Local historian: The impact of the Norman conquest, and how places in Exmouth got their names

Ed: This is the fourth part of Mike Menhenitt's 'Walking Through Exmouth History' series. Use the links below to read previous articles:

Part One: The beginnings of Exmouth, from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age

Part Two: Exmouth in the Iron Age - and the arrival of the Celts

Part Three:Exmouth historian: Roman coins and Viking raids

1066 is one date etched into the minds of most people, it being the year of the Norman invasion of England and the defeat of the Saxon king Harold by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings.

The Normans wasted no time in bringing their system of laws to England, and in 1086 William ordered the first record of land holdings to be made. This became known as Domesday and recorded in the Domesday Book of that year.

The Manor of Littleham was recorded as having 13 smallholders, 20 cottagers and nearly 100 tenants and in 1282 its first vicar was appointed. In 1540 The Manor of Littleham was sold to Sir Thomas Dennys, This included the Manor of Bicton which eventually descended to the Rolle family and then to Lord Clinton. The Clinton Estate, which was established over 900 years ago still includes part of Exmouth.

Withycombe was granted by William the Conqueror to Walter de Claville with a value of 20 shillings (£1 in todays terms) in 1086. In 1273 the Clavilles let it to Sir Hugh Raleigh and it became known as Withycombe Raleigh. The Raleighs, including the famous Sir Walter Raleigh held it for over three centuries.

Exmouth at this time did not really exist as such, it still being a very small settlement surrounded by larger private estates and certainly bore no resemblance to the town as it is now. The estuary waters ran right up through what is now The Parade to Exeter Road and the area now called The Colonies was also underwater.

It is hard to imagine when you look down The Parade now, as in the photograph that it was once part of the estuary. These estates provide us with some now modern-used names and it is fascinating to see how these came about.

Bassetts Farm and Park is named after John Bassett MP who held the manor around 1750.

Bradham Lane comes from the area known as Broad Ham (a wide area of land) held originally by St Nicholas Priory in Exeter.

There was also land at Halisdon (now Halsdon) given by the Claville family and then to Roger of Babbeton (now Bapton).

After the Dissolution of the Monastries the land was given to the Dennys family in 1557 and included the Marepool (now Marpool) and Bapton Manors. These were subsequently sold to the Hulls of Marpool and the current Withycombe village is the site of the original settlement of Bradham.

Hulham was originally wasteland between Withycombe and Lympstone and belonged to the Courtenays, the Earls of Devon, who own Powderham Castle. Bystock was originally an island and owned by the Drake family in 1546. The house was burnt down in 1906, then rebuilt by its then owner, a Mr Hunter.

None of these estates formed what we now know as Exmouth. The origins of the town as we know it can be traced back to a small estate in Bradham, which stretched from Withycombe in the north, Marpool Hill in the east, Margaret Street to the west and Exeter Road to the west.

In 1302, there were a few cottages and a manor house on this land, together with frontage to the foreshore. This was bought by the Mayor and citizens of Exeter for use as a ferry landing for the Exmouth to Starcross ferry. It was known as Pratteshuthe, later Pratteshide, which means Pratts Landing Place.

Nearby was Douste's House which dated prior to 1240AD where all the shipping dues and ferry rents were paid. In the late 19th Century it became know as Mona Island. It is still there, on Exeter Road, opposite Glenorchy Church, being the raised area which once housed the underground public conveniences as shown in the photograph above.

There is an Exmouth Society Blue Plaque there recoding the history of this place. This is the very beginning of Exmouth as a town and resort in its own right and next time we will look at the gradual expansion of the town.

If you would like to know more, a good starting point is the library on Exeter Road. There are many books in existence on all aspects of the history of Exmouth and these can often be found not only in good bookshops but also online. The Exmouth Museum staff are always happy to help and at the museum there is plenty of history to see and read about and a comprehensive library of newspaper cuttings relating to events and people in Exmouth. Please visit the Exmouth Museum website at exmouth museum.co.uk or contact [email protected].