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| Brixham | |
|---|---|
 Brixham Harbour | |
 Coat of Arms of Brixham | |
  Brixham Location within Devon | |
| Population | 16,825 (2021 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SX9255 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BRIXHAM |
| Postcode district | TQ5 |
| Dialling code | 01803 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
Brixham /ˈbrɪksəm/ is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with Paignton and Torquay.
It is believed that the name Brixham originates from the personal name of an early resident, Brioc, followed by the Old English suffix, ham meaning home. The town, which is predominantly hilly, is built around a natural harbour, which in addition to leisure craft, provides anchorage for what is now one of England's (but not the UK's) largest remaining commercial fishing fleets. A conspicuous local tourist attraction is the permanently moored replica of Sir Francis Drake's ship Golden Hind.
Historically Brixham was made up of two separate communities connected only by a marshy lane. In Fishtown, in the immediate vicinity of the harbour, as the name suggests, the residents made a living mainly from fishing and related trades while one mile (1.6 km) inland in the vicinity of what is now St Mary's Square, on the road out of town to the south-west in the direction of Kingswear, is Cowtown, which made its living from agriculture. St Mary's Square is overlooked by a sizeable church standing on the site of a Saxon original.
On 5 November 1688, the Dutch prince, William of Orange landed in Brixham, with 40,000 soldiers, sailors and volunteers, prior to marching on London to be crowned King William III as part of the Glorious Revolution.
- ^ "Brixham". City population. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Brixham Town Council". brixhamtowncouncil.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.