| Northam | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Northam Location withinDevon | |
| Population | 12,356 (Parish, 2021)[1] 5,190 (Built up area, 2021)[2] |
| OS grid reference | SS450290 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Bideford |
| Postcode district | EX39 |
| Dialling code | 01237 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°02′21″N4°12′37″W / 51.0393°N 4.2104°W /51.0393; -4.2104 | |
Northam (/ˈnɔːrðəm/NOR-dhəm) is a market town,civil parish and electoral ward inDevon,England, lying north ofBideford. The civil parish also includes the villages ofWestward Ho!,Appledore, West Appledore, Diddywell, Buckleigh and Silford, and the residential areas of Orchard Hill and Raleigh Estate.
The name Northam derives from theOld Englishnorðhām meaning 'north village'.[3]
Northam is thought to have been the site of anAnglo-Saxon earthwork fortification, and an area between Northam and Appledore is conjectured to have been where the Danish VikingUbba (or Hubba) was repelled during the reign of Alfred the Great. This is commemorated in local place names like Bloody Corner and Hubba's Rock (or Hubbleston), which is supposed to be the site where Ubba was killed.[4] It was also the site of theBattle of Northam in 1069 where the sons ofHarold Godwinson were defeated.St Margaret's church is theAnglicanparish church for the town and has been a Grade Ilisted building since 1951.[5]
In 1832 a meeting was held in Northam to protest an attempt byAugustus Saltren-Willett, lord of the manor, to take ownership of thecommons ofNortham Burrows.[6]
Royal North Devon Golf Club was formed at Northam Burrows in 1864; its course is the oldest on its original site in England.[7]
Between 1901 and 1917, the town and golf course were served byNortham railway station.
There are three tiers of local government covering Northam, atparish (town),district andcounty level: Northam Town Council,Torridge District Council (based in nearbyBideford) andDevon County Council (based in Exeter). The town council is based at the Town Hall at 1 Windmill Lane.[8]
Northam was anancient parish.[9] Until 1867 the parish was governed by itsvestry in the same way as most rural areas. In 1867 alocal board was established for the parish.[10] Local boards were converted intourban district councils in 1894. Northam Urban District Council built itself a headquarters on Windmill Lane in 1934, initially called the Council Offices.[11]
Northam Urban District was abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, with the area becoming part of the new district of Torridge. Asuccessor parish was created covering the former urban district, with its council taking the name Northam Town Council.[12] The town council continues to be based at the 1934 building on Windmill Lane, but has renamed it Town Hall.[8]
ASite of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI),[13] Northam Burrows is a saltmarsh and dune landscape, adjacent to the Torridge Estuary.
It is part of the North DevonAreas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and sits withinNorth Devon's Biosphere Reserve.
It is also home to the oldest golf course in England, the Royal North Devon Golf Club.
Northam has aKing George's Field as a memorial toKing George V.
Torridge Leisure Centre, off Churchill Way, has lane and learner pools. It also has a gym and sauna.
Northam has a public library. This burned down in 2005 destroying the building and 90% of the books, in a fire believed to have been caused by the action of a hands-free magnifier on a pile of leaflets.[14] The public library was threatened with closure in 2014 due to cuts in the County's budget.[15]
TheBideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway (B,WH&A,R) was most unusual amongst British railways in that although it was built as astandard gauge line it was not joined to the rest of the railway network, despite theLondon and South Western Railway having a station at Bideford, East-the-Water, meaning on the other side of theRiver Torridge from the main town.
The line was wholly situated on the peninsula made up of Westward Ho!, Northam andAppledore with extensive sand dunes the Torridge and Taw estuary.Northam station and the line closed in 1917 having been requisitioned by the War Office, and is now used as part of theTarka Trail cycle route which forms part of theSouth West Coast Path.
Westward Ho! Buses serve The Square, Sandymere Rd and Atlantic Way.
Appledore Buses serve Lenards Rd and Churchill Way.
The 16 Bus service serves Morwenna Park Road, Sea View Road, Windsor Road and JH Taylor Drive
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Stuckey, Douglas (1962). The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway 1901-1917. Pub. West Country Publications.
Media related toNortham at Wikimedia Commons
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