Kingsbridge

:"This page deals with the town of Kingsbridge in Devon. For other references, see Kingsbridge (disambiguation)"infobox UK place
latitude= 50.2833
longitude= -3.7667
country = England
official_name= Kingsbridge
population= 5,521 (2001 census)
shire_county = Devon
shire_district= South Hams
region= South West England
os_grid_reference = SX7344
dial_code=
post_town=
postcode_area=
postcode_district=
constituency_westminster=

Kingsbridge is a market town and popular tourist hub in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of about 5,800. It is situated at the northern end of the Kingsbridge Estuary, which is a textbook example of a ria and extends to the sea 6 miles south of the town.

History

of Stanborough. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=50582&strquery=kingsbridge Parishes - Kelly - Knowstone | British History Online ] ]

Kingsbridge is in fact a combination of two towns, Kingsbridge and Dodbrooke. Dodbrooke was granted its own market in 1257 and had become a borough by 1319. While Dodbrooke was originally considered to be the dominant of the two, Kingsbridge later expanded to include it. The town consists of two ecclesiastical parishes: St. Edmund's in the west and St. Thomas Becket at Dodbrooke in the east. St. Edmund's Church, in mainly Perpendicular style, retains some 13th century features including a font, but was enlarged and reconsecrated around 1414 and was mostly rebuilt in the 19th century. The parish church of St. Thomas Becket displays a particularly well-preserved rood screen, restored in 1897.

The Prince Regent (the future King George IV) considered building his pavilion above nearby South Sands beach before finally settling on BrightonFact|date=October 2007.

In 1798 the town mills were converted into a woollen manufactory, which produced large quantities of cloth, and serge manufacture was introduced early in the 19th century. During the 19th century the town had an active coastal shipping trade, shipbuilding, a tannery, other industries and a large monthly cattle market. The chief exports were cider, corn, malt, and slate. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=50582&strquery=kingsbridge Parishes - Kelly - Knowstone | British History Online ] ]

The town centre retains many 18th and 19th century buildings. The Shambles, or market arcade, was rebuilt in 1796 but retains its 16th century granite piers. The former grammar school, now a museum, was founded and built by Thomas Crispin in 1670W. G. Hoskins, "Devon", 1954] .

The town today

, born in Kingsbridge in 1705.

The town is linked to Plymouth and Dartmouth, Devon by the A379 road. For seventy years Kingsbridge boasted a railway station until the branch line, via South Brent, was closed in 1963 as part of the reshaping of British railways, commonly known as The Beeching Axe. An industrial park now occupies the site of the former station yard. But evidence of the railway's existence can still be seen in the form of disused bridges dotted around the town.

Famous residents

*William Cookworthy (1705-1780), the discoverer of English china clay and producer of the first English porcelain, was born in the town.
*John Wolcot (1738-1819), poet and satirist who wrote under the name of "Peter Pindar", was born here.
*Naturalist George Montagu (1753-1815), after whom the bird Montagu's Harrier was named, lived before his death at Knowle House, Kingsbridge, having been born in Wiltshire.
*John Scoble (1799– d. after 1867), anti-slavery campaigner in Britain and Canada, was born in Kingsbridge.
*Composer William Henry Squire (1871-1963) was educated in Kingsbridge.
*Architect Vincent Harris (1876-1971) was also educated in the town.
*Maurice Fox-Strangways, 9th Earl of Ilchester (1920-2006), RAF officer and nuclear weapons engineer, was educated here.
*Physicist Sir William Mitchell (1925–2002) was born here.

References

1911 (Some text may have been edited).

External links

* [http://www.kingsbridgeinfo.co.uk Kingsbridge Tourist Information Centre]
* [http://www.kingsbridgecollege.org.uk Kingsbridge Community College]
* [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Devon/Kingsbridge/ Kingsbridge (DMOZ.org)]