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Braunton village centre: the old village railway station, now a newsagents. The large tree in the centre of the square has grown since the line was demolished in the mid-1970s. The line of the tracks passed under the tree and crossed the road where a pelican crossing can now be seen.

Braunton is situated 5 miles west of Barnstaple in the North Devon district, and is claimed to be the largest village in England, with a population in 2001 of 7510. It is home to the nearby Braunton Great Field, and Braunton Burrows, a nature reserve of world importance.

The village boasts a number of pubs which include the Agricultural Inn on East Street; the Williams Arms in Wrafton; the Mariners Arms on South Street; and the Black Horse on Church Street. There are also a number of churches of various denominations with St. Brannock's being the parish church. The village holds a carnival each year near the end of May.

The tower of St. Brannock's Church is over 700 years old. Inside the church, the similarly old chancel has an arch and three lancets. The sixteenth-century benches are richly carved. The fifteenth-century south chapel has a curious brass palimpsest, hinged so that both sides are visible. There is a chest that may have come to England with the Spanish Armada.

Local Schools include Caen Street Primary School, Kingsacre Primary School, SouthmeadPrimary School and Braunton Community College, the local secondary school.

The village had a railway station on the now closed Ilfracombe Branch Line.

The South West Coast Path National Trail links to the village, and gives access to walks along the spectacular North Devon coast. The Tarka Trail also passes through the village. The nearby Braunton Burrows marsh has been designated as a biosphere reserve, the first place in the country to gain this status.[1]

The coastal part of the Parish lies within the North Devon Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

History

The village took its name from St. Brannock, who came from South Wales as a missionary and converted the native Britons to the Christian faith in AD 550. Brannock was a priest in the household of Brychan, King of Brencknock. He married one of the King's daughters, but the family troubles were a great incentive for leaving his royal home. At that time the Welsh Britons often raided their Dumnoni neighbours on the opposite side of the Bristol channel.

In all probability Brannock came to North Devon with such a raid and is said to have landed on Saunton Sands at the mouth of the River Taw. At the time of his arrival the estuary of the Taw and Torridge rivers was wooded, as was a portion of Braunton Burrows. Brannock settled among a tribe of local Britons, soon establishing a strong Christian community. A Christian church, the first in North Devon, was built at a spot near where the Caen stream began to spread its waters on the alluvial lands around the River Taw. Brannockstood, the township that grew up around this church, later became Brauntona, and at the end of the nineteenth century, Braunton.

Surfing

In recent years, the village has become a hub for surfing as it sits at the gateway to North Devon's surf beaches of Saunton, Croyde and Woolacombe. A number of major surf brands were created in the village including Tiki, Loose Fit and Salt Rock.

Twin towns

• Plouescat, France.

External links

• Braunton Web site
• more information
• Tourist Information Centre
• Everything Exmoor
• Christ Church
• Braunton at GENUKI