort, crowns a bold spur of high land, commands an extensive prospect, comprises an oval area engirt by three well-preserved lofty ramparts, seems to have been formed by the Britons, but was occupied by the Romans, and is thought by some antiquaries to have been the Roman station Moridunum. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; net value, £236 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. The church is a fine ancient edifice, consists of nave, chancel, and south aisle, with pinnacled western tower, and contains a neat oak screen, a Saxon font, and monuments of several families. There is also a Wesleyan chapel.
Administration
The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.
| Ancient County | Devon | |
| Ecclesiastical parish | Broadhembury St. Andrew | |
| Hundred | Hayridge | |
| Poor Law union | Honiton |
Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.
Church Records
Findmypast, in association with the South West Heritage Trust, Parochial Church Council, and Devon Family History Society have the Baptisms, Banns, Marriages, and Burials online for Broadhembury
Civil Registration
For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.
Directories & Gazetteers
We have transcribed the entry for Broadhembury from the following:
- Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Broadhembury (St. Andrew))
Maps
Online maps of Broadhembury are available from a number of sites:
- Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- Google Streetview.
- National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
- old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
- Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
- A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)
Newspapers and Periodicals
The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following newspapers covering Devon online:
Villages, Hamlets, &c
Collaton (Broadhembury)Dulford
Kerswell
Luton (Broadhembury)
Visitations Heraldic
The Visitation of the County of Devon in the year 1564, with additions from the earlier visitation of 1531, is online.
The Visitations of the County of Devon, comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564, & 1620, with additions by Lieutant-Colonel J.L. Vivian, published for the author by Henry S. Eland, Exeter 1895 is online.