Yealmpton

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Coordinates: 50°20′31″N 3°59′49″W / 50.342°N 3.997°W / 50.342; -3.997
Yealmpton

St Bartholomew's Church
Yealmpton

 Yealmpton shown within Devon
Population 1,923 (2001)
OS grid reference SX5751
Civil parish Yealmpton
District South Hams
Shire county Devon
Region South West
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town PLYMOUTH
Postcode district PL8
Dialling code 01752
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Devon and Somerset
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK Parliament South West Devon
List of places
UK
England
Devon

Yealmpton (pronounced "yalmpton") is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is located in the South Hams on the A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about 8 miles (13 km) from Plymouth. It derives its name from the River Yealm that flows through the village. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 1,923.[1]

Yealmpton is home to a 400 year-old stone cottage, where it is said, a version of the famous rhyme Old Mother Hubbard was written. It is also the site of Kitley Caves where green marble was quarried; there is an arch of it in the British Museum. John Pollexfen Bastard (1756–1816) a British Tory politician, landowner and colonel of the East Devonshire Militia, lived at Kitley House, Yealmpton.

Parish church

The parish church is dedicated to St Bartholomew and was designed by William Butterfield. It dates from 1850, apart from the tower which was only built in 1915. It is in a version of the Gothic of the late 13th and early 14th century. The font is Norman and the monuments (moved here from the old church) include a brass to Sir John Crocker (1508), one to Mary Coppelston (died 1630) (an arched recess with kneeling figures against the tomb-chest), and several to members of the Bastard family.[2]

Railway service

From 1898 to 1960, Yealmpton was the terminus of the Yealmpton to Plymouth branch railway line. The line was built by the Great Western Railway. In its early days the line carried passengers and freight. The growth in the number of motor cars and buses led to reducing passenger traffic in the 1920s and passenger services ceased on the line in 1930. From then until 1941, only freight traffic ran on the line.

Remains of Brixton Road station in 1964

Passenger services were restored in 1941, as villages such as Yealmpton were then being used as dormitory areas by the people of Plymouth following the severe air raids on the city. The passenger services ceased again in October 1947 and freight services only ran until 1960, when the line closed completely. The station at Yealmpton was demolished and housing in Riverside Walk now stands on the site.

Agricultural Show

Known as one of the best one day shows in the region, 2008 marked the 121st Agricultural Show. Despite the weather, thousands turned up to enjoy the best of what the Devon countryside had to offer. Highlights included the Royal Horse Artillery parading and firing their guns as well as the M.A.D mountain bike display team.

Footnotes

  1. "Census 2001: Parish Headcounts: South Hams". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 8 July 2012. 
  2. Pevsner, N. (1952) South Devon. Harmondsworth: Penguin; p. 314

External links

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