Kingsnympton - A Brief History

Nemet or Nemeton is a widespread and fundamental word of the early Celtic world, it designated natural sacred groves and the rivers Mole and Yeo were both known in ancient times as the Nymet. In the Domesday Book, the parish is recorded in its latinised form

Nimetone and is land belonging to William the Conqueror, formerly the property of King Harold. Nimet was given to Joel of Mayne by King Henry I and later, as Nimieton , by King Henry III to Roger la Zouche.

The parish church is dedicated to St. James the Great, it is Saxon in origin and part of it is thought to be over 1,000 years old. Among its many interesting features are the beautiful 15th century rood screen with "green men" carved into the bosses. The

chancel roof was plastered in 1755 and painted with a huge golden cross in a sky of stars and clouds by the then Rector, Lewis Southcombe.

The area of the parish is 2,248 hectares of land and 13 hectares of water, most of

the land, if not woodland, is given over to mixed agriculture and the water (mostly the River

Mole) provides some excellent fishing. Kingsnympton Park is a private estate of some 600 hectares.

The population of the Parish is approximately 360 which is split evenly between the village and

the rural areas. The maximum recorded population was 777 in the 1840's when Kingsnympton liked to think of itself more of a town, officials such as Bread Weighers and Ale Tasters existed in those days.

The Grove Inn is the only remaining public house in the parish, originally the New Inn (from the 17th century), it changed its name in 1968 to reflect Kingsnympton's link with its Celtic past.

Geoff Keegan
Chairman of Kingsnympton History Society (2004)