Berry Pomeroy is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in the

South Hams South Hams is a non-metropolitan district, local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Totnes, although the largest town is Ivybridge. The district also contains the towns of Dartmouth, ...

district of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England, east of the town of

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Ipplepen, Marldon,

Torbay Torbay is a unitary authority with a borough status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England. It is governed by Torbay Council, based in the town of Torquay, and also includes the towns of Paignton and Brixham. The borough consists of ...

(unitary authority), Stoke Gabriel, Ashprington,

, and Littlehempston. In 2001 its population was 973, down from 1193 in 1901. The main road access is via the A385 road between

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the unitary authority, borough of Torbay which was created in 1968. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the Engli ...

and Totnes that runs through the parish, south of the village.

History

Berry Pomeroy was the centre of the large feudal barony of Berry Pomeroy, which was held at the time of the

Domesday Book Domesday Book ( ; the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book") is a manuscript record of the Great Survey of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

(1086) by Ralph de Pomeroy. The Pomeroy family retained the barony until 1547. William of Orange is said to have held his first

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

at Parliament Cottage in Longcombe within the parish, after landing at

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with ...

at the start of the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

in November 1688. He was afterwards entertained at Berry Pomeroy Castle by Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet. Between 1681 and 1834 the village was served by just three vicars: John Prince, John Fox and John Edwards. In World War II, American soldiers were stationed in the village during the build up to

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

and were billeted in tents opposite the church, in which items of that time are on display. American veterans revisited Berry Pomeroy for the 60th anniversary of the invasion in 2004. On 5 October 2019, more than fifty people were injured when a double-decker bus overturned at high speed on the A385 road in the parish.

Berry Pomeroy Castle

Berry Pomeroy Castle, about one mile north-east of the village, was built as the home of the Pomeroy family probably in the late 15th century. In 1548 it was sold to

Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp (150022 January 1552) was an English nobleman and politician who served as Lord Protector of England from 1547 to 1549 during the minority of his nephew King E ...

. The castle was abandoned in the late 17th century and was later considered a 'romantic ruin' by the Victorians. It is still owned by the Duke of Somerset, but is now maintained by

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

. The castle has often been cited as being the most haunted castle in Britain. SeymourMonumentBerry PomeroyDevon

Parish church

St Mary's Church, in the village, has a

rood screen The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, o ...

forty-two feet long. Described by Pevsner as "one of the most perfect in Devon", it is unusual in being complete from the north to south walls and also in retaining its original coving, cornice and cresting. The wainscoting has painted figures. The stained-glass windows include a few reset old fragments, but are most notable for the panels by Christopher Whall (1897 and 1908) and by his daughter, Veronica Whall (1926). Monuments in the church include a chest tomb to Sir Richard Pomeroy (died 1496) and his wife. Also a monument of 1613 to Lord Edward Seymour (died 1593) and his son, and daughter-in-law. The carving of its figures were described by Pevsner as "astonishingly naive". A display as a remembrance of wartime events (

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

) is inside the church. The church features in the final wedding scene of

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

's 1995 film ''

Sense and Sensibility ''Sense and Sensibility'' ( working title; ''Elinor and Marianne'') is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: ''By A Lady'' appears on the title page where the author's name might h ...

''.

Today

Berry Pomeroy's Parish Council meets at the Village Hall, next to Berry Pomeroy Parochial Primary School. Berry Pomeroy, along with nearby villages, is part of the East Dart ward which is represented by a councillor on the South Hams District Council. Berry Pomeroy is also within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). To celebrate the Millennium in 2000, a new bench was erected opposite the War Memorial, and every summer, a fete is held in the grounds of the manor house next to the church, which includes maypole dancing, Devonshire cream teas and a coconut shy. In 2005, Berry Pomeroy revived " Queene's Day", the anniversary of the accession of Elizabeth the First on 17 November. Celebrations begin with evensong in the parish church and culminate with a bonfire in the adjacent field, upon which is burned an effigy of Satan.

References

External links