St Budeaux | |
---|---|
St Paul's Catholic Church |
|
St Budeaux shown within Devon | |
Population | 13,369 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SX4458 |
District | |
Shire county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | PLYMOUTH |
Postcode district | PL5 |
Dialling code | 01752 |
Police | Devon and Cornwall |
Fire | Devon and Somerset |
Ambulance | South Western |
EU Parliament | South West England |
UK Parliament | |
St Budeaux is an area and ward in the north west of Plymouth in the English county of Devon.
The name St Budeaux comes from Saint Budoc, the Bishop of Dol (Brittany). Around 480, Budoc is said to have founded a settlement and built a small church. The church eventually gave way to a permanent stone one, dedicated to Saint Budoc, which was erected shortly before the Norman conquest of England.
The village is documented in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book of 1086. Known as Bucheside, it was valued at 30 shillings (around six times the amount of neighbouring manors). Over the course of the next few hundred years, Bucheside became Bodekishide, Budeokshed, and even Bottockishide and Butshead, the latter form being recorded on the Trevill monuments in the church. The modern name, St Budeaux, is itself a Frenchified "elegant" form.
St Budeaux became a separate parish in 1482 by the decision of the Bishop of Exeter. During the early Tudor period, demand grew for a larger church, which was completed in 1563. The church was described in 1804 as "a simple edifice, and, though devoid of architectural embellishment, possesses much picturesque beauty." On 4 July 1569, Sir Francis Drake married local woman Mary Newman (Lady Drake was buried there in 1582).
During the Civil War, Plymouth and its surrounding villages (including St Budeaux) swore an oath to die for the Parliamentarian cause. They were besieged by the Royalist Cornwall just across the water, which took control of St Budeaux and used the church as a garrison. The church was virtually destroyed by the war's end and was not restored until 1655.