Descriptive Gazetteer Entry for COLYTON

COLYTON, a small town, a parish, a sub-district, and a hundred in Devon. The town stands on the river Coly, near the Yeovil and Exeter railway, 5 miles SW of Axminster; is irregularly built; consists chiefly of very ancient houses; is a seat of petty sessions; and has a post office‡ under Axminster, a station on the railway, two chief inns, a parish church, three dissenting chapels, and a free school. The church is later English; Comprises nave, aisles, and chancel; has an interesting eastern window of stained glass; and contains monu ments of the Courtenays, the Poles, the Yonges, and others. A small weekly market is held on Thursday; and fairs on the first Wednesday of May and 30 Nov. Manu factures of paper and of pillow-lace are carried on. A royal force, while holding the town in the wars of Charles I., was attacked and defeated at it by a detachment of the parliamentarians from Lyme. The parish includes also the tything of Colyford. Acres, 7-, 196. Real property, £12, 741. Pop., 2, 446. Houses, 503. The property is divided among a few. The Courtenays and the Poles were seated at Colcombe Castle; and the Yonges, at Colyton Great House. See Colcombe. The living is a vicarage, united with the p. curacy of Monkton, in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £403.* Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. Charities, £238. -The sub-district is in Axminster district; and contains five parishes and an extra-parochial tract. Acres, 19, 856. Pop., 6, 190. Houses, 1, 281. -The hundred contains eleven parishes. Acres, 28, 487. Pop., 7, 810. Houses, 1, 630.


(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))

Linked entities:
Feature Description: "a small town, a parish, a sub-district, and a hundred"   (ADL Feature Type: "cities")
Administrative units: Colyton AP/CP       Colyton Hundred       Colyton SubD       Devon AncC
Place: Colyton

Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.