Bratton Fleming is a large village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 near Barnstaple

Barnstaple

Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...

, in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The population in 2001 was 942.

The village runs along one street which climbs steadily up the foothills of Exmoor. The Flemings had their seat at Chimwell, now a farmhouse called Chumhill, which Risdon

Tristram Risdon

Tristram Risdon was an English antiquary and topographer, and the author of Survey of the County of Devon. He was able to devote most of his life to writing this work. After he completed it in about 1632 it circulated around interested people in several manuscript copies for almost 80 years before...

 said was "one of the largest demesnes of this shire." Benton and Haxton were small Domesday manors. The great jurist Henry de Bracton

Henry de Bracton

Henry of Bracton, also Henry de Bracton, also Henrici Bracton, or Henry Bratton also Henry Bretton was an English jurist....

 was probably born at Bratton, although his claim is also made for Bratton Clovelly

Bratton Clovelly

Bratton Clovelly is a village in west Devon, England.The church is 15th century, but with many attractive Norman features. The village stocks are kept in the belfry....

.

St Peters Church was rebuilt on the site of a much older building, in 1861.

The village was once served by a railway station

Bratton Fleming railway station

Bratton Fleming was a station on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway, a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in North Devon. The station served the village of Bratton Fleming. It opened with the line on 7 March 1898, and closed with it after service on 29...

, supposedly 'the most beautiful in England', on the narrow gauge Lynton & Barnstaple Railway

Lynton and Barnstaple Railway

The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track narrow gauge railway slightly over long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, England. Although opened after the 1896 Light Railways Act came into force,...

, the trackbed of which runs close to the village.

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