Berrynarbor (historicallyBerry Narbor,Berrie Nerbert, etc) is a village,civil parish and formermanor in theNorth Devon district ofDevon, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 749, increasing to 802 at the2011 census.[1] The village is located on the north coast of the county to the north ofExmoor, about three miles east ofIlfracombe. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the east by the parishes ofCombe Martin,Kentisbury,East Down,Marwood,Bittadon, andIlfracombe.[2] Berrynarbor has within its purview to all sides a mixture of dense woodlands and farms and lies within the North DevonArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[3]
The village contains a small school, Berrynarbor VC Primary School which is voluntary controlled, and a voluntary controlled and run village shop. Other shops in the village's area are on the Mill Park camp-site and, during the summer, on Watermouth Valley Camping Park, which is on the scenic walk to Watermouth Harbour. There are twopubs: Ye Olde Globe which is a character village pub, and The Sawmill Inn which is on the outskirts of the village. There are guest houses and tearooms, along with the St Peter's Church in the main village square andWatermouth Castle.
St Peter's Church has a 15th-century tower, a 17th-centurylychgate and aNormanfont. The church tenor bell was recently restored through donations from the village and can now be heard every Sunday morning during the church service.
Berrynarbor has won many awards including Best Kept Village andBritain in Bloom.[citation needed] The community shop which opened in 2008 won the 2008 Countryside Alliance Award for the best village shop/post office in the South West of England. Every year the village hosts a show which involves some of the locals and primary school children. In July the school hosts a fete in the Manor hall and park. This helps raise money for various charities.
The Berrie family were lords of the manor of "Berrie Nerbert" in the 17th century, as the inscriptions on the two tablets under the Berrie mural monument witness. The manor later came into the possession of the Bassett family, previously seated atHeanton Punchardon, which in the 19th century builtWatermouth Castle within the manor, for their principal residence.
In 1988 a survey was carried out by the Parish Council and a need was identified for a village newsletter. The aim was for it to be "an interesting and informative publication for everyone to enjoy". Contributions could be any item of interest - village news, coming events, 'hatched, matched and despatched', or items relating to hobbies, local history, travel, favourite recipes, etc.
Over 30 years later and theBerrynarbor Newsletter is still going strong both in hard copy format - distributed to the village and to over 100 subscribers by post - and also online. The website offers a wealth of in depth social history, original artwork, stories, local knowledge, photos, postcards, and community information.
Articles can be browsed byEdition (as originally published), bySeries (articles on a common topic),Regulars (articles on a range of topics from a regular contributor) orGroups (clubs, institutions, societies and groups). There is also aSearch facility for locating family, friends and events.
The site features some stunning original artwork by four highly talented local artists:Debbie Rigler Cook,Nigel Mason,Peter Rothwell andPaul Swailes.
The parish contains the following historic estates:
