Editing Axminster

{{Short description|Town in Devon, England}}
{{distinguish|Exminster}}
{{Use British English|date=May 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2016}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country =          England
|coordinates = {{coord|50.781|-3.000|display=inline,title}}
|label_position = left
|official_name =    Axminster
|population =    5,761
|population_ref= ''(2011)''
|civil_parish= Axminster
|shire_district= [[East Devon]]
|shire_county =     [[Devon]]
|region =           South West England
|post_town = AXMINSTER
|postcode_district =EX13
|postcode_area =    EX
|dial_code =        01297
|constituency_westminster= [[Honiton and Sidmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Honiton and Sidmouth]]
|static_image_name= Axminster Town.JPG
|static_image_caption= Axminster
|static_image_2_name=Coat of arms of Axminster Town Council.svg
|static_image_2_caption=Coat of arms
|static_image_2_width=100px
|os_grid_reference=	SY2998
|london_distance=
}}
'''Axminster''' is a [[market town]] and [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] on the eastern border of the county of [[Devon]] in England. It is {{convert|28|mi}} from the county town of [[Exeter]]. The town is built on a hill overlooking the [[River Axe, Devon|River Axe]] which heads towards the [[English Channel]] at [[Axmouth]], and is in the [[East Devon]] local government district.  At the 2001 census, it had a population of 5,626,<ref>[http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790359 Office for National Statistics : ''Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : East Devon''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613040512/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790359 |date=13 June 2011 }} Retrieved 28 January 2010</ref> increasing to 5,761 at the [[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-england-southwestengland.php?cityid=E34002160|title=Town population 2011|access-date=23 February 2015|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924120003/http://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-england-southwestengland.php?cityid=E34002160|url-status=live}}</ref> The town contains two [[electoral wards]] (town and rural) whose combined population is 7,110.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/axminster-rural-e05003459#sthash.tTiMneQs.dpbs|title=Axminster Rural ward 2011|access-date=23 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/axminster-town-e05003460#sthash.53G29tRs.dpbs|title=Axminster Town ward 2011|access-date=23 February 2015|archive-date=23 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223212010/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/axminster-town-e05003460#sthash.53G29tRs.dpbs|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[market (place)|market]] is still held every Thursday.

Axminster gave its name to a type of [[Axminster carpet|carpet]]. An Axminster-type power loom is capable of weaving high-quality carpets with many varying colours and patterns. While Axminster carpets are made in the town by [[Axminster Carpets|Axminster Carpets Ltd]], this type of carpet is now manufactured all over the world as well.

==History==
{{further|History of Devon}}
The town dates back to the Celtic times of around 300 BC. It lies on two major [[Roman roads in Britain|Roman roads]]: the [[Fosse Way]] from [[Lincoln, Lincolnshire|Lincoln]] to [[Seaton, Devon|Seaton]], and the [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]] to [[Exeter]] road. There was a [[Castra|Roman fort]] on the crossroads at [[Woodbury Farm Roman Fort|Woodbury Farm]], just south of the present town. Axminster appears on the [[Peutinger Map]], one of only 15 [[Great Britain|British]] towns on that [[Roman Empire|Roman era]] map.

Axminster was recorded in the late 9th century as {{lang|ang|Ascanmynster}} and in the [[Domesday Book]] of 1086 as {{lang|ang|Aixeministra}}. The name means "monastery or large church by the River Axe" and is a mixture of languages; the river name ''[[River Axe (Lyme Bay)|Axe]]'' has Celtic origins and {{lang|ang|mynster}} is an [[Old English]] word.

There was allegedly a castle in the town, as reported in the 1600s by Sir William Pole, and believed to have been close to the current Market Square.<ref>{{cite news |title=Axminster's lost castle |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=f3ff2e7d-4658-4905-9621-76768b3afd94&resourceID=19191}}</ref>

The later history of the town is very much linked to the carpet industry, started by [[Thomas Whitty]] at Court House near the church in 1755. The completion of the early hand-tufted carpets was marked by a peal of bells from the parish church as it took a great amount of time and labour to complete them. [[Axminster Carpets|Axminster carpets]] continue to this day providing carpets for Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and other royal buildings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/design/axminsters-wetherspoon-carpets-royal-warrant-queen-business-uk-famous-a8921861.html|title=Meet the company making carpets for Wetherspoon and the Queen|date=2019-06-01|website=The Independent|language=en|access-date=2019-11-04|archive-date=4 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191104040555/https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/design/axminsters-wetherspoon-carpets-royal-warrant-queen-business-uk-famous-a8921861.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1210, a charter was granted to the town that included the right to hold a weekly cattle market; this was held in the market square until it was moved to Trinity Square in 1834. It then moved in October 1912 to a site off South Street, where it was held for 94 years. It finally closed in 2006 in the aftermath of the [[2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak]].<ref name="blueplaques">Historical Axminster [[Rotary Club]] [[Blue Plaque]]s</ref> A building on the site then continued to be used for a general auction until all the buildings were demolished and replaced by a housing development.
[[File:Axminster Church.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|left|Axminster Parish Church (St Mary’s)]]

The town was on the coaching route from London to Exeter. In 1760 a [[coaching inn]] named The George Hotel was opened on the corner of Lyme Street and Chard Street on the site of an old inn called the Cross Keys that was destroyed by fire in 1759. Over 16 [[coach (carriage)|coaches]] a day would stop at the hotel in its heyday for refreshments and to change horses. The building was refurbished in 2020.<ref name="blueplaques"/> Axminster was on the route of [[The Trafalgar Way]] which is the name given to the historic route used to carry [[mentioned in dispatches|dispatches]] with the news of the [[Battle of Trafalgar]] overland from [[Falmouth, Cornwall]], to the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] in London in 1805, There is a plaque commemorating this fact in the town centre.

Part of the parish of Axminster had historically been an [[exclave]] of [[Dorset]] until the [[Counties (Detached Parts) Act 1844]], when it was fully incorporated into Devon.

[[Axminster railway station]] was opened on 19 July 1860, with the [[London and South Western Railway]] (LSWR) offering direct services between [[Exeter Central railway station|Queen Street station]] in Exeter and [[Yeovil]]. The station building was designed by the LSWR's architect [[William Tite|Sir William Tite]] in mock gothic style. In 1903, the branch line from Axminster to [[Lyme Regis]] was opened. This branch line was closed with the [[Beeching Axe|Beeching]] cuts, in the 1960s. One engine has been preserved on the [[Bluebell Railway|Bluebell Line]], in [[Sussex]], while the station was dismantled and reconstructed at [[New Alresford]], on the [[Mid Hants Watercress Railway|Watercress Line]], in [[Hampshire]].

Axminster is the southern starting point of the [[Taunton Stop Line]], a [[World War II]] defensive line consisting of [[bunker#Pillbox|pillbox]]es and anti-tank obstacles, which runs north to the [[Somerset]] coast near [[Highbridge, Somerset|Highbridge]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/oasis_reports/contexto1/ahds/dissemination/pdf/contexto1-73825_1.pdf |title=Land off Morton Way, Axminster, Devon – A Limited Archaeological Excavation and Recording Programme |publisher=Context One Archaeological Services |year=2010 |work=Archaeology Data Service |access-date=14 May 2011 |archive-date=4 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004231545/http://archaeologydataservice.ac.uk/catalogue/adsdata/oasis_reports/contexto1/ahds/dissemination/pdf/contexto1-73825_1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

Nearby [[Kilmington, Devon|Kilmington]] was used as a location for the 1998 [[LWT]] adaptation of ''[[Tess of the d'Urbervilles]]''. The celebrity chef and TV presenter [[Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall]] has his [[River Cottage HQ]] at a {{convert|60|acre|ha|adj=on}} farm in the Axe valley. His "River Cottage Canteen" was until 2021 located in the premises of the New Commercial Inn, owned by Palmer's Brewery of Bridport, and which housed the ballroom of the town.<ref>{{cite news |title=River Cottage Canteen relocates |url=https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/20353753.axminsters-river-cottage-kitchen-relocates-town-centre-farm/}}</ref>

==Geography==
The [[hamlet (place)|hamlet]] of '''Abbey Gate''' lies to the south of the town near the [[A35 road|A35]] and [[A358 road|A358]] intersection.

Other villages within {{convert|5|mi|0}} of Axminster include [[Chardstock]], [[Colyford]], [[Combpyne]], [[Dalwood]], [[Hawkchurch]], [[Kilmington, Devon|Kilmington]], [[Membury, Devon|Membury]], [[Musbury]], [[Raymond's Hill]], [[Rousdon]], [[Shute, Devon|Shute]], [[Smallridge]], [[Tytherleigh]], [[Uplyme]] and [[Whitford, Devon|Whitford]].

==Landmarks==
*[[File:Museum icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[Axminster Museum]]
*[[File:UKAL icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[Blackdown Hills National Landscape|Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]]
*[[File:UKAL icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[East Devon AONB|East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]]
*[[File:UKAL icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[East Devon Way]]
*[[File:HH icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[Forde Abbey]]
*[[File:UKAL icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[Jurassic Coast]]
*[[File:UKAL icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[Lambert's Castle]]
*[[File:HH icon.svg|class=noviewer]][[File:NTE icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[Loughwood Meeting House]]
*[[File:UKAL icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[Musbury Castle]]
*[[File:HH icon.svg|class=noviewer]][[File:NTE icon.svg|class=noviewer]] [[Shute Barton]]

==Amenities==
[[File:Axminster Church - geograph.org.uk - 435355.jpg|thumb|[[St Mary's Church, Axminster|St Mary's Church]]]]
[[File:The Guildhall Axminster - geograph.org.uk - 5325224.jpg|thumb|[[Axminster Guildhall]]]]
The town has Cloakham Lawns, the Axe Valley Sports Centre and Flamingo Swimming Pool, a library, several churches and a museum of local history. Shops include three supermarkets, and several independent retailers. [[Axminster Guildhall]] is a municipal building which is currently used as an events venue.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Evans |first1=Francesca |title=New manager's plans to put Axminster Guildhall at the centre of the community |url=https://axminster.nub.news/news/local-news/new-manager39s-plans-to-put-axminster-guildhall-at-the-centre-of-the-community |access-date=23 May 2024 |work=Axminster Nub News |date=25 November 2021}}</ref>

==Education==
* [[Axe Valley Academy]]
* Axminster Community Primary School
* St. Mary's Primary School
* All Saints Community Primary School

==Media==
Local news and television programmes are provided by [[BBC South West]] and [[ITV West Country]]. Television signals are received from the [[Stockland Hill transmitting station|Stockland Hill]] TV transmitter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Stockland_Hill|title=Full Freeview on the Stockland Hill (Devon, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=22 October 2023}}</ref>

Local radio stations are [[BBC Radio Devon]] on 95.8 FM, [[Heart West]] on 97 FM, [[Greatest Hits Radio South West]] on 106.7 FM, and [[East Devon Radio]], a community radio station which broadcast to the town on 94.6 FM.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.eastdevon.radio/about-us/|title=About Us - East Devon Radio|access-date=22 October 2023}}</ref>

The town is served by the local newspaper, Midweek Herald.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britishpapers.co.uk/england-sw/midweek-herald/|title=Midweek Herald|date=1 May 2014|website=British Papers|accessdate=22 October 2023}}</ref>

==Transport==
===Road===
Axminster is at the crossroads of the [[A358 road|A358]], which links with the [[A303 road|A303]] at [[Ilminster]], and the [[A35 road|A35]] from [[Southampton]] to [[Honiton]], which has been diverted by a [[bypass route|bypass]] to the south of the town.
[[File:Axminster-stationfront-01.jpg|thumb|Axminster station]]

===Rail===
[[Axminster railway station]] is on the [[West of England Main Line]] that runs from [[Exeter]] via [[Salisbury, England|Salisbury]] to [[London Waterloo railway station|London Waterloo]].

===Bus===
Axminster is served by AVMT Buses' service 885 to local towns & villages including Seaton, Beer & Colyton.  [[Stagecoach South West]], [[The Buses of Somerset]] and [[First Hampshire & Dorset]] provide long-distance services to [[Exeter]], [[Weymouth, Dorset|Weymouth]], [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]] and [[Taunton]].

==Twin towns==
*[[Douvres-la-Délivrande]], France

==Historic estates==
*[[Weycroft, Axminster]]

== Notable people ==
[[File:Portrait of The Reverend William Buckland, D.D. F.R.S (4672228).jpg|thumb|150px|[[William Buckland]], 1833]]
* [[John Prince (biographer)|John Prince]] (1643–1723), vicar of Totnes, a biographer and wrote [[List of Worthies of Devon|Worthies of Devon]]
* [[John Ashwood]] (1657–1706), nonconformist minister and author.<ref>{{cite DNB |wstitle= Ashwood, John |volume= 02 |last= Grosart |first= Alexander Balloch |author-link= Alexander Balloch Grosart |page=186 |short= 1}}</ref>
* [[Micaiah Towgood]] (1700–1792), [[dissenting minister]] in Exeter, of [[Arianism|Arian]] views.<ref>{{cite DNB |wstitle= Towgood, Michaijah |volume= 57 |last= Gordon |first= Alexander |author-link= Alexander Gordon (Unitarian) |pages=94-95 |short= 1}}</ref>
* [[William Buckland]] (1784–1856), theologian, [[Dean of Westminster]], a [[geologist]] and [[palaeontologist]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Buckland, William |volume= 4 |pages= 731-732 |short=1}}</ref>
* [[George Pulman]] (1819–1880), journalist, antiquary and writer on fishing.<ref>{{cite DNB |wstitle= Pulman, George Philip Rigney |volume= 47 |last= Courtney |first= William Prideaux |author-link= William Prideaux Courtney |page=24 |short= 1}}</ref>
* [[Clemence Dane]] (1888–1965), playwright and novelist
* [[Steve Benbow]] (1931–2006), folk musician, worked locally
* [[Tyler Dibling]] (born 2006), professional footballer

==Freedom of the Town==
The following people and military units have received the [[Freedom of the City|Freedom of the Town]] of Axminster.

{{Incomplete list|date=November 2023}}

===Individuals===
* Susan Spiller: 13 January 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://axminster.nub.news/news/local-news/former-town-councillor-granted-honorary-freedom-of-the-parish-of-axminster-1641981685 |title= Former town councillor granted Honorary Freedom of the Parish of Axminster |last=Evans |first=Francesca |date=13 January 2022 |website=The Axminster News |access-date=14 November 2023 }}</ref>
* Martin Spurway: 13 November 2023.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/23934632.former-councillor-martin-spurway-made-freeman-axminster/ |title=Former councillor Martin Spurway made freeman of Axminster  |last=Manning |first=Adam |date=20 November 2023 |website=The Midweek Herald |access-date=22 November 2023 }}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Taunton Stop Line]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [[Arthur Mee|Mee, A.]] ''The King's England: Devon'' (Hodder and Stoughton, 1965); pp.&nbsp;25–26.
* Mills, A. D. ''Dictionary of English Place-Names''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-280074-4}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Axminster}}
{{Wikivoyage|Axminster}}
*{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Axminster |volume=3 |page=68 |short=x}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090123164950/http://www.devon.gov.uk/localstudies/100413/1.html Devon Local Studies – Axminster community page]
* {{OpenDomesday|SY2998|axminster|Axminster}}

{{East Devon}}
{{Devon}}
{{Devon parishes}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:Axminster| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Devon]]
[[Category:Market towns in Devon]]
[[Category:East Devon District]]