Axminster, which derives its name partly from its situation upon a river called the Axe, and from a minster said to have been erected by King Athelstan, for seven priests, to pray for the souls of seven earls slain in his army, when he defeated the Danes in a bloody battle fought near this place. Axminster is at present a large irregularly built town, 146 miles from London, containing 2742 inhabitants, the lower classes being principally employed in the carpet and glove manufactories: —the former of these was established here in 1755; it has since been carried on to a very considerable extent, and is at present in a very flourishing state. The mode of weaving is very different from that practised at other manufactories: the carpets are woven in one entire piece, several hands being employed in conjunction at the same loom, working the patterns with needles. The looms are of considerable dimensions, and the most beautiful Turkey and Persian carpets are imitated with great success.

The church is large, and is said by Leland to have been "famose by the sepultures of many noble Danes slain in King Æthelstane’s time, at a battle on Branesdowne Thirby, and by the sepultures likewise of sum Saxon lords slain in the same field."

Axminster stands upon the very borders of the county, which the Axe crosses a little higher, and then runs, in a crooked line, quite through the county to the Severn Sea on its northern side.

Three miles south-west from Axminster, and two from Colyton, is Musbury, a small retired village, distinguished as the birth-place of Churchill, the famous Duke of Marlborough.

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AXMINSTER is a market and union town, parish on the river Axe and on the old road from London to Exeter, with a station on the main line of the London and South Western railway, 22 miles south from Taunton, 27 west from Dorchester, 145 from London, 7 north from Seaton and 7 south from Chard, head of a petty sessional division and county court district, and in the hundred of Axminster, Honiton division of the county, rural deanery of Dunkeswell and Honiton, and archdeaconry and diocese of Exeter.

The town of Axminster is not incorporated. The parish was formerly divided into ten tithings, known respectively as the Town, Abbey, Beerhall, Shapwick, Smallbridge, Trill, Uphay, Westwater, Weycroft and Wyke tithings, to each of which (except Abbey, which is included with Trill) separate waywardens were appointed, but in May, 1863, the parish was included in the Axminster highway district, and now elects two waywardens. Under the provisions of the Divided Parishes Act, 1882 (45 and 46 Vict. cap. 58), Beerhall tithing has been added to Thorncombe parish, and Shapwick to Uplyme parish.

The church of St. Mary, standing in the centre of the town, and originally of Norman date, is an edifice of stone in the Early English and later styles, consisting of chancel, nave, aisles, north porch and a central embattled tower (with a turret at the south-west corner, and containing a clock and 8 bells): the nave is Decorated and the north aisle Perpendicular, but the beautiful tracery of the windows has been much mutilated, and the ancient screen was removed in 1660: the south aisle was added in 1800, when the church underwent much alteration: in 1833 the roof of the nave was removed and raised and a new west window of freestone was put in: the earliest portion of the fabric is a Norman doorway with zigzag moulding, formerly the south entrance to the church, but removed in 1800 to the east end of the south aisle: the chancel, part of which is Early English, retains triple sedilia and a piscina; there were originally transepts, belonging respectively to the Drake and Yonge families, but the south transept was removed in 1800: there is still in the north aisle a flat stone inscribed to John Yonge esq. ob. 16—8, with arms: in the chancel are two ancient recumbent stone effigies, one of which is supposed to represent Alice (Briwere), wife of Reginald de Muhun, Baron Mohun, lord of the manor of Axminster in the early part of the 13th century; and the other Gervase de Prestaller, first vicar of Axminster, of the same date: the pulpit, of carved oak, dates from 1633; and there is an ancient font, and a memorial window to the Rev. William John Conybeare, d. 1857, besides others: on the floor of the north aisle is a stone inscribed to John Waty, a former vicar, ob. 5th March, 1519: the south aisle was added in 1800, and in 1833 the nave roof was renewed and raised and a new west window inserted: in 1871 the church was further repaired, at a cost of about £1,500, raised by subscription, when the old pews were removed and replaced by open seats: the tower was repaired in 1897 and the bells rehung, at a cost of about £1,200: the north aisle is now (1901) being new-roofed: there are 1,000 sittings. The register of baptisms dates from the year 1566; marriages, 1695; burials, 1559, but is very irregular: among the entries of baptisms is that of John Churchill, the great Duke of Marlborough, who was born in the adjoining parish of Musbury, 24th May, 1650. The living is a vicarage, with the chapelries of Kilmington and Membury annexed, joint net yearly value £220, with residence and a quarter of an acre of glebe, in the gift of W. Brice esq. and the prebendaries of Warthall and Grindale in York cathedral, and held since 1885 by the Rev. Arthur Newman M.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, chaplain of Axminster union, and surrogate. £30 2s. 6d. out of the tithe is appropriated to the little church of All Saints, erected in 1840, on the borders of Axminster, in the parish of Chardstock.

William the Conqueror gave the church of Axminster to the prebendaries of Grindale and Warthall, in the cathedral of York. The rectory, together with the manor of Prestaller, is now held by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The rectorial tithes of Axminster were commuted in 1838 for £670 10s. those of Kilmington for £100, and those of Membury for £264 16s.

The mission church of the Holy Cross in Woodbury lane was built by Lady Tulloch in 1898, and is served by the clergy of Axminster.

The Catholic church, dedicated to St. Mary, on the Lyme road, erected in 1862 upon the site of an older church built in 1831, at a cost, including priest’s residence and schoolhouse, of nearly £3,000, chiefly contributed by the Knight family, is a building of stone in the Gothic style, consisting of chancel and nave, and has three stained windows, one of which, the east window, represents the “Annunciation”; another is a memorial window, erected in 1882 to James Alexander Knight by his widow.

The Congregational church, Chard street, first founded in 1662, was erected in 1826, and is a plain building of stone, capable of seating about 400 persons: the registers of births and baptisms belonging to this chapel date from 1786.

The Wesleyan chapel, Lyme street, was erected in 1895, and will seat about 300; there are registers of births and baptisms from 1809.

The Gospel Hall, Castle hill, will hold 200.

The Cemetery, adjoining the Chard road, and about half a mile from the church, has two mortuary chapels, and consists of 1 ½ acres of land, laid out in 1855 at a cost of £1,200. An additional 1 ½ acres was laid out in 1892, at a cost of £500. The cemetery is controlled by the Parish Council.

The manufactory of the well-known Axminster carpets, established here in 1755, was closed in 1835, in consequence of the bankruptcy of the proprietor, and the machinery removed to Wilton: part of the factory, a substantial building on the west of the church and opposite the vicarage, has been converted into a cottage hospital, and the other part into a club.

The carpet industry of this town has become extinct, but a new trade has sprung up in the manufacture of tooth brushes and nail brushes, Messrs. Coate and Co. employing about 100 persons, chiefly females, in this industry; here also are the Weycroft Roller Flour Mills, worked by steam and water power, and the Town mill for corn and grist, driven by water power, an iron foundry and saw mills.

Thursday is the market day, and the business, chiefly in corn, is transacted at the inns; a good cattle market is held every alternate Thursday, and a meat market on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Three fairs are held annually, on the Tuesday after April 25th, the Tuesday after June 24th, and the Wednesday after October 10th, and are well attended: the show of cattle, sheep and horses is considerable, particularly at the October fair.

The Axminster Male Friendly Society, established in 1763, holds its anniversary meeting on the Tuesday after the Axminster April fair. The corresponding Female Society, established in 1766, holds its anniversary meeting on Whit-Monday. A Girls’ Friendly Society was established in 1877, and the meetings are held at the Old School room; there is also a Masonic lodge and chapter.

A cottage hospital was established in 1887 by Miss Gonybeare, and contains 8 beds and 2 cots.

The parish charities amount to about £100 yearly, derived from land at Wyke, in this parish, a field called “New Close,” in Woodbury lane, and several houses in the town, besides rent-charges and legacies.

The field called “New Close” was sold to G. A. Spottiswoode esq. of Chattan Hall, some years ago, under the sanction of the Charity Commissioners, and the purchase money invested in £514 11s. 8d. Consols.

About a mile to the south of the town, on the banks of the Axe, and within the limits of the farm now occupied by Mr. Swain, are the ruins of Newenham Abbey, a house of the Cistercian order, founded in 1245 by Reginald de Mohun, then lord of the manor of Axminster, and, colonized from Beaulieu; and in 1246 the founder granted to the abbey the manor and hundred of Axminster, the latter carrying with it the right to have suit and service from the owners of the several tithings: on the general survey of the monasteries, taken in the 26th Henry VIII. (1534—5), the abbey was returned to be of the value of £227 7s. 8d. yearly, and consequently it was one of the “greater abbeys” dissolved by statute 31 Henry VIII. c. 13 and 14, A.D. 1539, there being then an abbot, Richard Gyll, and 10 monks: the arms of the abbey were those of the Mohuns, viz.: “or, a cross engrailed, sa:” of the magnificent church, nearly 300 feet in length, nothing now remains, and a portion of the buildings, with an Early English triplet, standing in 1865, had fallen in 1878; many of the Bonvilles and Mohuns were interred within the church; the founder, Reginald Mohun, who died on Sunday, 20th January, 1257, at Torre, was interred, by his own direction, before the high altar; the abbey was surrendered 9th March, 1538.

Ford Abbey, situated about 7 miles to the north of Axminster, also on the banks of the Axe, in the parish of Thorncombe, Dorset, is another object of interest and great attraction.

At Musbury and Membury, villages situated respectively to the north and south of Axminster, on the high points called Musbury Castle and Membury Castle, are the remains of earthworks and entrenchments of ancient Roman or British origin. Weycroft, about a mile from the town, is supposed to be the site of a Roman fort, and in the 15th century a mansion house was erected here, with an inclosed park of 800 acres: a farmhouse now occupies the spot, but various interesting remains of the foundations and passages of the ancient mansion, have been discovered during recent repairs to the buildings.

Coaxdon House, 2 miles from Axminster, adjoining the Chard road, is noted at the birthplace of Sir Symonds D’Ewes, in 1602; he passed his early days at Coaxdon, and went to a school at Wambrook, afterwards becoming celebrated as a Puritan and antiquary, and is known as the author of “A Journal of all the Parliaments in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth,” published in 1682; and of the account of his own life and correspondence, in the Harleian Library, published in 1845; he died 18th. April, 1650.

The battle of Brunanburgh is believed by some to have been fought in the valley of the Axe, at or near Axminster, in A.D. 937, between King Athelstan and a combination of Danish, Welsh and Scottish invaders under Anlaf, whom Athelstan had previously driven from Northumbria, in revenge for the treatment which Athelstan’s sister had received from Sihtric, her husband, who was king of the Danes in Northumbria and father of Anlaf. Some modern writers, however, without any satisfactory or very probable evidence, differ as to the precise spot where this battle was fought, some of them fixing it at Barnborough, in the North of England, others in Cheshire; but the investigations and comparisons of the statements of ancient chroniclers by antiquaries of great research and ability, acquainted with this neighbourhood, seem satisfactorily to prove that the battle occurred here. The invaders, after obtaining a victory in Northumberland, again put to sea, and landed at Seaton. A curious chart in the British Museum, of about the time of Henry VIII. representing the south coast of England, has the following statement at the mouth of the Axe:-“The entrie of Otterford and Seton ryvers, good londvng, and in the time of King Athelstan there entrid at Seton dyurse strange nacions, who were slayne at Axmyster to the number of V. kings VIII erles, a busshoppe and IX score thousand in the hole, as a boke old written doth testyfye.” Five Danish princes and seven Saxon earls, who were slain in this battle, were buried at Brunanburg, and the chartulary of Newenham Abbey records that “King Athelstan gave the church of Axminster to seven priests, who should there for ever serve God, for the souls of seven earls and many others put to death in battle with him against foreign invaders, which fight began at Calix Down, in the parish of Colyton, and extended to Colecroft (Colemead to this day), below Axminster.” He also endowed the church with the manor of Prestaller, in the parish of Axminster.

William Buckland D.D., F.R.S, the distinguished geologist, was born at Axminster 12th March, 1784; the Rev. John Prince B.A. (Oxon.), and M.A. (Camb.), author of “The Worthies of Devon,” and some time minister of St. Martin’s, Exeter, was born at Newenham farm house in 1643; Micaiah Toogood, a Nonconformist of repute, was born at Axminster in 1700.

In consequence of a suit in Chancery begun in 1842 between the late William Knight esq. and his representatives, and the representatives of the late James Alexander Frampton esq. regarding the equitable title of the former to a moiety of the manors and estates in the parish of Axminster. no manor courts had been held for many years; but in 1872 the proceedings in Chancery were wound up, and the late Henry Knight esq. of Cloakham House, became the owner of the property and his trustees are now lords of the manor.

The trustees of the late Henry Knight esq. W. H. B. Knight esq. Mrs. Spottiswoode, of Chattan Hall, and Edward Liddon M.D. of Taunton, are the chief landowners.

The soil is light and stony; subsoil, limestone and gravel. The crops are chiefly pasture, wheat and roots.

The area of Axminster is 6,311 acres of land and 34 of water; rateable value, £18,172; the population in 1891. was 2,809, including 6 officers and 120 inmates in the workhouse.

Petty Sessions are held at the Police station every alternate Tuesday at 11 a.m.

The following places are included in the petty sessional division:-Axminster, Axmouth, Beer, Chardstock, Colyton, Combpyne, Dalwood, Hawkchurch, Kilmington, Membury, Musbury, Rousdon, Seaton, Shute, Stockland & Uplyme.

VOLUNTEERS

3rd Volunteer Battalion, Devonshire Regiment (H Co.), Drill hall, Chard street; Captain & Hon Major Wm. Forward.

AXMINSTER UNION

Board day, alternate Thursday at 10.45 a.m.. at the Board room, Workhouse.

The Axminster Union comprises the following parishes:-Axminster, Axmouth, Beer, Chardstock, Colyton, Combpyne, Dalwood, Hawkchurch, Kilmington, Lyme Regis (Dorset), Membury, Musbury, Rousdon, Seaton, Shute, Stockland & Uplyme. The population of the union in 1891 was 18,604 & in 1901 was 15,623; area, 54,548 acres; rateable value in 1901, £101,188.

Workhouse, Musbury road, is a stone building, erected in 1838 to hold 135 inmates.

PLACES OF WORSHIP, with times of services

St. Mary’s Church, Trinity square, Rev. Arthur Newman M.A. vicar; 10.45 a.m.. & 6.30 p.m.; daily, 9.15 a.m..; Wed. & Fri. 11 a.m..; holy communion every Sunday & holy days.

St. Mary’s Catholic, Rev. Michael L. O’Reilly, priest; holy communion, 8.30 a.m..; mass, 10.30 a.m.. & benediction, 3 p.m.; daily mass, 8.30 a.m..; holidays of obligation, mass & benediction, 10 a.m..

Congregational, Chard street, Rev. Herbert Watts; 10.30 a.m.. & 6.30 p.m.; Mon. 8 & Wed. 7 p.m.; Fri. 8.15 p.m.

Wesleyan Methodist (Devon & Dorset Mission), Lyme street, Rev. Frederick Senior; 11 a.m.. & 6.30 p.m.; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

Gospel Hall, Castle hill, 10.45 a.m.. & 6.30 p.m.; Tue. & Fri. 7.45 p.m.

SCHOOLS

A School Board of 7 members was formed March 16, 1874; William Forward, clerk to the board; James Newbery, Axminster, attendance officer.

Board, built in 1875, at a cost of about £3,500, for 425 children; average attendance, 103 boys, 97 girls & 136 infants.

South Axminster National (mixed), built in 1875 & enlarged in 1880, for 90 children; average attendance, 14 boys, 16 girls & 16 infants.

Catholic (mixed); average attendance, 73.