Bishop's Clyst was an ancient
manor in Devonshire and is also the modern name adopted by the council representing two
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 ...
es that form part of the
East Devon
East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the towns of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Ottery St M ...
district in the
English county 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 ...
.
Bishop's Clyst was formed in 1976 by the merger of the parish councils of
Clyst St Mary and
Sowton. These are two separate settlements Sowton being a mile or so north of Clyst St Mary.
Anciently ''Bishop's Clist'' or ''Clists-Bishops'' was a
manor in the parish of Faringdon held by the de Sachville family and later mortgaged by them to
Walter Branscombe (d.1280),
Bishop of Exeter
The Bishop of Exeter is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Mike Harrison (bishop), Mike Harrison, since 2024.
From the first bishop until the sixteent ...
. It was later granted by Bishop
John Vesey (d.1554) to
John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford.
[ Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.6]
/ref>
The manor contained Bishop's Court, Devon, Bishop's Court, the medieval palace of the bishops of Exeter.
References
{{coord, 50.714, -3.444, region:GB-DEV_type:adm3rd, display=title
Local government in Devon
East Devon District