Ermington is a village and civil parish located approximately south of the town of

Ivybridge Ivybridge is a town and civil parish in the South Hams, in Devon, England. It lies about east of Plymouth. It is at the southern extremity of Dartmoor, a National Park of England and Wales and lies along the A38 "Devon Expressway" road. The ...

in the 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 ...

, England. The village is 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 and falls under the

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

of Ermington & Ugborough. It is twinned with the commune of

Clécy Clécy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. In 1932 it was awarded the ti ...

, in

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

, France and had a parish population of 824 at the 2011 census. It is known well for its crooked church spire, which a pub has been named after. It was home to

Edmund Lockyer Edmund Lockyer, (21 January 1784 – 10 June 1860) was a British soldier and explorer of Australia. Born in Plymouth, Devon, Lockyer was the son of Thomas Lockyer, a sailmaker, and his wife Ann. Lockyer began his army career as an ensign in ...

, who went to Australia and named a town, '' Ermington'', in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Etymology

Ermington takes its name from the

River Erme The Erme is a river in south Devon, England. From its source on Dartmoor it flows in a generally southerly direction past some of the best-preserved archaeological remains on the moor. It leaves the moor at the town of Ivybridge and continues so ...

, along with the

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

place-name elements -- and ("estate, enclosure"). Thus it once meant "settlement on the River Erme". The name is first attested in 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 ...

of 1086. Near the boundary of the parish there is a place called Penquit (pronounced, at least in the 1930s, pænkɪt, whose name is one of relatively few in English to derive from

Common Brittonic Common Brittonic (; ; ), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, is a Celtic language historically spoken in Britain and Brittany from which evolved the later and modern Brittonic languages. It is a form of Insular Cel ...

, perhaps being in continuous use since the time of the kingdom of

Dumnonia Dumnonia is the Latinised name for a Brythonic kingdom that existed in Sub-Roman Britain between the late 4th and late 8th centuries CE in the more westerly parts of present-day South West England. It was centred in the area of modern Devon, ...

. The name ''Penquit'' is first attested in 1238, as ''Pencoyt''; it derives from the words that survive in modern Welsh as ("head, top, summit, end") and ("wood"). Thus it once meant "end of the wood".

History

Ermington appears in the

as a royal manor. By 1270 the manor house of Strashleigh was the home of the Strashleigh family, also written Stretchleigh, until the heiress Christina Stretchleigh in 1560 married Sir Christopher Chudleigh, grandfather of the adventurer Sir John Chudleigh. Nearby Strode was inhabited by the Strode family from 1238 and probably earlier. Although, since the 15th century, their principal residence has been in

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down riv ...

. In the 14th century, its church, named after

Saint Peter Saint Peter (born Shimon Bar Yonah; 1 BC – AD 64/68), also known as Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus and one of the first leaders of the Jewish Christian#Jerusalem ekklēsia, e ...

, was constructed and was later enlarged in the 15th century.

Education

Ermington's only school is Ermington Community Primary School. It is a state-funded

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 ...

(ages 5–11) following the

National Curriculum A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or othe ...

. The school was first opened in 1879 and has been extended in 1997 and a double classroom was also extended in 1999. The school uniform colours are navy and grey, it has about 150 students, who are transferred to

Ivybridge Community College Ivybridge Community College is a state-funded secondary school and academy in Ivybridge, Devon, England. Located on the southern slopes of Dartmoor, it takes students from the surrounding of the South Hams, from 14 contributory primary schools. ...

, located about north, for secondary education at the end of year 6. Ermington Primary School is one of only four primary schools in the county of

to achieve 100% pass rates (level four and above according to the National Curriculum) in English, Maths and Science at the end of year 6 National Curriculum assessment "SATs". The village also has a small pre-school located within the primary school's grounds.

Twin towns – sister cities

Ermington is twinned with: *

, France ''since 1980''

References

External links

www.ermington.devon.sch.uk
Ermington Primary School website
www.ermingtonchurch.org.uk
Ermington's church, St Peter and St Paul, website {{South Hams parishes Villages in South Hams Civil parishes in South Hams