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Summary

Cullompton was a royal holding first mentioned in the 9th century. The town burgage plots could be Saxon in origin, subdivided into narrower plots in the medieval period.

Location

Protected Status: none recorded

Other References/Statuses: none recorded

Monument Type(s) and Dates

• SETTLEMENT (Saxon - 701 AD to 1065 AD (Between))

Full description

Morris, B., 11/08/2014, Land at Shortlands Lane Cullompton, Devon. Results of a Desk-Based Assessment and Archaeological Excavation, 14-15 (Report - Excavation). SDV359548.

Gover, J. E. B. + Mawer, A. + Stenton, F. M., 1931, The Place-Names of Devon: Part One, 560 (Monograph). SDV1312.

Cullompton was first mentioned as 'Columtune' in 880, 'Colump' in 1086, 'Columton' in 1230 and 'Culliton' in 1675.

Coates, R. + Breeze, A, + Horovitz, D., 2000, The River Culm: A Breeze, 133-5 (Article in Monograph). SDV323150.

The name Cullompton probably derives from the Welsh word 'Colom' meaning dove, and borrowed during the Anglo-Saxon setlement in the early 8th century. The word would have been applied to the calm and unhurried waters of the River Culm.

Green, T., 2006, St Andrew's Nursing Home, Pye Corner, Cullompton: Results of a Desk-based Assessment and Archaeological Evaluation (Report - Assessment). SDV337664.

Cullompton was bequeathed in the will of King Alfred in the 9th century to his younger son Ethelward indicating it was a royal holding. In 1066 the manor of Cullompton was granted by William the Conqueror to Baldwin, and in the 12th century by Richard I to Richard de Clifford. In the early 13th century it came to the Earls of Devon, and then in the 15th century it passed to the Abbot and Convent of Buckland Monachorum.

Context One Archaeological Services, 2009, Land to the North of Tiverton Road, Cullompton, Devon. An Archaeological Desk-Based Assessment and Geophysical Survey, 6 (Report - Geophysical Survey). SDV345067.

Keystone Historic Buildings Consultants, 2009, The Walronds, Cullompton, Devon. A Conservation Management Plan for The Cullompton Walronds Preservation Trust. Consultation Draft, 6-13 (Report - non-specific). SDV344797.

Cullompton lies in the Culm valley, 12 miles north of Exeter. Evidence for prehistoric activity has been found in the area and there was a Roman fort on St. Andrews Hill in the first century AD. Finds in the town indicate that Cullompton may have had a civilian settlement associated with the fort. The name Cullompton is first referred to as 'Columtune' in the will of Alfred the Great, AD872, indicating that the settlement was a royal holding. The church originated as a Saxon minster and was a manor in its own right. The town burgage plots could be Saxon in origin, subdivided into narrower plots in the medieval period. The manor in which the town of Cullompton was situated was granted to Buckland Abbey in 1278. Additional town markets, the first being granted in 1278, were granted to the Abbot and convent of Buckland in 1317. In 1356 the Abbot granted a watercourse to the town which ran in open culverts until as recently as the 1960s. Cullompton remained the property of Buckland Abbey until the dissolution of 1539 and the manor subsequently purchased from the Crown by Sir John St. Leger. Over the following centuries parts were gradually sold off. The woollen industry, which had been important in the town since the medieval period, continued to flourish in the 18th and 19th centuries, together with rope-making, bell-founding, tanning and papermaking.

Tyler, K. + Valentin, J., 2010, New Community Centre, St Andrew's Parish Church, Cullompton (Report - Evaluation). SDV347294.

A settlement at Cullompton is recorded as early as 880 AD, when it was known as 'Columtune'. Throughout most of the medieval period it was a royal holding. The present parish church dates to the 15th century, but is probably on the site of an earlier minster church dating to the late Saxon period.

Watts, S., 2011, The Bradninch and Cullompton Map (DRO 2650Z/Z1A) (Personal Comment). SDV346472.

A map of Bradninch and Cullompton map dated 1633 showing lands belonging to the Barton and Manor of Padbrooke and Pansford showns Fore Street with the market cross and a row of houses down the middle towards the lower end.

Sources / Further Reading

Associated Monuments

Associated Finds: none recorded

Associated Events

• EDV4149 - St Andrew's Nursing Home, Pye Corner
• EDV4777 - Conservation Management Plan for The Walronds, Cullompton
• EDV4862 - Geophysical Survey North of Tiverton Road, Cullompton
• EDV5079 - Archaeological Trench Evaluation at the New Community Centre, St Andrew's Parish Church, Cullompton, Devon
• EDV6943 - Desk Based Appraisal and Excavation of Land off Shortlands Lane, Cullompton

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