Brixham, South Devon

Map sources for Brixham at grid reference SX9255

Brixham (IPA: [ˈbɹɪksəm]) is a small town in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Brixham is at the southern end of Torbay, across the bay from Torquay, and is a fishing port. Fishing and tourism are its major industries. Brixham, South Devon. ... Brixham, South Devon. ... Image File history File links Dot4gb. ... Image File history File links Gb4dot. ... The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... “Devonshire” redirects here. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem - the United Kingdom anthem God Save the Queen is commonly used England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto)1 Unified  -  by Athelstan 927 AD  Area  -  Total... Torbay (IPA: ) is an east-facing bay, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. ... , Torquay (IPA: ) is a town in Devon, England. ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish by hooking, trapping, or gathering. ... Tourists on Oahu, Hawaii Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes or the provision of services to support this leisure travel. ...

It is thought that the name 'Brixham' came from Brioc's village. 'Brioc' was an old English or Brythonic personal name and '-ham' is an ancient term for village.

The town is hilly, and built around the harbour which remains in use as a dock for fishing trawlers; in addition, it has a focal tourist attraction in the replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship the Golden Hind that is permanently moored there. Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral, (c. ... The Golden Hind was an English ship best known for its global circumnavigation between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. ...

In summer, the Cowtown carnival is held; this is a reminder of when Brixham was two separate communities, with only a marshy lane to connect them. Cowtown was where the farmers lived, at the top of the hill, while about a mile away, the seamen made their homes near the harbour in Fishtown. Cowtown - St Marys Square area- on the road leaving Brixham in the direction of Kingswear is home to possibly the oldest church in Brixham, and the local Royal British Legion club. Kingswear is a village in the South Hams area of South Devon, residing on the east bank of the River Dart. ... Wreaths of artificial poppies used on Remembrance Day Image:BrLegionflag. ...

History

Brixham is where William III of Orange landed with his Dutch army, on 5th November, 1688, during the Glorious Revolution, and many local people still have Dutch surnames, being direct descendants of soldiers in that army. A road leading from the harbour up a steep hill to where the Dutch made their camp, is still called Overgang, meaning 'transition' in Dutch. William III King of England, Scotland and Ireland William III and II (14 November 1650–8 March 1702; also known as William Henry and William of Orange) was Prince of Orange from his birth, King of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689, and King of Scotland from 11... November 5 is the 309th day of the year (310th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 56 days remaining. ... // Events A high-powered conspiracy of notables, the Immortal Seven, invite William and Mary to depose James II of England. ... The Revolution of 1688, commonly known as the Glorious Revolution, was the overthrow of James II of England in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians and the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange). ...

The coffin house [1] reflects Brixham humour: it is coffin-shaped and when a father was asked for the hand in marriage of his daughter, he said he would 'see her in a coffin, before she wed'. The future son-in-law bought the coffin-shaped property, called it the Coffin House, and went back to the father and said 'Your wishes will be met, you will see your daughter in a coffin, the Coffin House'. Amazed by this, the father gave his blessing.

The street names reflect the town's history. Pump street is where the village pump stood. Monksbridge was a bridge built by the monks of Totnes Priory. Lichfield Drive was the route that the dead (from the Anglo-Saxon ‘lich’ meaning a corpse) were taken for burial at St Mary’s churchyard. Salutation Mews, near that church, dates from when England was Catholic, and the salutation was to the Virgin Mary. Similarly, Laywell Road recalls Our Lady’s well. The first building seen when coming into Brixham from Paignton is the old white-boarded Toll House where all travellers had to pay a fee to keep the roads repaired. Totnes (IPA: ) is a market town in South Devon, England. ... The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ... Gabriel delivering the Annunciation to Mary. ... Paignton (IPA: ) is a coastal town in Devon in the United Kingdom. ...

The tower of All Saints' Church, founded in 1815, stands guard over the town. The composer of Abide With Me, Rev. Francis Lyte was a vicar at the church. He lived at Berry Head House, now a hotel, and when he was a very sick man, near to dying, he looked out from his garden as dusk fell over Torbay, and the words of that hymn came into his mind. Abide With Me is a well-known Christian hymn composed by Henry Francis Lyte in 1847, though the lyrics are usually sung to William Henry Monks melody Eventide rather than Lytes original music. ... Henry Francis Lyte (1 June 1793 - 20 November 1847) was an Anglican divine and hymn-writer. ...

The main church is St. Mary's, about a mile from the sea. It is the third to have been on the site (which was an ancient Celtic burial ground). The original wooden Saxon church was replaced by a stone Norman church that was in its turn built over in about 1360. Many of the important townspeople are buried in the churchyard. It is considered unlucky indeed to walk 'widershins', or anti-clockwise, around the church.

Brixham was served by the short Torbay and Brixham Railway from Churston. The line, opened in February 1868 to carry passengers and goods (mainly fish), was closed in May 1963 as a result of the Beeching Axe cuts. The line through Churston is now maintained and operated as a heritage railway by an enthusiastic team of volunteers as the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway. The Torbay and Brixham Railway was a 7 ft 0¼ in broad gauge railway which linked the Dartmouth and Torbay Railway at Churston railway station, Devon with the important fishing port of Brixham. ... Churston railway station is on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway, a heritage railway in Devon, United Kingdom. ... Many railway lines were closed as a result of the Beeching Axe The Beeching Axe is an informal name for the British Governments attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running the British railway system. ... A scene on a heritage railway. ... A train on the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway leaving Kingswear railway station Situated in Devon and arguably one of the most picturesque lines in England, the standard gauge Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway operates from Paignton to Kingswear along the former Great Western Railway line. ...

The Sea

Brixham is also notable for being the town where the fishing trawler was invented in the 19th century; their distinctive sails inspired the song "Red Sails in the Sunset", which was written aboard a Brixham sailing trawler called the Torbay Lass. A modern Icelandic trawler A trawler is a fishing vessel designed for the purpose of operating a trawl, a type of fishing net that is dragged along the bottom of the sea (or sometimes above the bottom at a specified depth). ... Red Sails in the Sunset is a popular song. ...

Looking west across Brixham Harbour

In the Middle Ages, Brixham was the largest fishing port in the south west of England. Known as the 'Mother of Deep-Sea Fisheries', its boats helped to establish the fishing industries of Hull, Grimsby and Lowestoft. In the 1890s there were about 300 trawling vessels in Brixham, most individually owned. The trawlers can still be seen coming in and out of the harbour, followed by flocks of seagulls. The fish market is open to the public on two special days in the summer, when the finer points of catching and cooking fish will be explained. The modern boats are diesel-driven, but several of the old sailing trawlers have been preserved. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Kingston upon Hull, more usually referred to simply as Hull, is a city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. ... , Grimsby (also known as Great Grimsby, after its Parliamentary constituency title[1]) is a seaport on the Humber Estuary in Lincolnshire, England. ... Lowestoft (pronouned IPA: /loʊs tɔft, -tɒft, -təf/) is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England, lying between the eastern edge of The Broads National Park at Oulton Broad and the North Sea. ...

Hundreds of ships have been wrecked on the rocks around the town. Brixham men have always known the dangers but even they were taken by surprise by a terrible storm that blew up on the night of 10th January, 1866. The fishing boats only had sails then and could not get back into harbour because gale force winds and the high waves were against them. To make things worse, the beacon on the breakwater was swept away, and in the black darkness they could not determine their position. According to local legend, their wives brought everything they could carry, including furniture and bedding, to make a big bonfire on the quayside to guide their men home. Fifty vessels were wrecked and more than one hundred lives were lost in the storm; when dawn broke the wreckage stretched for nearly three miles up the coast.

Hearing of this tragedy, the citizens of Exeter gave money to set up what became the RNLI's Torbay lifeboat, which has since rescued hundreds of people. The city of Exeter is the county town of Devon, in the southwest of England, also known as the West Country. ... RNLI Lifeboat at Calshot Spit The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity dedicated to saving lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. ...

Since 1866, Torbay lifeboat station, located in Brixham, has operated an all-weather lifeboat. The station also has an inshore D-class lifeboat. The crews have a remarkable history of bravery, with 52 awards for gallantry. The boathouse can be visited and memorials to the brave deeds seen; on special occasions visitors can go on board the boat. Two maroons (bangs) are the signal for the lifeboat to be launched. Severn class lifeboat in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. ...

Smuggling was more profitable than fishing, but if the men were caught, they were hanged. There are many legends about the local gangs and how they evaded the Revenue men. One humorous poem describes how a notorious local character, Bob Elliott ("Resurrection Bob"), could not run away because he had gout and hid in a coffin. Another villain was caught in possession but evaded capture by pretending to be the Devil, rising out of the morning mists. On another occasion when there was a cholera epidemic, some Brixham smugglers drove their cargo up from the beach in a hearse, accompanied by a bevy of supposed mourners following the cortege drawn by horses with muffled hooves. Satan frozen at the center of Cocytus, the ninth circle of Hell in Dantes Inferno. ...

The town's outer harbour is protected by a long breakwater, useful for sea angling. In winter this is a regular site for Purple Sandpiper birds. During the Second World War, a ramp and piers were built from which American servicemen left for the D-day landings. Binomial name Calidris maritima Brünnich, 1764 The Purple Sandpiper, Calidris maritima is a small shorebird. ...

To the south of Brixham, and sheltering the southern side of its harbour, lies the coastal headland of Berry Head with a lighthouse, Iron Age Fort and National Nature Reserve. Berry Head is a coastal headland at the southern end of Torbay, to the southeast of Brixham, Devon, England. ...

Quarrying & Mining

Apart from fishing, most of the other local industries were connected with stone. Limestone was once quarried extensively and used to build the breakwater, for houses and roads, and was sent to Dagenham to make steel for Ford cars. It was also burnt in limekilns to reduce it to a powder which was spread on the land in other parts of Devon as an agricultural fertiliser. The old quarries and the limekilns can still be seen.-1... Dagenham is a suburban town in east London, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, situated 12 miles (19. ... 2002 Ford Fiesta in the UK. The Ford Motor Company (sometimes nicknamed Fords or FoMoCo, (NYSE: F) is an automobile maker founded by Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan, and incorporated on June 16, 1903. ...

Another mineral found in Brixham is ochre. This gave the old fishing boats their "Red Sails in the Sunset", but the purpose was to protect the canvas from sea water. It was boiled in great caldrons, together with tar, tallow and oak bark. The latter ingredient gave its name to the barking yards which were places where the hot mixture was painted on to the sails, which were then hung up to dry. This article is about the color. ... Red Sails in the Sunset is an album by Midnight Oil that was released in 1984 under the CBS record label. ... Tar can be produced from corn stalks by heating in a microwave. ... Tallow is rendered beef or mutton fat, processed from suet. ... Species See List of Quercus species The term oak can be used as part of the common name of any of several hundred species of trees and shrubs in the genus Quercus (from Latin oak tree), and some related genera, notably Cyclobalanopsis and Lithocarpus. ...

The ochre was also used to make a very special paint. This was invented in Brixham in about 1845 and was the first substance in the world that would stop cast iron from rusting. Other types of paint were made here as well, and the works were in existence until 1961.

There were iron mines at Brixham, and for a while they produced very high quality ore but the last one closed in 1925. Most of the sites have been built over and there are now no remains of this once important industry.

War Times

Warships have been seen in Torbay from the days of the Vikings up until 1944 when part of the D-Day fleet sailed from here. In 1588 Brixham watched Sir Francis Drake attacking the Spanish Armada after he had (so the legend goes) finished his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe. Today in Brixham harbour there is a full-sized replica of the ship, the Golden Hind, in which Drake circumnavigated the globe; visitors can go on board. The name Viking is a loan from the native Scandinavian term for the Norse seafaring warriors who raided the coasts of Scandinavia, Europe and the British Isles from the late 8th century to the 11th century, the period of European history referred to as the Viking Age. ... Land on Normandy In military parlance, D-Day is a term often used to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. ... Sir Francis Drake, c. ... Combatants England Dutch Republic Spain Portugal Commanders Charles Howard Francis Drake Duke of Medina Sidonia Strength 34 warships 163 armed merchant vessels 22 galleons 108 armed merchant vessels Casualties 50–100 dead[1] ~400 wounded 600 dead, 800 wounded,[2] 397 captured, 4 merchant ships sunk or captured The Spanish... Swifts Creek Bowls Club Bowls (also known as Lawn Bowls or Lawn Bowling) is a precision sport in which the goal is to roll slightly radially asymmetrical balls (called bowls) closer to a smaller white ball (the jack or kitty) than ones opponent is able to do. ... Plymouth Hoe from Mountbatten Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large public space in the English port city of Plymouth. ... The Golden Hind was an English ship best known for its global circumnavigation between 1577 and 1580, captained by Sir Francis Drake. ...

For centuries, ships going down the English Channel have come into Torbay to seek refuge from the storms and to replenish food supplies. Sometimes these were merchants, taking cargoes to far away places and bringing back exotic goods and rare spices; sometimes they were carrying pilgrims, or gentlemen on the Grand Tour.

Since the days of Henry VIII Brixham has played a part in the defence of the nation. The headland known as Berry Head is now a National Nature Reserve, but it is also a military site where guns were once positioned to defend the naval ships that were re-victualling at Brixham. Twelve guns were put there during the War of American Independence, but were removed when peace came in 1783. Just ten years later, during a war with France, guns were again deployed around the town. The major position was at Berry Head, but this time fortifications were built to defend the gun positions. These can still be seen, and are now some of the best preserved Napoleonic forts in the country.

During the long series of wars against the French that began in 1689 and lasted until 1815, the Royal Navy came into Brixham to get supplies of fresh vegetables, beef and water. There might have been twenty or so of the big men-o'-war lying at anchor in Torbay, recovering from exploits of the sort described in the books about Hornblower, Bolitho or Jack Aubrey. On the harbourside towards the marina there is a grey stone building which today is the Coastguard headquarters; then, it was the King's Quay where His Majesty's vessels were provisioned. Local farmers brought vegetables to ward off scurvy, and cattle were slaughtered and their meat packed into barrels. The water came from a big reservoir situated near the crossroads in the middle of town; from there a pipeline carried it under the streets and under the harbour to the King's Quay. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Richard Bolitho is a fictional Royal Navy officer who is the main character in a series of novels written by Douglas Reeman (using the pseudonym Alexander Kent). ... The Aubrey–Maturin series, also known as the Aubreyad, is a sequence of 20 historical novels by Patrick OBrian, set during the Napoleonic Wars and centering on the friendship between Captain Jack Aubrey of the Royal Navy and his ships surgeon Stephen Maturin, who is also a...

Many of the well-known Admirals of the day visited Brixham. Not only Nelson, but also Lord St. Vincent, Cornwallis, Hood, Rodney and Hawke. There was also Earl Howe, who earned the nickname of Lord Torbay because he spent so much time ashore in Brixham. A notorious visitor was Napoleon Bonaparte, who, as a prisoner on HMS Bellerophon, spent several days off Brixham waiting to be taken to exile on St. Helena. John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent (9 January 1735-14 March 1823) was an admiral in the British Royal Navy. ... “Lord Cornwallis” redirects here. ... Admiral Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, 1724–1816 by James Northcote, painted 1784. ... Admiral Lord George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, 1719–1792 by Jean-Laurent Mosnier, painted 1791, George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney (February 1718 – May 24, 1792), was a British naval officer. ... Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, (February 21, 1705 - October 16, 1781) was an admiral in the Royal Navy. ... Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (March 8, 1726 – August 5, 1799) was a British admiral. ... Bonaparte as general Napoleon Bonaparte ( 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821) was a general of the French Revolution and was the ruler of France as First Consul (Premier Consul) of the French Republic from November 11, 1799 to May 18, 1804, then as Emperor of the French (Empereur des... Napoleon Bonaparte on board the Bellerophon in Plymouth Sound by Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, painted 1815. ...

Battery Gardens have a military history leading back to the Napoleonic wars and the time of the Spanish Armada. The emplacements and features seen here today are those of the Second World War and are of national importance. The site, listed by English Heritage, is recognised as one of the best preserved of its kind in the UK. Of the 116 ‘Emergency Coastal Defence Batteries’ set up in the UK in 1940, only seven remain intact.

Politics

In 2007 Brixham Parish Council was reestablished after a forty year gap, having peviously had its affairs run by Torbay council. Its duties are those of a standard English civil parish. Its current (May 2007) members are: A civil parish (usually just parish) in England is a subnational entity forming the lowest unit of local government, lower than districts or counties. ...

• Chris Bedford (Conservative)
• Gordon Boote (Independent)
• Vic Ellery (Independent)
• Brian Harland (Independent)
• Nick Henderson (Independent)
• Martyn Hodge (Conservative)
• Stuart John (Conservative)
• Peter Killick (Independent)
• Chris Lomas (Independent)
• Mike Morey (Independent)
• Jackie Stockman (Independent)

with one seat vacant.^[1] The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ...

The late, former British Prime Minister, James Callaghan was educated partly at Furzeham Primary School. Leonard James Callaghan, Baron Callaghan of Cardiff, KG, PC (27 March 1912 – 26 March 2005), was Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1976 to 1979. ...

Sport

In 1874 Brixham Rugby Football Club was founded and became one of the founder members of Devon RFU of which only 6 clubs are now left. They played Rugby on Furzeham Green until 1896 when they moved their present ground in New Gate Park(Now Astley Park). A rugby union scrum. ...

Teenage football player Dan Gosling, of Plymouth Argyle was born and raised in Brixham, and is the fourth-youngest player to have ever played for Argyle aged 16 and 310 days. Dan Gosling (born 2 February 1990) is an English footballer who plays for Plymouth Argyle. ... Plymouth Argyle Football Club (commonly known as the Pilgrims, the Greens, the Green Army or simply Argyle) are an English football team, playing in the Championship league. ...

Brixham is also the birthplace of the Brixham Freestyle Martial Arts Team ( BFMAT ), a variation of freestyle self defence designed and co-founded by Sean Webber and Tom Collins in 2006. The style of freestyle combines martial arts with combat and grappling techniques. The team also focuses on weight lifting, running and free running as part of 'all round combat' skills. The BFMAT, in 2007 disbanded and reformed as the TFCA (Torbay Freestyle Combat Association) practicing K1 Freestyle.

External links

Wikisource has an original article from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica about:

Brixham

• The Official English Riviera Toursit Board
• Directory of websites relating to Brixham
• RNLI South Devon
• History of Harbour & Breakwater
• Brixham Heritage Museum
• Brixham History - Prehistoric to Present
• Brixham Battery Heritage Centre Group

Coordinates: 50.38494° N 3.52047° W Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Encyclopædia Britannica, the eleventh edition The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911) is perhaps the most famous edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...