Brixton, Devon

Brixton is a village, parish and former manor situated near Plymouth in South Hams, Devon, England. It is located on the A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about 6 miles (9.7 km) from Plymouth. Its population is 1207. The parish contains the former manors of Brixton Reigny and Brixton English.^[1]

Brixton
St. Mary's Church, Brixton
Brixton Location within Devon
Population	1,207
Civil parish	Brixton
District	South Hams
Shire county	Devon
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
List of places UK England Devon 50°21′N 4°2′W

It has views of the River Yealm. The church was built in the 15th century, with a tower arch 200 years older.^[2] Brixton has a single primary school, St Mary's Church of England Primary School.^[3]

History

Brixton appears as Brictricestone in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is recorded as having 4 villagers and 2 smallholders, and livestock consisting of 7 pigs and 31 sheep. Its annual value to the lord was given as 10 shillings.^[4]

The name 'Brixton' derives from the early Brictricestone, as recorded in the Domesday Book, the name given to the village by the Norman de Britrickstone family.^[5] William White's 1879 gazetteer features a different spelling for the surname: "The manor of Brixton, anciently called Britricheston, was long held by a family of its own name, but was dismembered many years ago."^[6]

The church, St Mary's, dates from the 15th century, and suffered a number of dilapidations and subsequent restorations in the 1880s and 1890s.^[2][5]

In William White's 1879 History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon, Brixton was said to have had 698 residents (325 males, 373 females) in 1871, living in 147 houses.^[6]

Historic estates

The parish contains various historic estates including:

• Spridleston, formerly a seat of a junior branch of the Fortescue family of Whympston, Modbury.^[7]
• Hareston, formerly the seat of the Wood family.^[8]

References

1. National Archives: Discovery - Steward's rough record book of Manor Courts
2. Wilson, Francis (1926). The History of St. Marys Church: Brixton, South Devon. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.
3. "St Mary's Church of England Primary School, Brixton". Devon County Council. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
4. Brixton in the Domesday Book
5. "St Mary's Church Brixton". Yealm and Erme Mission Community. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
6. White, W. (1879). History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon. History, Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Devon: Including the City of Exeter, and Comprising a General Survey of the County. William White. p. 188. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
7. Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p.194
8. Risdon, p.194; Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.801, pedigree of "Wood of Harestone"

External sources

• Brixton at GENUKI Archived 3 September 2013 at the Wayback Machine
• Pictures of Brixton