Exminster

The present parish church of Saint Martin of Tours is a Grade I listed building and was built in the late 14th and 15th centuries in the Perpendicular style. It was heavily restored in 1841 and again in 1852. It has a large three-storied tower with a polygonal stair turret. Inside, the Peamore chapel has a plaster ceiling dated 1633, depicting the Twelve Apostles and the Four Evangelists, scenes of the Nativity, Christ carrying the cross and the Resurrection. There is also a notable monument to Otho Petre of Bowhay who died in 1607.{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-85452-church-of-st-martin-exminster|title=Church of St Martin, Exminster, Devon}} The churchyard contains the war graves of eight British servicemen of World War I - the first and highest ranking being Major General Robert Kekewich[http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/350441/KEKEWICH,%20ROBERT%20GEORGE] CWGC Casualty Record. - and three servicemen of World War II.[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/37472/EXMINSTER,%20(ST.%20MARTIN)%20CHURCHYARD] CWGC Cemetery Report, details obtained from casualty record.

The football club is Exminster St Martins AFC. The village is intersected by the Berry Brook, a small stream that rises near Peamore and runs parallel to Days-Pottles Lane, before passing through Exminster and joining the River Exe at Turf Lock.

File:Devington Park.jpg

On a hill overlooking the Exe estuary at the north-west side of the village is the former Devon County Asylum (a "lunatic asylum") which was designed by Charles Fowler and opened in July 1845. It featured a central administration block with six radiating arms and had a capacity of around 800 beds. The hospital closed in the mid-1980s when it was known as Exminster Hospital.[http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/4_13_TA.htm#Devon%20County%20Asylum Index of English and Welsh Lunatic Asylums and Mental Hospitals.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527134421/http://www.mdx.ac.uk/WWW/STUDY/4_13_ta.HTM |date=2009-05-27 }} Retrieved on 18 May 2007 After years of neglect, the surrounding land was built upon for housing and the grade II listed hospital was converted to apartments and town houses; it is now known as Devington Park.{{Citation | title =Transformation at former hospital | newspaper =Western Morning News, Plymouth. | date =27 March 2001 | url = http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_docid=0F687BF14FCA7C1F}}(Subscription required.)

File:Exminster station.jpg

Exminster railway station was opened by George Hennet on behalf of the South Devon Railway in 1852. It closed to passenger traffic on 30 March 1964 and to goods traffic on 4 December 1967, but its distinctive building still stands next to the railway line. The signal box remained standing on the site until September 2006, was subsequently removed for preservation to Broadway, Worcestershire.[https://web.archive.org/web/20070112092940/http://www.broadwaysignalbox.org.uk/ Broadway signal box website.] Retrieved on 18 May 2007 although it has since been scrapped.

The M5 was originally planned to demolish most of the north part of village, taking 25 houses and the Stowey Arms pub. On 27 March 1972 it was decided re-route the motorway at a cost of £1m, as a deep cutting would need to be dug through a hill.Times Tuesday March 28 1972, page 5 The new route was announced in mid-September 1972.Western Daily Press Friday 15 September 1972, page 7

On Friday 27 May 1977, the final section of the M5 from Sandy Gate to Pearce's Hill, opened, being 3.5 miles (5.8km) by the Prime Minister, Jim Callaghan.Western Daily Press Saturday 28 May 1977, page 5

Exminster's amenities include a surgery, pharmacy, a village shop, a convenience store, several estate agents, a golf course, a hairdresser, as well as a community facility (The Westbank) which incorporates a gym, an IT suite with web access, and daytime family and toddlers' groups. Exminster also has a primary school; several parks for children including a skate park; and three pubs – The Stowey Arms, The Royal Oak and The Swan's Nest. The Topsham and Exminster Brewery, which produces Ferryman Ale, is located at a former RAF GCI (Ground Controlled Interception) radar station in the midst of the Exminster Marshes RSPB reserve.

The Exeter Canal cycle path leads from Exminster into the centre of Exeter, giving commuters in the village a traffic-free route into the city.{{Cite web |url=http://www.devon.gov.uk/execnet.pdf |title=Local map of cycling route between Exminster and Exeter |access-date=15 May 2006 |archive-date=12 February 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212122609/http://www.devon.gov.uk/execnet.pdf |url-status=dead }}

• Peamore, Exminster
• Bowhay, a seat of the Petre family,Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954), p.395 later the seat of Aaron Baker (1620–1683) the first President of the Madras Presidency (1652–1655).Per inscription on his mural monument in nearby Dunchideock Church

• The novelist Frances Mary Peard (1835–1923) was born here
• Phil Beer (born 1953) musician

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{{Commons category|Exminster}}

• [https://archive.today/20130221140820/http://www.exminster.net/ Exminster's Community Website]
• [http://www.devingtonpark.com Devington Park - the alternative Website]
• {{OpenDomesday|SX9487|exminster}}

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Category:Villages in Devon