Bucks Mills
| Bucks Mills | |
 The "Gut" blasted from the rocks on Bucks Mills beach. |
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  Bucks Mills |
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| OS grid reference | SS357233 |
|---|---|
| Civil parish | Woolfardisworthy |
| District | Torridge |
| Shire county | Devon |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | EX35 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Torridge and West Devon |
Coordinates: 50°59′11″N 4°20′30″W / 50.9863°N 4.3418°W
Bucks Mills is a small village within the parish of Woolfardisworthy on the north coast of Devon, England. The village is within the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and on the South West Coast Path.
Next to the village is Bucks Woods which includes the site of the Iron Age Hill fort at Peppercombe Castle.
The stream which runs through the village powered at least one mill. It falls over the cliff edge in a waterfall onto the beach which has large pebbles and hard sandstone formations. In the Elizabethan era a break in the rocks, known as the Gut, was created by blasting the rock with gunpowder to allow access to the small quay, which has since disappeared, creating a small harbour for fishing vessels. In the 18th century this was used for the import of culm, a mixture of anthracite and limestone which was burnt in kilns to produce fertiliser.[1] The remains of two of the lime kilns can be seen on either side of the beach access.[2][3]
In the 18th and 19th centuries many of the residents of Bucks Mills and the surrounding villages were related to the Braund family and King Cottage within Bucks Mills was once the home of Captain James Braund who was informally known as the "King of Bucks".[4]
St Anne's church was built in 1862.[5] The church was endowed by Mrs. Elwes, the Lord of the Manor of Walland Cary, the estate on which the village stood.[4]
References
- ↑ "Bucks Mills Beach". North Devon Focus. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ↑ "Lime Kiln to east of beach access with access ramp". Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ↑ "Lime Kiln to west of beach access". Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Bucks Mills". North Devon Focus. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
- ↑ "Church of St Anne". Images of England. English Heritage. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
Further reading
- Few Rebecca and Few Janet Who Lived in Cottages Like These?: the inhabitants of Bucks Mills Braund Society 2003
- Hubbard-Fielder, Duncan (1985). The Story of Bucks Mills & Bucks Cross. Aycliffe Press.
External links
Media related to Bucks Mills at Wikimedia Commons
