| Bulverton | |
|---|---|
 Cottage in Bulverton (Dark lane) | |
  Bulverton Location withinDevon | |
| OS grid reference | SY119888 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SIDMOUTH |
| Postcode district | EX10 |
| Dialling code | 01395 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°41′31″N3°14′53″W / 50.692°N 3.248°W /50.692; -3.248 | |
Bulverton is a small hamlet on the outskirts ofSidmouth, Devon, England. In the UK
Bulverton comprises low-density residential housing, areas of farmland and a wooded plantation and is connected by road to Sidmouth by the B3176.
During theSidmouth Folk Festival the area is the location of the Bulverton Late Night Extra.[1]
Since 1963 much of the Bulverton area has fallen under theEast Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty:[2]
The East Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) landscape is characterised by intimate wooded combes, vast areas of heathland, fertile river valleys and breathtaking cliffs or hilltops. It includes the East Devon section of theJurassic Coast[3] - England's first natural World Heritage Site - and is a living, working landscape shaped by many centuries of farming activity.
At the time of William the Conqueror, the hamlet formed part of the extensiveOtterton Manor lands, owned by the monastery ofMont-Saint-Michel in Normandy. The Otterton Cartulary, which listed ecclesiastical holdings in the medieval period, records "Eduart de Boluorton" and "Ricard de Boluorton" ploughingferlings[a] for the prior. In 1415 Bulverton and other land and possessions of the Otterton Manor passed to the Abbey of Sion in Middlesex. By the reign ofEdward IV, Bulverton is listed within the Manor of Sidmouth, but the tenants still owed fealty to the Abbess of Sion. The Manor Court Roll of 1467 recorded that William Goule ofBolferton fell foul of the local assize when he was caught brewing inferior ale by the ale-taster and duly fined. After theDissolution of the monasteries, the Manor of Sidmouth, including the farms at Bulverton, passed into private ownership. In the late 18th Century, the Manor of Sidmouth was acquired by Thomas Jenkins, and successive owners expanded the estate. At Bulverton, generations of the same families continued to farm the land as tenants - the Gigg family at Bulverton Farm (now Bulverton House) while the Coles family occupied Bulverton Well Farm. In the early 1950s the two farms, together with other historic cottages in the hamlet, were put up for sale when the Manor estate was dispersed.
The view from Bulverton Hill[5] is thought to have inspired 19th century poet and hymn writerJohn Keble who was a frequent visitor to Sidmouth. Keble's Seat at Bulverton Hill is named after him and commands a panoramic view of theLower Otter Valley andDartmoor in the distance.
The formerSidmouth Railway station[6] is nearby, with the embankment still visible in certain areas. A proposed cycle route involvingSustrans[7] may use part of the embankment in the future to link outlying towns and villages to Sidmouth.
TheMet Office have a climate station at Sidmouth in the generality of Bulverton that records the comparatively mildUnited Kingdom climate.
| Climate data for Sidmouth Station 1981–2010 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 8.9 (48.0) | 8.8 (47.8) | 10.8 (51.4) | 12.8 (55.0) | 15.9 (60.6) | 18.5 (65.3) | 20.5 (68.9) | 20.5 (68.9) | 18.5 (65.3) | 15.2 (59.4) | 11.9 (53.4) | 9.4 (48.9) | 14.3 (57.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.3 (37.9) | 2.9 (37.2) | 4.3 (39.7) | 5.3 (41.5) | 8.5 (47.3) | 11.1 (52.0) | 13.2 (55.8) | 13.1 (55.6) | 11.1 (52.0) | 8.8 (47.8) | 5.8 (42.4) | 3.7 (38.7) | 7.6 (45.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 81.8 (3.22) | 62.8 (2.47) | 66.9 (2.63) | 59.6 (2.35) | 55.2 (2.17) | 50.4 (1.98) | 51.1 (2.01) | 58.2 (2.29) | 62.5 (2.46) | 89.0 (3.50) | 84.8 (3.34) | 91.7 (3.61) | 813.9 (32.04) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 67.7 | 84.6 | 119.1 | 168.6 | 191.0 | 197.4 | 213.7 | 198.1 | 145.2 | 110.2 | 81.9 | 60.1 | 1,637.7 |
| Source:Met Office[8] | |||||||||||||
![Keble's Seat[9] at Bulverton Hill](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKebles_Seat_at_Bulverton_Hill%2c_Sidmouth.jpg)
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)