In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Bradninch like this:
BRADNINCH, a small town and a parish in Tiverton district, Devon. The town stands on an eminence, 1 mile N of Hele r. station, and 2 SW of Collumpton. It was anciently called Braines; and it gives the title of Baron, under that name, to the Dukes of Cornwall. It dates from the Saxon times; and is thought by some to be older than Exeter. ...
It was the headquarters of King Charles and his army, on two occasions in 1644; and the headquarters of Fairfax's army in October 1645. It was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1665; and it is now a poor place, consisting chiefly of one street. It sent members to parliament from the time of Edward II. till that of Henry VII.; and was long a market-town. It has a post office under Collumpton; and fairs are held at it on the first Wednesday of April and the third Wednesday of Sept. The town hall was built in the time of Henry VI., and repaired in 1858. An old jail, with capacity for two male and two female prisoners, was restored in 1835, and is still in use. The parish church is later perpendicular English; was recently restored; and contains a fine screen of 1528, and an old painting of the crucifixion. There are Baptist and Wesleyan chapels, and charities £70.—The parish includes also the hamlet of Hele. Acres, 4,351. Real property, £9,762. Pop., 1,796. Houses, 388. The property is much subdivided. The manor belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall. Bradninch House is an interesting old mansion, formerly the seat of the Sainthill family, now the seat of G. Pearse, Esq. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £185.* Patrons, the Dean and Canons of Windsor.
Bradninch through time
Bradninch is now part of Mid Devon district. Click here for graphs and data of how Mid Devon has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Bradninch itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Bradninch in Mid Devon | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/4028
Date accessed: 27th April 2024
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