Editing Cullompton (section)

==History==

===Toponymy and orthography===
[[File:GWR luggage labels for Cullompton.jpg|thumb|GWR luggage labels for Cullompton, showing both spellings used]]
The derivation of the name Cullompton is disputed. One derivation is that the town's name means "Farmstead on the [[River Culm]]"<ref name="Hesketh">{{cite book | last = Hesketh  | first = Robert  | title = Devon Placenames  | publisher = Bossiney Books  | year = 2008  | location = [[Launceston, Cornwall|Launceston]]  | isbn =978-1-899383-98-6 }}</ref> with Culm probably meaning knot or tie (referring to the river's [[Meander|twists and loops]]).<ref name="Hesketh" /> The other theory is that it is named after [[Columba of Terryglass|Saint Columba of Tir-de-Glas]], who preached to West Saxons in 549 AD. The Revd Grubb also states that the parish church was probably formerly dedicated to St Columba (although for the last 500 years it has been dedicated to St Andrew) and that tradition records there was an ancient figure or image of Columba.<ref>{{Citation | last = Grubb  | first = Geoffrey W | chapter = St. Columba and Cullompton | page = 16 |year =1986| editor-last = Pugsley| editor-first = David | title = Old Cullompton | publisher = Maslands}}</ref> There are 40 recorded spellings of Cullompton between the first recorded use of the name and the present day,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cullompton.org/spellings-of-cullompton.html|title=Spellings of Cullompton|work=The official Cullompton site|access-date=7 June 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080403044348/http://www.cullompton.org/spellings-of-cullompton.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 3 April 2008}}</ref> and even as late as the mid-nineteenth century three spellings were in use: the post office spelled it ''Cullompton''; in their 1809 first edition the [[Ordnance Survey]] map used ''Cullumpton'' and the railway station sign said ''Collumpton''. The railway station sign was changed to Cullompton in 1874 and the Ordnance Survey used Cullompton in the edition of their map published in 1889.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Grant|first1=W.C.|  first2=H |last2=Overy| first3=J. M. |last3=Forster | title =The Town on the Culm| publisher = Maslands  | location =Tiverton|year=1985}}. This book contains details of the nineteenth-century controversy over the correct name through a series of letters published in the local papers and other documents.</ref> It is affectionately known as ''Cully''.<ref name="BoC 2001 9">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 9</ref>

===Roman period===
[[File:Cullompton, by Longlands Lane 2 - geograph.org.uk - 1618284.jpg|thumb|upright|Excavations on site near Shortlands lane]]
On St Andrew's Hill, to the north-west of Cullompton town centre, two Roman forts were discovered in 1984 by [[aerial photography]] carried out for Devon County Council. The earlier, smaller fort (the boundary ditches of which showed up in [[cropmark]]s) was later replaced by a second, larger fort. The ramparts of this second fort are preserved on two sides as modern field boundaries with substantial earthen banks with hedges on top. The banks on the other two sides were removed shortly before the site was recognised as Roman. The site was made a [[scheduled monument]] in 1986. The aerial photography also revealed two subsidiary military enclosures or annexes to each fort. In 1992 a [[Geophysical survey (archaeology)|geophysical survey]] was made of the fort and areas to the east and west and this was followed by a trial [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavation]] to the west of the site. These confirmed the existence of two forts, and the ditch of the second fort was excavated. Pottery from the site was dated from around 50–70 AD, which is consistent with a previous date of before 75 AD based on finds from [[Archaeological field survey#Field walk .28transects.29|fieldwalking]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Trial excavation at the Roman Fort on St Andrew's Hill, Cullompton|last=Simpson|first=S.J.|author2=Griffith F.M. | journal = Devon Archaeological Society Proceedings|issue = 51|pages=149–159|year = 1993}}</ref> A Roman settlement near Shortlands Lane was excavated in 2009. A large quantity of Roman pottery, burial remains and fragments of [[hypocaust]] tile from the second and third century was found.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dig at heart of town sheds light on its Roman history| work = Culm Valley Gazette  | pages = 1, 27| date=15 December 2009}}</ref>

===Saxon period and middle ages===
[[File:Will of Alfred the Great (New Minster Liber Vitae) - BL Stowe MS 944, f 30v.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|Will of [[Alfred the Great]], AD 873–888, mentions ''Columtune'' (11th-century copy, [[British Library]] Stowe MS 944, ff. 29v–33r)<ref>{{cite web|title = S1507|url = http://www.esawyer.org.uk/charter/1507.html|website = Electronic Sawyer|access-date = 26 May 2019|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304201924/http://www.esawyer.org.uk/charter/1507.html|archive-date = 4 March 2016|url-status = dead}}</ref>]]
Saxon settlers moved into the Culm Valley in the seventh century and Cullompton was made the site of a [[Minster (church)|minster]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Sellman  | first = R.R. | pages = 16|year =1985| title = Aspects of Devon History | publisher = Devon Books| isbn=0-86114-756-1}}</ref> In 872 [[Alfred the Great]] bequeathed ''Columtune'' and its lands to his son [[Æthelweard (son of Alfred)|Æthelweard]]. At the time of the [[Norman Conquest]], it was held by the [[Gytha Thorkelsdóttir|Lady Gytha Thorkelsdóttir]], the widow of [[Godwin, Earl of Wessex]] and mother of [[Harold Godwinson|King Harold II]]. In 1067 [[William I of England|William the Conqueror]] passed through the villa of Colitona on his way to [[Exeter#Medieval times|besiege Exeter]] where Gytha was living.<ref name="grubb_conquest">{{Citation | last = Grubb  | first = Geoffrey W | chapter = William the Conqueror – Caen – Cullompton | pages = 22–23|year =1986| editor-last = Pugsley| editor-first = David | title = Old Cullompton | publisher = Maslands}}</ref> In 1087 William the Conqueror gave the [[Manorialism|manor]] to Baldwin, [[Matilda of Flanders|his wife's]] favourite nephew. It was subsequently held by the [[Earl of Devon]] for many years until in 1278 [[Amice de Clare|Amicia Countess of Devon]] willed it to the [[Buckland Abbey|Abbot and Convent of Buckland Monachorum]]. With the [[Dissolution of the Monasteries]] it was sold to Sir John St Ledger.<ref name="BoC 2001 9"/> The five [[Prebendary|prebends]] of Cullompton (Colebrook, Hineland, Wiever, Esse, Upton) were presented by William the Conqueror to [[Battle Abbey]] in Sussex and were later held by [[St Nicholas Priory]], Exeter.<ref name="chalk">{{cite journal  | last = Chalk  | first = Edwin S. | title = The Church of St. Andrew, Cullompton  | journal = Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association  | volume = XLII   | pages = 182–205  | publisher = W. Brendon and Sons  | location = Plymouth  | year = 1910 | url = https://archive.org/stream/reportandtransa17artgoog#page/n196/mode/2up}}</ref> In 1536 St Nicholas Priory was [[Dissolution of the monasteries|dissolved]] and the last [[Prior (ecclesiastical)|Prior]] gained appointment as the Vicar of Cullompton. Patronage then passed to the More family of Moorehays.<ref name="grubb_conquest" />

In 1278 the town was granted its first [[market (place)|market]] to be held on a Thursday.<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 59</ref> In 1356 the town gained its first water supply by a [[deed]] of [[Gift (law)|gift]] of the [[Buckland Abbey|Abbot of Buckland]].<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 85</ref> The water (known as the Town Lake or watercourse) came from a stream rising at Coombe Farm and flowed into a pond near Shortlands. From there it flowed in several open channels to all parts of the town. Water bailiffs were employed to protect the interests of the town and a tradition of "possessioning" took place.  This was a ceremony that took place every seven years where a group of townsfolk would inspect the channel and ensure that it was not being abused. The first recorded possessioning was in 1716.<ref name="BoC 2001 87">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 87</ref> In the mid-nineteenth century the water courses were used for boiling vegetables, surface drainage and emptying [[cesspool]]s. A Board of Health Inspector in 1854 concluded that "[[typhus]] and other epidemic diseases are so prevalent here more so than in any other parish in the Union". They were eventually only used to keep the streets clean and continued to flow until 1962 when the town council decided that they were not willing to pay for their upkeep.<ref name="BoC 2001 87"/>

===English Civil War to the eighteenth century===
In August 1642, during the [[English Civil War]] Mr Ashford and [[Manor of Molland#Richard I Culme (1569–1649)|Richard Culme]] – then [[Sheriff of Devon]] attempted to have their [[Commission of array#Civil War revival commission|commission]] read in Cullompton, but were opposed by the local [[parish constable]], Walter Challs, and by the people of the town. As well as raising troops for the Royalists, the commission would also have halted a scheduled muster of the local militia. Despite the support of local landowners such as [[Sir John Acland, 1st Baronet|John Acland]], who was another of the Commissioners of the Array, this strong local opposition meant that Culme and Ashford failed. Later, the Royalist [[John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath|Earl of Bath]] came with cavaliers to try and support Ashford, but the locals responded by throwing up chains and preparing their militia.<ref>{{cite book|last=Andriette|first=Eugene A| title=Devon and Exeter in the Civil War| publisher= David and Charles|place= Newton Abbot|date= 1971| page = 61|isbn=0-7153-5256-3}}</ref>

Troops passed through Cullompton on several occasions during the civil war: [[Sir Ralph Hopton]] rode with a small troop through the town on his way to Cornwall; Cornish Royalist forces marched through Cullompton on their way to join [[Prince Maurice]] at Chard as did the [[Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex|Earl of Essex]] and [[Thomas Fairfax]]. There were troops on the streets of Cullompton again in 1655 during the [[Penruddock uprising]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Stanes | first = Robin  | title = A History of Devon | publisher = Phillimore and Co. | edition = 1st |series = The Darwen County History Series | date = 1986  | location = Shopwyke Hall, Chichester, Sussex | pages = 85–91 | isbn = 0-85033-528-0}}</ref>

In 1678 a local [[innkeeper]], John Barnes was [[Hanging|hanged]] after being found guilty of [[Highwayman|highway robbery]]. He had waylaid, with the help of accomplices, a coach travelling from Exeter to London and made off with about £600 but he was recognised by the guards from Exeter, where he had been a taverner.<ref name="BoC 2001 148">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 148</ref><ref>{{cite book|last= Baring-Gould| first=Sabine| author-link = Sabine Baring-Gould| title=Devonshire characters and strange events|pages=320–324 | year= 1908 |publisher=J. Lane|url= https://archive.org/stream/devonshirechara00barigoog#page/n381/mode/2up |access-date= 15 November 2015}}</ref>

Another local man called Tom Austin was hanged in August 1694. He inherited a farm with an annual income of £80 and then married the daughter of a neighbouring farmer with a [[dowry]] of £800. He lived an extravagant lifestyle and spent all of his money. His farm, having been neglected could not provide sufficient income for him and he borrowed a lot of money from neighbours and friends. He then turned to highway robbery and was moderately successful for a time. He shot Sir Zachary Wilmott during a robbery on the road between [[Wellington, Somerset|Wellington]] and [[Taunton]]. The proceeds from his crimes supported him for a time but in the long term he was unable to clear his debts. In 1694, following a row with his wife, he went to visit his uncle. His uncle was not at home and he killed his aunt and her five children and took around £60 from the house. On returning home he was asked about the bloodstains on his clothes by his wife. He then killed her and his two children. His uncle, who dropped in to visit him on his way home, knocked Austin unconscious and he was arrested and later hanged at Exeter Jail.<ref>{{cite book|last=Harrison| first=Paul| title=Devon Murders|pages=58–65 | year=1992|publisher=Countryside Books|isbn=1-85306-210-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Tom Austin| work=The Newgate Calendar| url=http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng71.htm| access-date=21 November 2012| archive-date=19 May 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519113117/http://exclassics.com/newgate/ng71.htm| url-status=live}}</ref>

The Cullompton [[Company (military unit)|Company]] of Volunteers (a voluntary body of soldiers) was first raised in 1794 and continued until 1810. The volunteer companies were formed following Britain's entry into the [[French Revolutionary Wars]] and continued to exist during the [[Napoleonic Wars]]. Cullompton was the first inland town to offer to raise a volunteer company (on 16 May 1794) and on 24 June the volunteers were accepted. The first commander, Captain Jarmin, was a former [[Royal Marines|Marine]] officer. The company was formed into a [[battalion]] with 11 other volunteer companies called the Hayridge (later Highbridge) regiment. It had 1,200 men and three companies were based in Cullompton with a barracks in New Cut. Jarmin died in 1794 and was succeeded by Henry Skinner Esq. In 1801 the company became a cavalry troop and was then disbanded only to be reformed in 1805 when hostilities with France resumed. Many Cullompton men fought in the [[Peninsular War]] and at the [[Battle of Waterloo]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Grubb  | first = Geoffrey W | chapter = The Cullompton Volunteers | pages = 12–13 |year =1986| editor-last = Pugsley| editor-first = David | title = Old Cullompton | publisher = Maslands}}</ref>

[[File:John Wesley preaching outside a church. Engraving. Wellcome V0006868.jpg|thumb|John Wesley preached in Cullompton on several occasions.]]
The first Nonconformist congregation began in 1662 when the vicar of Cullompton, Revd William Crompton, was ejected from the established church. He continued to preach and a Protestant [[English Dissenters|Dissenters]] meeting house was built in 1698 which became the Unitarian Chapel. In the eighteenth century there was a prevalence of Dissent with the local vicar recording in 1736 that of a population of 3358 there were 508 [[Presbyterians]], 133 [[Anabaptist]]s and 87 [[Quakers]]. By 1743 the first Baptist Chapel had been built. [[John Wesley]]'s journal records preaching near the town in 1748<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p.&nbsp;55–8</ref> and on numerous occasions until 1789.

===Nineteenth century to present===
[[File:Aldi and Home Bargins, Cullompton.jpg|thumb|These two shops are on the site of the former tannery owned by the Selwood family.]]
[[File:Magistrates court and Health Centre, Cullompton.JPG|thumb|The former health centre and magistrates' court]]
[[File:Cullompton library and car park.JPG|thumb|The Hayridge Centre and car park on the site of the former health centre and magistrates' court.]]
In 1805 or 1806 the last [[bull-baiting]] in the town took place. On 7 July 1839, a severe fire destroyed many houses in Cullompton. About two thirds of the town burnt with 145 houses and other buildings being destroyed.<ref name="BoC 2001 115">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 115</ref> A subscription for rebuilding was set and donations of £5 were made by Barne and Son, tanners of Tiverton, and Cullompton tanners Mortimore and Selwood.<ref name="tanning" /> In 1847 a riot occurred in the town due to the high price of [[wheat]]. Three houses were attacked, including one in Pound Square belonging to Mr Selwood, the owner of a local tannery and also a [[maltster]]. He was accused of [[speculation|speculatively]] buying 2000 [[bushel]]s of corn and when his house was attacked, almost all the windows were broken and his furniture was also damaged.<ref name="tanning" />

There have been police stations in the town since 1857, when the first Police Station was rented. It had three cells and a [[petty session]] courtroom.<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 113</ref> A new police station was built in 1974,<ref name="BoC 2001 115"/> which underwent a major refurbishment in 2011, to become a police force hub for Mid Devon, with 72 staff members.<ref>{{cite news|title=Police Response Hub Ready To Go| work = Culm Valley Gazette  | pages = 1, 3| date=15 November 2011}}</ref> The town acquired its first steam-driven [[fire engine]] in 1914 which cost £100 and was paid for by voluntary subscription.<ref name="BoC 2001 117">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 117</ref>

In April 1903 a petition objecting to the renewal of [[Licensing laws of the United Kingdom|alcohol licences]] for local inns, signed by 450 people, was presented to the brewsters sessions ([[magistrates' court (England and Wales)|magistrates' court]] meetings in England where pub licences were renewed or granted).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sfowler.force9.co.uk/page_27.htm|title=Tracing ancestors who worked in pubs, Pub History Society Leaflet No. 1|access-date=24 March 2012|archive-date=11 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311153301/http://www.sfowler.force9.co.uk/page_27.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A deputation sent to the session explained that the number of licensed houses was too large in proportion to the population.<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 75</ref> In 1917, the cattle market moved from the Higher Bullring to a field near the station. The first [[Movie theater|cinema]] was opened in the Victoria Hall in 1918 by Bill Terry<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 71</ref> and in 1977 the town was twinned with [[Ploudalmézeau]] in [[Brittany (administrative region)|Brittany]], [[France]].<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 129</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cullompton.org/twinning-association---cullompton-district.html|title=Twinning Association – Cullompton & District|work=The official Cullompton site| access-date =29 May 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080403044610/http://www.cullompton.org/twinning-association---cullompton-district.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = 3 April 2008}}</ref>

In 1920, a [[public company]] was formed to provide an [[electricity]] supply for Cullompton which merged with the Bradninch Electricity Company in 1927 to form the Culm Valley Electricity Supply Co. Ltd. A [[Coal gas|gasworks]] was set up in Cullompton in 1865 for the Cullompton Gas Light and Coke Co. This was taken over by the Devon Gas Association and nationalised in 1949. The gasworks was closed in 1956 and Cullompton was then supplied from Exeter.<ref name="BoC 2001 58">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 58</ref>

Another serious fire occurred on 17 October 1958, when Selwood's [[Tanning (leather)|tannery]] in Exeter Street was gutted by fire; the site was subsequently used by a series of supermarkets.<ref name="BoC 2001 117"/> It was run as a Gateway store and then as a [[Somerfield]] before closing in 2010.<ref name="sommerfield">{{cite news|title=Sadness as store closes its doors| work = Culm Valley Gazette  | pages = 1, 3| date=31 August 2010}}</ref> [[Aldi]] re-opened on the site in April 2014 following a major refurbishment of the store.<ref name="Aldi">{{cite news|title=Aldi is ready to open its first store in Mid Devon| work = Culm Valley Gazette  | pages = 12| date=22 April 2014}}</ref>

The town saw a major expansion in the 1970s as the construction of a bypass in 1969, and its conversion into part of the [[M5 motorway|M5]] in 1974, made it a popular [[commuter town]],<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 81</ref> and it continued to expand during the closing years of the 20th century and the first few years of the 21st century. The Mid Devon Local Development Framework Proposals include plans to erect 95 new dwellings a year, and to build {{convert|4000|sqm|sqft}} of new employment floorspace a year between the start of the plan and 2026.<ref>{{citation  | last = Mid Devon District Council | author-link =Mid Devon | title = Culm Development Plan Document Issues and Options Report  | year = 2007}}</ref> The first Cullompton town website was set up in 1998<ref name="Cullompton 2001, p. 145">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 145</ref> and a new website was created in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cullompton Town Council website |url=http://www.cullomptontowncouncil.gov.uk |access-date=8 June 2012 |archive-date=29 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729151508/http://www.cullomptontowncouncil.gov.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[CCTV]] was installed in the main street in 2000.<ref name="BoC 2001 146">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 146</ref>

In March 2010, it was announced that the town's magistrates' court was to be closed due its poor facilities and lack of rooms. It had been suggested that the site might be developed as a town hall or the site used as a car park.<ref>{{cite news|title=Magistrates' Court to close says ministry| work = Culm Valley Gazette  | pages = 5| date=23 March 2010}}</ref> but this plan was prevented when a group formed to oppose the proposal to purchase the site for a new town hall were elected to two thirds of the council seats in May 2011.<ref>{{cite news|title=Voters put new party in control|work=Culm Valley Gazette|date=11 May 2011|url=http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/VOTERS-NEW-PARTY-CONTROL/story-11747740-detail/story.html|access-date=11 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723140810/http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/VOTERS-NEW-PARTY-CONTROL/story-11747740-detail/story.html|archive-date=23 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> In June 2011, it was announced that two local [[businesspeople]] had purchased the site<ref>{{cite news|title=Let's make room for more spaces| work = Culm Valley Gazette  | pages = 1, 3| date=7 June 2011}}</ref> and the building was demolished in March 2012 to make space for a [[Parking lot|car park]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Crunch time for Cully Court| work = Culm Valley Gazette  | page = 1| date=27 March 2012}}</ref>

The town got its first permanent library in 1938 in a building on Exeter Hill.<ref name="Cullompton 2001, p. 145"/> In September 2011, a new library opened on a new site, which was four times the size of the old one and cost three million pounds.<ref name="CVG">{{cite news|title=Opening Chapter for New Library| work = Culm Valley Gazette  | pages = 1, 5| date=13 September 2011}}</ref> This was followed shortly afterwards, in December 2011, by the opening of the Cullompton Community Centre, costing 1.5 million pounds. The Tiverton Dramatic Society used the new venue to stage the first [[pantomime]] to be performed in Cullompton for 20 years.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cinderella comes to town to christen church centre|work=Exeter Express and Echo|date=13 December 2011|url=http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Cinderella-comes-town-christen-church-centre/story-14124418-detail/story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505075515/http://www.thisisdevon.co.uk/Cinderella-comes-town-christen-church-centre/story-14124418-detail/story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2013}}</ref>

===Historic estates===
[[File:Mid Devon - Hillersdon House & Scenery (geograph 3911873).jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Manor of Hillersdon|Hillersdon]] House]]
[[File:Langford Court, near Cullompton.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Langford Court, a grade II* listed building]]
Within the parish of Cullompton are situated various historic estates including:
* The church of Cullompton and its land was given to [[Battle Abbey]] by [[William the Conqueror]]. The manor contained five sub-manors called Upton, Weaver, Ash, Colebrook and Henland (now in the parish of Kentisbeare). This manor later passed to St Nicholas Priory in Exeter.<ref>{{cite book|title = Doomsday Book, Devon (part 2)| chapter = General notes, section 9-1| editor-last =Thorn |editor-first = Frank | editor2-last =Thorn | editor2-first = Caroline| publisher = Phillimore | year = 1985 | place = Chichester }}</ref> 
* Cullompton. At the time of the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086, this manor was part of the royal [[Manorialism|manor]] of [[Silverton, Devon|Silverton]] and so not recorded separately. Before the conquest it was held by King Edward. In 1291 this manor was given to [[Buckland Abbey]] by Isabella Countess of Devon.<ref name="note_1-7">{{cite book|title = Doomsday Book, Devon (part 2)| chapter = General notes, section 1-7| editor-last =Thorn |editor-first = Frank | editor2-last =Thorn | editor2-first = Caroline| publisher = Phillimore | year = 1985 | place = Chichester }}</ref> 
* Padbrook and Newland were also smaller parts of Silverton in Domesday.<ref name="note_1-7" />
* Colebrook was also a Domesday manor. William Cheever was the tenant-in-chief and it was held by Manfred. Alward held it before 1066. It was given to [[Ford Abbey]] by Henry de Tracey.<ref>{{cite book|title = Doomsday Book, Devon (part 2)| chapter = General notes, section 19-23| editor-last =Thorn |editor-first = Frank | editor2-last =Thorn | editor2-first = Caroline| publisher = Phillimore | year = 1985 | place = Chichester }}</ref> 
* [[Manor of Hillersdon|Hillersdon]], was held by Sherwold before 1066. Reginald held it from Odo FitzGamelin at the time of Domesday and was later held of the [[Feudal barony of Great Torrington|Honour of Torrington]].<ref>{{cite book|title = Doomsday Book, Devon (part 2)| chapter = General notes, section 42-18| editor-last =Thorn |editor-first = Frank | editor2-last =Thorn | editor2-first = Caroline| publisher = Phillimore | year = 1985 | place = Chichester }}</ref> 
* Two manors named Ponsford were recorded in the Domesday Book and were both held by William from [[Baldwin FitzGilbert|Baldwin the Sheriff]]. Before 1066, one of the manors was held by Sidwin and one by Edwin.<ref>{{cite book|title = Doomsday Book, Devon (part 1)| chapter = The Doomsday Survey of Devon, sections 16-97, 16-98| editor-last =Thorn |editor-first = Frank | editor2-last =Thorn | editor2-first = Caroline| publisher = Phillimore | year = 1985 | place = Chichester }}</ref> 
* Langford was also held from Baldwin by Rainer at the time of Domesday. The manor was previously held by Brictmer.<ref>{{cite book|title = Doomsday Book, Devon (part 1)| chapter = The Doomsday Survey of Devon, section 16-96| editor-last =Thorn |editor-first = Frank | editor2-last =Thorn | editor2-first = Caroline| publisher = Phillimore | year = 1985 | place = Chichester }}</ref> Along with Ponsford it later formed part of the [[Feudal barony of Okehampton|Honour of Okehampton]] and was held by the [[House of Courtenay|Courtneys]].<ref>{{cite book|title = Doomsday Book, Devon (part 2)| chapter = General notes, section 16| editor-last =Thorn |editor-first = Frank | editor2-last = Thorn | editor2-first = Caroline| publisher = Phillimore | year = 1985 | place = Chichester }}</ref> 
* There are two estates named Aller in the Domesday Book. One of these lay within the Parish of Cullompton and was held by Ralph Pagnell. Within the manor were Whitheathfield and an unidentified place named Frieland. Bolealler may have also been part of this manor. Along with Kerswell, Aller was granted to [[Montacute Priory]] by Matilda Peverel and a cell was established at [[Kerswell Priory]].<ref>{{cite book|title = Doomsday Book, Devon (part 2)| chapter = General notes, section 32-3| editor-last =Thorn |editor-first = Frank | editor2-last =Thorn | editor2-first = Caroline| publisher = Phillimore | year = 1985 | place = Chichester }}</ref> 
* [[Moor Hayes]], for many centuries the seat of the prominent Moor (''alias'' Moore) family, which was responsible for the Moore Chantry / Moor Hayes Chapel at the east end of the north aisle of Cullompton Church.

=== Economic history ===

Cullompton has a long history of manufacturing, first with wool and cloth manufacture, and then later with leather working and light industry.

==== Cloth trade ====

In the 15th century the weaving of fine [[Kersey (cloth)|kersies]] and later [[serge (fabric)|serges]] was introduced to the area by weavers from [[Continental Europe|the continent]]. This was largely a [[cottage industry]] and merchants would have premises where the [[Wool|fleeces]] would be combed and sorted. John Lane was one of the best known local [[cloth]] merchants (see Lane's Aisle in the section on St Andrew's church below).<ref name="BoC 2001 89">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 89</ref> In the seventeenth century, Higher and Lower King's Mills were [[fulling]] mills for the local industry.<ref name="tanning" /> In 1816 Mr Upcott employed 60 weavers and 'many spinners'. The [[Wellington, Somerset|Wellington]] based firm [[Fox Brothers]] had a branch factory built in 1890 and made high quality [[wool]]en and [[worsted]] cloth until 1977. During [[World War I]], their entire output was of [[khaki]] cloth, employing over 200 people. In 1910 Mrs Gidley, wife of Dr Gustavus Gidley, set up a hand-weaving enterprise in the stables of Heyford House with the aim of giving employment to ex-servicemen and disabled people.<ref>{{citation|last = Green|first =  John Little|title = Village Industries: A National Obligation|location = London|publisher =  Forgotten Books|year = 2013|pages = 58–59|url = http://www.forgottenbooks.com/readbook_text/Village_Industries_1000173260/73|access-date = 19 March 2016}}</ref> To manage it she appointed two women, one a granddaughter of [[Henry Phillpotts|Bishop Phillpotts]].<ref>The National Archives of the UK, Census Returns of England and Wales 1911, Class RG14, Piece13223, Schedule Number 254</ref> Later the business evolved into machine knitted garments.<ref name="BoC 2001 89"/>

==== Mills powered by the town leat ====
[[File:Lower Mill, Cullompton.JPG|thumb|Lower Mill as it is today]]
A [[leat]] runs to the east of the town's main street but it is uncertain when it was first constructed. By the early seventeenth century, the southern end of the leat and one mill are shown on a map. There were three main mills: Higher Mill, Lower Mill and Middle Mill. Higher Mill appears to have always been a corn mill and it continued to produce animal feed until 1974. It has since been converted to housing but a [[water turbine]] remains.<ref name=cully_leat /> Middle Mill was used as a woollen mill in the nineteenth century and was also associated with Bilbie's bell foundry (see below).<ref name=cully_leat /> Around 1900, the mill was steam powered and had a [[boiler]] delivered. It is labelled as an axle works on the 1904 Second Edition Ordnance Survey map.<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 8, 10, 11</ref> The only remains of Middle Mill are some walls and a chimney base.<ref name=cully_leat /> Lower Mill ceased working in 1968. The building is now in residential use but the sluices (made by Stenner and Gunn of the Lowman Ironworks, Tiverton) can still be seen, as can the water wheel and gearing.<ref>{{cite book| last = Bone  | first = Mike   |author2=Stanier, Peter  | title = A guide to the industrial archaeology of Devon  | publisher = Association for Industrial Archaeology  | year = 1998  | page = 15   | isbn =0-9528930-1-0}}</ref>

==== Tanning ====

[[Tanning (leather)|Tanning]] in Cullompton goes back to at least the sixteenth century and in the nineteenth century there were three tanneries: Crow Green, Lower King's Mill and Court Tannery. The tannery at Higher King's Mill was active between about 1830 and 1875 and employed 12 labourers in 1851 and 9 a decade later. Court Tannery was established by 1871 and had closed by 1906. It was located at the north end of the town behind Court House, which was the residence of the owners of the tannery. In 1871 it employed 21 men and was probably steam-powered.  A local tanner, James Whitby, along with George Bodley and John Davis [[patent]]ed an improved bark mill (used to grind bark for producing [[tanbark]] used in the tanning process).

The Crow Green tannery was situated at the south-west end of the town and was already in existence in 1816. It had a water-powered [[bark mill]] and 47 tan pits at that date. It was owned by the Selwood family for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, who probably purchased it from James Whitby around 1830, and it was often referred to as Selwood's tannery. It suffered from fires in 1831, 1867 and 1958. In 1881 it employed 48 people and over 100 in 1958 (8% of the local workforce at the time). One of the major products of the factory in the nineteenth century was high-quality sole leather, but during the Second World War, only poor-quality hides, such as buffalo, were allocated to the firm. The business was badly damaged by the invention of rubber stick-on shoe soles which reduced the demand for sole leather from shoe repairers. It finally finished operation in 1967 when the leather side of the business was sold to a Yorkshire firm.

The building to the north-west of Exeter Hill, which formerly housed the water-powered bark mill, is now an antiques warehouse and the remains of the leat and tail race can still be seen. This side of the site was also the location of the lime yard. The other half of the site, to the south-east of Exeter Hill, which was the location of the tan yard, is now the site of an Aldi supermarket.<ref name="tanning">{{Cite book  | last = Bodman   | first = Martin  | title = Devon Leather. An outline history of a lost industry: nineteenth century tanners and tanneries  | publisher = Leat Press  | year = 2008  | location = Tiverton, Devon, UK  | pages = 13,61,58–62,136 | isbn = 978-0-9548758-1-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title= Daniel recounts times past in old tannery| work = Culm Valley Gazette, MDG2 supplement  | date=2 December 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Buffalo hides came with anthrax warnings | work = Culm Valley Gazette, MDG2 supplement  | date=9 December 2014}}</ref>

In addition to tanning, the leather industry included a [[leather]] dressing works (founded in 1921 and which closed in 1982)<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 94</ref> and a [[glove]] maker, Drevon and Brown.<ref name="BoC 2001 92">The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 92</ref>

[[File:Higher King's Mill, Cullompton.jpg|thumb|Higher Kingsmill in 2010]]

==== Paper making ====

The first paper mill in Cullompton dates from 1729, with mills being set up near by at [[Hele, Devon|Hele]] and Higher Kensham in 1767, at Lower Kensahm c1788 and Langford c 1788. These would have been small water-powered vat mills, where paper was made by hand, generally by women and children.<ref>{{Citation | last = Havinden | first = Mark | contribution =The woollen, lime, tanning and leather-working industries and paper-making industries c. 1500 – c. 1800 |editor-last =Kain  | editor-first =Roger |editor2-last = Ravenhill | editor2-first = William | publisher = University of Exeter Press | title = Historical Atlas of South-West England | date = 1999  | location = Exeter | pages = 343 | isbn = 0-85989-434-7}}</ref> Records show that the mill in Cullompton was owned by a Mr Simon Mills in 1757 and was taken over by a Mr Theodore Dart in 1799. There followed a number of different owners of whom one of the most significant was Albert Reed who purchased the mill in 1883. His brother, William Reed, established a partnership with a Mr C King Smith.
The Reed & Smith group (which acquired New Taplow Mill in 1950) became one of the biggest papermakers in the UK. A [[Fourdrinier machine]] was installed in 1892 and continued to make paper at Higher Kings until about 1972. A new machine was built in 1956 to make blue sugar bags and other products, and has been modified over the years to make different grades of paper and card. St Regis acquired Higher Kings in the early 1980s and since then the mill has diversified into making a wide range of recycled coloured papers and card.<ref name="stregis">{{cite web |url=http://www.stregis.co.uk/section/38/2/15 |title=Mills: Higher Kings |work=St. Regis Website |access-date=15 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520164123/http://www.stregis.co.uk/section/38/2/15 |archive-date=20 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="stregis_a">{{cite web|url=http://www.stregis.co.uk/section/30/1/42| title=Our History |work=St. Regis Website |access-date=15 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115031743/http://www.stregis.co.uk/section/30/1/42 |archive-date=15 January 2010}}</ref><ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 91</ref> It is now owned by Asia File Corporation.<ref>{{cite news  | title = Scheme will cut truck numbers| work = Culm Valley Gazette   | pages = 1, 3  |  date = 6 December 2011}}</ref>

==== Cabinet making ====

Luxtons [[Cabinet making|cabinet makers]] was founded in 1800 and grew until it employed 50 people, with workshops at Cockpit Hill and Duke Street. After World War I a retail shop was opened by the firm in Fore Street and it kept going doing retailing and repairs until the mid-1960s.

A former employee of Luxtons, William Broom, started his own cabinet making business in 1920 and employed 7 or 8 workmen until the 1930s when the [[Great Depression]] meant that by the start of the Second World War, William Broom was the only worker in the firm. After the war, the firm concentrated on repair work and [[antiques restoration]]. The firm closed in 1990 with the retirement of Sid Russ who had taken the firm over after William Broom retired.<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, pp. 93–94</ref>

==== Haulage ====
Mark Whitton founded Whitton's in the early 1900s carrying timber with a horse and cart. After World War I the company carried coal to the gas works and local paper mills. In 1923 they bought their first [[Sentinel Waggon Works#Steam lorries|Sentinel steam lorry]] and carried paper to Bristol, returning with animal feed. During the Second World War they were run by the [[Department for Transport|Ministry of Transport]] and after the war were nationalised to become part of [[National Freight Corporation|British Road Services]]. The brothers who had owned the company moved back into haulage, setting up a new firm which went into [[receivership]] in the 1970s and was then bought by Wild Transport of Exeter in 1973.<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 84</ref>

==== Bell foundry and clock making ====
[[File:The stable block at Killerton - geograph.org.uk - 1010525.jpg|thumb|The bell in the stable block at Killerton was made by Thomas Castleman Bilbie in 1782.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/922686| title = Bell 922686| work = National Trust Collections and Places| access-date = 29 October 2016| archive-date = 29 October 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161029180405/http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/922686| url-status = live}}</ref>]]
A Cullompton man called Chubb travelled widely to repair bells during the reign of [[James VI and I|James I]]. In 1745 a vestry meeting determined that in order to reduce the cost of having the church bells repaired, the bells should be cast in some part of the [[almshouse]]s, and a bell founder be found to work there.
In 1746 [[Bilbie family#Thomas Bilbie .281702 - 1778.29|Thomas Bilbie]], from [[Chew Stoke]] in [[Somerset]], created a new [[Bell (instrument)#Bellmaking|bell foundry]] (The West of England Church Bellfoundry) in the town, paying an annual rent of £1/13/4 (£1.67) for premises in the Almshouse building. He recast the six bells of Cullompton church as eight new ones. In 1754 Thomas's eldest son also called [[Bilbie family#Thomas Bilbie II of Cullompton .281727 - 1780.29|Thomas]] moved to Cullompton to take over the bell foundry. Over a period of 26 years he cast 239 bells, the majority for churches in Devon. When he died, aged 53 in 1780, his son [[Bilbie family#Thomas Castleman Bilbie of Cullompton .281769 - 1813.29|Thomas Castleman Bilbie]] took over the business and cast 197 bells from 1780 to 1813. The business was then sold to Pannell and Co. who moved it to Exeter in 1850.<ref>{{Citation | last = Grubb  | first = Geoffrey W | chapter = The Cullompton Church Bell-Foundry | pages = 20–21 |year = 1986 | editor-last = Pugsley | editor-first = David | title = Old Cullompton | publisher = Maslands}}</ref><ref name="bilbiebook">{{cite book | last1 = Moore| first1 = J|last2 = Rice| first2=  R |last3=  Hucker| first3= E | year = 1995 | title = Bilbie and the Chew Valley clockmakers: the story of the renowned family of Somerset bellfounder-clockmakers | isbn=0-9526702-0-8 }}</ref>
St Michael's and All Angel's in [[Alphington, Devon|Alphington]] has a peal of 8 bells cast by Bilbie in Cullompton, at a cost of £108 12 shillings and 8 pence (£1.63) in 1749.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_churches/alphington.php|title=St Michael's and All Angel's – Alphington|work=Exeter Memories|access-date=16 July 2011|archive-date=29 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929182846/http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_churches/alphington.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The bell in the Chapel at [[Killerton]] House was made by W. Pannell and Son in 1845.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/922685| title = Bell 922685| work = National Trust Collections and Places| access-date = 29 October 2016| archive-date = 29 October 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161029175659/http://www.nationaltrustcollections.org.uk/object/922685| url-status = live}}</ref>

The Bilbie family were also involved in clock making. In 1749 Thomas Biblie (senior) was asked to make a set of chimes for Cullompton church. Thomas II worked on clock mechanisms to play tunes on church bells at [[East Coker]] and also at [[Beaminster]]. Thomas Castleman is recorded as having made a clock for Cullompton Church in 1811 at a cost of £55.<ref name="bilbiebook" />

==== Other industries ====
There was also a [[Fruit preserves|jam]] factory, 'Devon Dale Jam' in the 1930s<ref name="BoC 2001 92"/> and a foundry.<ref>The Book of Cullompton, 2001, p. 11</ref>