Dunkeswell is a village and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...
in
East Devon
East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council has been based in Honiton since February 2019, and the largest town is Exmouth (with a population of 34,432 at the time of the 2011 census).
The district was formed ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, located about north of the town of
Honiton
Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...
. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of 1,553, reducing to 1,361 at the
2011 Census. There is an
electoral ward with the same name whose population at the above census was 2,000. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of
Hemyock,
Luppitt,
Combe Raleigh,
Awliscombe,
Broadhembury and
Sheldon.
History
Dunkeswell is notable for having a busy small airfield, now
Dunkeswell Aerodrome which was initially established as an American Navy air base during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, and continues to offer civil flight services to this day.
The church, restored in 1868 from an older foundation, is of interest for its
Norman font.
Dunkeswell Eco Business Park, located near the aerodrome, was constructed to provide environmentally-friendly business space for
start-up businesses, businesses who are considered to be at a disadvantage such as those run by younger owners or women, and businesses that have outgrown existing premises.
Dunkeswell was the birthplace of the
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
clergyman
Henry Scadding.
Climate
The highest recorded temperature since 1990 was 28.3 °C on 2 and 8 July 2018 and the lowest was -7.8 °C on 2 January 1997.
Dunkeswell Abbey
The abbey is north of the village. The abbey was founded in 1201 by
William Briwere as a
Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Sain ...
monastery and offshoot of
Forde Abbey. The founder granted much property within Devon to the abbey. Around two years before his death in 1226, he entered the community and was eventually buried in front of the high altar of the abbey church.
Following the
Dissolution of the Monasteries the abbey was closed in 1539 and granted to
John Russell, 1st Baron Russell (1485–1555), later
1st Earl of Bedford, and was mostly demolished quickly, though a section remained in domestic use until the 19th century. In 1842, a parish church was built over part of the site. Some surviving fragments of monastery include the partial end wall of the cellarer's range and parts of a gatehouse. Some carved fragments survive within Holy Trinity Church which was built here in 1842 in Early English style.
[Pevsner, N. (1952) ''South Devon''. Penguin Books; pp. 123-24]
See also
*
Wolford Chapel
Wolford Chapel in Devon, England, is the burial place of John Graves Simcoe, the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada. It is the territory of the Canadian province of Ontario, and flies the Flag of Canada despite being in the English countr ...
References
* New, Anthony ''A Guide to the Abbeys of England and Wales'', p. 156-157. Constable.
External links
Dunkeswell Abbey WebsiteDunkeswell at Streetmap.co.ukDunkeswell Memorial Museum
Information and pictures of Holy Trinity Church and the Abbey ruins
{{authority control
Cistercian monasteries in England
Monasteries in Devon
Religious organizations established in the 1200s
1539 disestablishments in England
Christian monasteries established in the 13th century
Villages in Devon
1201 establishments in England