Crediton is a town 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

Mid Devon Mid Devon is a local government district in 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, t ...

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. It stands on the A377

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

road at the junction with the A3072 road to Tiverton, north west of Exeter and from the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

. It has a population of 21,990. The town is in the narrow vale of the River Creedy, between two steep hills and is divided into two parts, the north or old town and the south and east or new town.

History

The first indication of settlement at Crediton is the claim that Winfrith or

Saint Boniface Boniface, OSB (born Wynfreth; 675 –5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of Francia during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations of ...

was born here in c. 672. (text onlin
here
) He propagated

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

in the

Frankish Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lomba ...

during the 8th century and is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of both Germany and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. In 909 a see was established here with Edwulf as the first bishop. Nine more bishops ruled here until 1050, when Leofric obtained papal permission from

Pope Leo IX Pope Leo IX (, , 21 June 1002 – 19 April 1054), born Bruno von Egisheim-Dagsburg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 February 1049 to his death in 1054. Leo IX is considered to be one of the most historica ...

to transfer the seat to

, a more culturally aware, larger and walled town. Since 1897 Crediton has been the seat of a

suffragan bishopric A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led by ...

in the

Diocese of Exeter The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Provinc ...

; from 2004 until 2012 this was

Robert Evens Robert John Scott Evens (known as Bob; born 29 May 1947) is an English Anglican bishop, the former suffragan Bishop of Crediton in the Diocese of Exeter. Evens was born in post-war Plymouth, where he lived until he was six. His father joined up ...

, between 2012 and 2015 it was

Nick McKinnel Nicholas Howard Paul McKinnel (born 19 August 1954) is an English retired Anglican bishop. He served as Bishop of Plymouth (2015–2022) and Bishop of Crediton (2012–2015), both suffragan bishoprics in the Diocese of Exeter. Early life McKi ...

(who was translated to the Anglican See of Plymouth). The current bishop of Crediton is

Jackie Searle Jacqueline Ann "Jackie" Searle (born 26 September 1960) is a British Anglican retired bishop. From 2018 until 2025, she served as the Bishop of Crediton, a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Exeter. She had previously been the Archdeacon of ...

, who has been the bishop since 2018. At the

Domesday 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 ...

survey (1086) much of the land was still uncultivated, but its prosperity increased, and in 1269 each of the twelve prebends of the

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

had a house and farmland within the parish. The bishops to whom the manor belonged until the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

had difficulty in enforcing their warren and other rights; in 1351 Bishop Grandisson obtained an

exemplification Exemplification, in the philosophy of language, is a mode of symbolization characterized by the relation between a sample and what it refers to. Description Unlike ostension, which is the act of showing or pointing to a sample, exemplification ...

of judgments of 1282, declaring that he had pleas of withername, a view of

frankpledge Frankpledge was a system of joint suretyship common in England throughout the Early Middle Ages and High Middle Ages. The essential characteristic was the compulsory sharing of responsibility among persons connected in tithings. This unit, un ...

, the

gallows A gallows (or less precisely scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sa ...

and

assize The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

of bread and ale. Two years later there was a serious riot against the increase of

copyhold Copyhold was a form of customary land ownership common from the Late Middle Ages into modern times in England. The name for this type of land tenure is derived from the act of giving a copy of the relevant title deed that is recorded in the ...

. The jury of the borough are mentioned in 1275, and Crediton returned two members to parliament during the reign of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

, in 1306–07, though it was never afterwards represented again. A borough seal dated 1469 is extant, but the corporation is not mentioned in the grant made by

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

of the church to twelve principal inhabitants. The borough and manor were granted by

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

to William Killigrew in 1595, but there is no indication of town organization then or in 1630, and in the 18th century Crediton was governed by

commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

s. The wool trade was established by 1249, and the manufacture and trading of woollen cloth, especially

serge Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

, peaked in the 16th century when the town reached the height of its prosperity. In 1630 the market for kerseys was mentioned in conjunction with a saying ''as fine as Kirton spinning''. The woollen textile trade declined after the mid 18th century. During the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

passed through the town on 20 July 1644 on his way to

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, and evidently left the town and surrounding countryside in some disarray. He was closely followed by Charles I who arrived on 27 July to review the army gathered there by his nephew, Prince Maurice, before returning to Exeter for a council of war. The following Sunday, the King spent the night at Crediton and then began his expedition of "Essex-catching". In late 1645 and early 1646 the town was used as a base by

Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

and the

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

from where they marched on the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

forces gathering in North Devon, and to where they returned on 29 March 1646 after success both at the Battle of Torrington and in overturning the siege of Plymouth. On Sunday 14 August 1743, a great fire started, completely destroying High Street and buildings in the "West Town". At that period of time it was the second largest fire in the country, second only to the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

. Sixteen people lost their lives, with over 2,000 made homeless and 450 houses destroyed. Other large fires occurred in 1766, 1769 and 1772. The Old Town Hall was completed in 1852. The town is twinned with

Avranches Avranches (; ) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History Middle Ages By the end of the Roman period, th ...

, France.

Geography

Climate

Crediton has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfb''). {{Weather box , location = Crediton, 1981-2010 averages , metric first = Yes , single line = Yes , Jan high C = 8 , Feb high C = 8 , Mar high C = 10 , Apr high C = 12 , May high C = 16 , Jun high C = 19 , Jul high C = 21 , Aug high C = 21 , Sep high C = 18 , Oct high C = 14 , Nov high C = 11 , Dec high C = 9 , year high C = 14 , Jan low C = 3 , Feb low C = 3 , Mar low C = 3 , Apr low C = 4 , May low C = 7 , Jun low C = 11 , Jul low C = 12 , Aug low C = 12 , Sep low C = 10 , Oct low C = 8 , Nov low C = 5 , Dec low C = 4 , year low C = 7 , precipitation colour = green , Jan precipitation mm = 120.1 , Feb precipitation mm = 91.5 , Mar precipitation mm = 89.7 , Apr precipitation mm = 71.2 , May precipitation mm = 76.1 , Jun precipitation mm = 63.6 , Jul precipitation mm = 68.4 , Aug precipitation mm = 73.4 , Sep precipitation mm = 81.1 , Oct precipitation mm = 121.9 , Nov precipitation mm = 119.2 , Dec precipitation mm = 132.4 , year precipitation mm = 1108.6 , source 1 = Weather Channel , date=August 2010 , source 2 = Chelsa Climate{{cite web , url=https://chelsa-climate.org/climate-diagrams/

Economy

In the early 20th century shoe-making, tanning, agricultural trade, tin-plating and the manufacture of confectionery and

cider Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...

had superseded the former large woollen and serge industries. The

creamery A creamery or cheese factory is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese is produced. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has ...

and dairy in Crediton has always been located next to the church, but to enable its product to be distributed further, the company ran a transport depot that was located in the goods yard of the

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

. Every day, a train of three or more Milk Tank Wagons would be filled from lorries, and then taken to London by either the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

or the Southern Railway. Express Dairies sold the creamery and a similar unit in

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; ) is a town at the mouth of the River Dee, Galloway, River Dee in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, southwest of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie. A former royal burgh, it is the traditional county town of Kirkcudbrightshire. His ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

in July 2002 to Milk Link, which both by that time produced UHT milk. Milk Link merged with

Arla Foods Arla Foods is a Danish-Swedish multinational co-operative based in Viby, Denmark. It is the fifth biggest dairy company in the world and the largest producer of dairy products in Scandinavia and United Kingdom. Arla Foods was formed as the re ...

in 2012 but in 2013 the newly merged company sold its Crediton operations in a management buyout. The new company, Crediton Dairy Limited, began trading in April 2013. Today, the town has two industrial parks at Lords Meadow and Fordton, a dairy and a small collection of units at Westward Business Park. It is the centre for shopping and business for the surrounding area, and has industries such as graphics and pharmaceuticals. Bristow's of Devon, founded in 1932 was one of the town's main employers but was closed in 2011 after owner New McCowan's went into administration. The factory, on Lords Meadow Industrial Estate, was reopened by Crediton Confectionery which has taken over the Bristow's brand. In 2001 the Crediton area was given priority status with regard to the government's Market and Coastal Towns Initiative, following the outbreak of

foot-and-mouth disease Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious disease, infectious and sometimes fatal virus (biology), viral disease that primarily affects even-toed ungulates, including domestic and wild Bovidae, bovids. The vir ...

. By 2006, of 45 projects in the plan, 18 had been completed, resolved, or begun.

Sport and leisure

Crediton has a Football Club, (a Crediton United A.F.C.), (affiliated to the FA) which fields both Men's and Women's teams in Senior and Junior competition in local leagues. Crediton has a Rugby Club (affiliated to the RFU) which has three senior teams, one colts team and a strong girls and Junior section. Crediton has a running club Crediton Running Network which meets at the Lords Meadow Leisure Centre

Media

Local TV coverage is provided by BBC South West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the Stockland Hill and the local relay transmitters. Local radio stations are

BBC Radio Devon BBC Radio Devon is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Devon. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Mannamead area of Plymouth. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...

, Heart West, Greatest Hits Radio South West, East Devon Radio and Radio Exe. The town is served by the local newspaper, Crediton Courier which publishes on Fridays.

Transport

Crediton railway station was designed by

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel ( ; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history", "one of the 19th-century engi ...

, was opened by the Exeter and Crediton Railway on 12 May 1851 and lies on Station Approach and Exeter Road. The line to {{stnlnk, Barnstaple was then opened by the North Devon Railway on 1 August 1854. After 1 November 1865 additional London and South Western Railway trains ran through the station going towards Okehampton.{{cite book , last = Nicholas , first = John , title = The North Devon Line , publisher = Oxford Publishing Company , year = 1992 , location = Sparkford , isbn = 0-86093-461-6 It is currently the junction of the Tarka and

Dartmoor Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon, South West England. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. Dartmoor National Park covers . The granite that forms the uplands dates from the Carb ...

lines, though the two lines run parallel until Coleford Junction. Crediton is served by all trains on the Barnstaple to Exeter and Okehampton to Exeter services. They connect with main line services at {{stnlnk, Exeter St Davids. The Exeter to Plymouth railway of the LSWR has been reopened to connect

Okehampton Okehampton ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in West Devon in the English county of Devon. At the 2021 census, the parish had a population of 7,313, which was slightly more than the 7,104 recorded at the 2011 census. Th ...

via Crediton and

with the rest of the UK railway system. There are proposals to reopen the line from Tavistock to Bere Alston for a through service to Plymouth. On the night of 4 February 2014, amid high winds and extremely rough seas, part of the

sea wall Sea Wall or The Sea Wall may refer to: * Seawall, a constructed coastal defence * Sea Wall, Guyana * ''The Sea Wall'' (novel), 1950 French novel by Marguerite Duras * ''The Sea Wall'' (film), 2008 film based on Duras' novel See also *'' This Ang ...

at Dawlish was breached washing away around {{convert, 40, m of the wall and the ballast under the railway immediately behind. The line was closed.

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and railway infrastructure manager, infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. ...

began repair work and the line reopened on 4 April 2014. In the wake of widespread disruption caused by damage to the mainline track at

Dawlish Dawlish is a seaside resort town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Teignbridge district in Devon, England. It is located on the south coast of England at a distance of from the city of Exeter and a similar distance from the to ...

by coastal storms in February 2014,

are considering reopening the Tavistock to Okehampton and Exeter section of the line as an alternative to the coastal route. The nearest airport is at Exeter International. Crediton lies around {{convert, 14, mi from the

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and {{convert, 12, mi from the A30 and A38.

Education

Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, founded by

and refounded by

, is today a state-run academy, named for

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

which gets good GCSE and A level results.Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School results
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601073133/http://www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/school.pl?urn=136646 , date=1 June 2013 , education.gov.uk; accessed 24 December 2014. There are two

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

s: Hayward's Primary School and Landscore Primary School. Nearby in the village of the same name is Sandford School and ten other partner primaries.

Landmarks

* The Anglican

Crediton Parish Church Church of the Holy Cross, Crediton, formally the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and the Mother of Him Who Hung Thereon, is the parish church of the town of Crediton in Devon, England. The church is built on the site of what was the cathedral ...

, formerly collegiate, is a

Perpendicular In geometry, two geometric objects are perpendicular if they intersect at right angles, i.e. at an angle of 90 degrees or π/2 radians. The condition of perpendicularity may be represented graphically using the '' perpendicular symbol'', � ...

building with Early English and other early portions, and a central tower. * Southeast of the town, on a ridge overlooking the river, is the country house, Downes, built about 1692 and remodelled in the 18th century. It was the birthplace of Sir Redvers Buller whose family were lords of the manor of Crediton. * The northwest side of the town had a great wall built in 1276 and it is still partly remaining today, although now it looks no different from a normal garden wall.

References

{{Reflist, 2 * {{EB1911, wstitle=Crediton, volume=7, pages=391–392

External links

{{AmCyc Poster, Crediton
Historic Crediton
{{Devon {{Mid Devon {{authority control Towns in Devon Towns in Mid Devon District Former manors in Devon

History

Geography

Climate

Economy

Sport and leisure

Media

Transport

Education

Landmarks

See also

References

Further reading

External links