Georgeham 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 ...

near Croyde, in

North Devon North Devon is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and Sout ...

. The appropriate

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 ...

is termed Georgeham and Mortehoe with total population at the 2011 census of 3,748. Georgeham is a historic village lying close to some of the most dramatic beaches of the

North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The North Devon Coast is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Devon, England, designated in September 1959. The AONB contributes to a family of protected landscapes in the Southwest of England and a total of 38% of the region is cl ...

which are flanked by the rocky headlands of Baggy Point and Saunton Down, although there are no views of the sea or coastline from the village itself. The character of the village is typically rural. The majority of the historic development in the village is east and south-west of the church. The village is also characterized by thatched cottages arranged in an irregular fashion along narrow lanes. There is a Victorian village school, a medieval church and two 17th Century

public houses A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

, the main one in the middle of the village, The King's Arms, and another one up a small lane, The Rock. Pronunciation is a controversial issue. Traditionalists maintain that there is in fact an emphasis on both the syllables George ''and'' ham. Others, usually outsiders not originally from North Devon, believe there to be no pronunciation on the ham, thus making it sound George-um. The

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. This is often simply an informal description of a smaller settlement or possibly a subdivision or satellite entity to a larger settlement. Sometimes a hamlet is defined f ...

of Cross and Forda lie between Georgeham and Croyde. Pickwell is part of the parish and lies between Georgeham and Putsborough.

History

Georgeham was first documented 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 ...

, where it appears under the name Hama. The village's current name, which first appeared in 1535, followed the dedication of St George's church, the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

, to

Saint George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

. Prior to 1535, the village was also referred to as Ham St. George and George Ham. The village gave its name to HMS ''Georgeham'', a

Ham class minesweeper The Ham class was a class of inshore minesweepers (IMS), known as the Type 1, of the British Royal Navy. The class was designed to operate in the shallow water of rivers and estuaries. All of the ships in the class are named for British place na ...

. The artist Margaret Kemp-Welch lived in the village during the 1920s and 1930s and painted a mural in the parish church. After serving in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Henry Williamson lived in the village from 1921; in Skirr Cottage he wrote his first published work, ''The Beautiful Years'', as well as his most celebrated work, ''

Tarka the Otter ''Tarka the Otter: His Joyful Water-Life and Death in the Country of the Two Rivers'' is a 1927 novel by English writer Henry Williamson, first published by G. P. Putnam's Sons with an introduction by Sir John Fortescue. It won the Hawthornd ...

''.http://www.northdevon.gov.uk/georgeham_appraisal.pdf , "Georgeham Conservation Area Character Appraisal" Retrieved 15 October 2014 His grave lies in the village churchyard. Also buried here is the writer and adventurer Negley Farson, who also had a home in the village. His son, the writer and broadcaster

Daniel Farson Daniel James Negley Farson (8 January 1927 – 27 November 1997) was a British writer and broadcaster, strongly identified with the early days of commercial television in the UK, when his sharp, investigative style contrasted with the BBC's mor ...

, died here in his father's former home in 1997.

References

External links

Georgeham School website

North Devon AONB website
{{authority control Villages in Devon