| Axminster | |
|---|---|
 Axminster | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Axminster Location withinDevon | |
| Population | 5,761 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | SY2998 |
| Civil parish |
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| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | AXMINSTER |
| Postcode district | EX13 |
| Dialling code | 01297 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°46′52″N3°00′00″W / 50.781°N 3.000°W /50.781; -3.000 | |
Axminster is amarket town andcivil parish on the eastern border of the county ofDevon in England. It is 28 miles (45 km) from the county town ofExeter. The town is built on a hill overlooking theRiver Axe which heads towards theEnglish Channel atAxmouth, and is in theEast Devon local government district. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 5,626,[1] increasing to 5,761 at the2011 census.[2] The town contains twoelectoral wards (town and rural) whose combined population is 7,110.[3][4] Themarket is still held every Thursday.
Axminster gave its name to a type ofcarpet. 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 byAxminster Carpets Ltd, this type of carpet is now manufactured all over the world as well.
The town dates back to the Celtic times of around 300 BC. It lies on two majorRoman roads: theFosse Way fromLincoln toSeaton, and theDorchester toExeter road. There was aRoman fort on the crossroads atWoodbury Farm, just south of the present town. Axminster appears on thePeutinger Map, one of only 15British towns on thatRoman era map.
Axminster was recorded in the late 9th century asAscanmynster and in theDomesday Book of 1086 asAixeministra. The name means "monastery or large church by the River Axe" and is a mixture of languages; the river nameAxe has Celtic origins andmynster is anOld 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.[5]
The later history of the town is very much linked to the carpet industry, started byThomas 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 continue to this day providing carpets for Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and other royal buildings.[6]
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 the2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak.[7] 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.
The town was on the coaching route from London to Exeter. In 1760 acoaching 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 16coaches a day would stop at the hotel in its heyday for refreshments and to change horses. The building was refurbished in 2020.[7] Axminster was on the route ofThe Trafalgar Way which is the name given to the historic route used to carrydispatches with the news of theBattle of Trafalgar overland fromFalmouth, Cornwall, to theAdmiralty in London in 1805, There is a plaque commemorating this fact in the town centre.
Part of the parish of Axminster had historically been anexclave ofDorset until theCounties (Detached Parts) Act 1844, when it was fully incorporated into Devon.
Axminster railway station was opened on 19 July 1860, with theLondon and South Western Railway (LSWR) offering direct services betweenQueen Street station in Exeter andYeovil. The station building was designed by the LSWR's architectSir William Tite in mock gothic style. In 1903, the branch line from Axminster toLyme Regis was opened. This branch line was closed with theBeeching cuts, in the 1960s. One engine has been preserved on theBluebell Line, inSussex, while the station was dismantled and reconstructed atNew Alresford, on theWatercress Line, inHampshire.
Axminster is the southern starting point of theTaunton Stop Line, aWorld War II defensive line consisting ofpillboxes and anti-tank obstacles, which runs north to theSomerset coast nearHighbridge.[8]
NearbyKilmington was used as a location for the 1998LWT adaptation ofTess of the d'Urbervilles. The celebrity chef and TV presenterHugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has hisRiver Cottage HQ at a 60-acre (24 ha) 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.[9]
Thehamlet ofAbbey Gate lies to the south of the town near theA35 andA358 intersection.
Other villages within 5 miles (8 km) of Axminster includeChardstock,Colyford,Combpyne,Dalwood,Hawkchurch,Kilmington,Membury,Musbury,Raymond's Hill,Rousdon,Shute,Smallridge,Tytherleigh,Uplyme andWhitford.
Axminster Museum
Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyEast Devon Area of Outstanding Natural BeautyEast Devon Way
Forde AbbeyJurassic CoastLambert's Castle
Loughwood Meeting HouseMusbury CastleShute Barton
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.[10]
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC South West andITV West Country. Television signals are received from theStockland Hill TV transmitter.[11]
Local radio stations areBBC Radio Devon on 95.8 FM,Heart West on 97 FM,Greatest Hits Radio South West on 106.7 FM, andEast Devon Radio, a community radio station which broadcast to the town on 94.6 FM.[12]
The town is served by the local newspaper, Midweek Herald.[13]
Axminster is at the crossroads of theA358, which links with theA303 atIlminster, and theA35 fromSouthampton toHoniton, which has been diverted by abypass to the south of the town.
Axminster railway station is on theWest of England Main Line that runs fromExeter viaSalisbury toLondon Waterloo.
Axminster is served by AVMT Buses' service 885 to local towns & villages including Seaton, Beer & Colyton.Stagecoach South West,The Buses of Somerset andFirst Hampshire & Dorset provide long-distance services toExeter,Weymouth,Dorchester andTaunton.
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The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Town of Axminster.
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