Why Is Colebrooke Called Colebrooke? The History Behind the Name

The name Colebrooke does not appear in the Domesday Book. A similar name, Colebrucca, refers to an area near Cullompton, but not to Colebrooke itself. At the time of the Domesday survey, the lands later known as Colebrooke would have formed the western part of the extensive Manor of Crediton.

Colebrooke in Medieval History

The first recorded reference to Colebrooke is said to occur in a letter written by Bishop Bartholomew of Exeter to King Henry II, around 1170. The bishop complained about the actions of Alexander de Colebrooke, a knight believed to have lived at Horwell, who was attempting to wrest the benefice of the manor of Colebrooke from the bishop’s control.

This account suggests that some form of church establishment may already have existed at Colebrooke by the late 12th century, although the precise nature of that establishment is not established by the account alone.

Where Did the Name Colebrooke Come From?

People often ask why the parish is called Colebrooke. The name is generally understood to derive from words meaning “cool brook”. But why would a place on a hill be named after a brook? And which brook would it refer to?

My own view is that the wider area west of Crediton may originally have been described as the “land of the cool brooks”, in reference to the many streams flowing through its valleys. These waters eventually join the River Yeo, which in turn flows into the River Exe.

On this interpretation, Alexander de Colebrooke, who appears to have been Lord of the Manor at the time, might in modern terms have been called “Alexander of the Cool Brooks”. This is a suggested explanation of the place-name, rather than a proven derivation.

The “Cool Brooks”: Colebrooke’s Streams

Two of the area’s streams still have recognised names: the Cole and the Troney. Both ultimately feed a larger watercourse shown on some old maps as the Upper Yeo.

The River Cole and Coleford

The Cole rises north-east of Copplestone. It receives tributaries from Knowle and the borders of Clannaborough before flowing through Coleford, whose name reflects its position on the stream. Early records sometimes refer to the village as “Colebrookeford”.

Another stream rises near Coombe and joins the Cole below Coleford.

Before the railway arrived in the mid-19th century, a grist mill stood on the Cole near Copplestone House. Known as Copplestone Mill, it is mentioned in a number of old documents.

The Troney and Troney Bridge

The Troney rises below Spreyton and enters Colebrooke parish in the valley below Road Farm. It continues past Wood Farm, the Wottons, Great Heale and the Studhams, gathering water from numerous smaller streams on both sides of the valley.

It eventually reaches the road bridge below North Down, known as Troney Bridge. According to a local explanation, a “Trone Bridge” was once a name given to a bridge made of wooden poles, and the name subsequently came to be applied to the stream. This explanation has not been independently established.

After passing beneath the bridge and taking in further water from above Pennyland, the Troney enters Crediton Hamlets parish and joins the Yeo near Yeoford.

The Upper Yeo and the Watermills of Colebrooke

Some old maps describe the third and larger watercourse as the Upper Yeo. It passes beneath the bridge at Colebrooke Mill, receives the Cole at Penstone and another small tributary at Keymelford, then gathers the Troney above Yeoford, where the combined waters become the Yeo.

The Upper Yeo and its associated waters powered four of the six mills referred to in accounts of Colebrooke parish history.

The stream rises near Hillerton, in the parish of Bow, and receives water from Blue Violet. It then passes through a narrow part of Clannaborough parish before entering Colebrooke. Here it collects water from Landsend Moor and several smaller tributaries on its way towards Horwell Woods.

Horwell Woods, the Tucking Mill and Waterford Cottages

At Horwell Woods, the stream is crossed by a footbridge on the Two Moors Way. Some historians have suggested that a 17th-century tucking mill, belonging to the Horwell estate, once stood in this area. Tucking was part of the process of finishing woollen cloth.

The lane leading down to the crossing, now part of the walking route, is known as Webbers Lane. Its name may recall the weavers who once travelled to work at the mill. A nearby part of the woodland was also known as Tuckers Plantation, another name suggestive of the woollen industry.

By the 18th century, the tucking mill appears to have become a grist mill. Little now remains of the former mill site beyond a few stones marking an area where cottages are said to have stood nearby.

These dwellings, known as Waterford Cottages, continued to be occupied until the 1920s. Early 19th-century census returns describe some of their female residents as weavers, providing another link between this secluded valley and the local textile trade.

Colebrooke Mills, the Leat and the Railway

After leaving the site of the old mills, the stream continues past Horwell House. Here, possibly after the earlier mills had ceased operating, a weir was constructed to divert water into a leat—an artificial channel built to carry water to a mill.

The leat supplied Colebrooke Mills, approximately half a mile downstream. Its course closely followed the route later taken by the Okehampton railway in the 1860s.

Colebrooke Mills closed in the 1920s. Today, little of the leat can be seen, apart from the remains of a small aqueduct built by the railway company to maintain the flow of water to the mill.

The Mill at Ford and Paschoe House

Just below the former weir, the main stream receives water originating near Sweetfield, in Clannaborough. This tributary flows through Appledore and Paschoe to Ford, where it once powered a mill.

The mill remained in use until the 1860s. The original account records that a private Act of Parliament in 1849 required its removal because of concerns about damp affecting the newly built Paschoe House. The previous house at Paschoe was believed to have suffered from damp owing to its position in relation to the mill.

The Stream Below Butsford

Beyond Horwell and below Butsford, a further small stream joins the main watercourse before its confluence with the Cole at Penstone.

Rising in the valley south-east of Broomhill Cross, it follows the line of a bridleway, crosses Butsford Lane and joins the main stream about 200 yards above Colebrooke Mill.

Wotton Mill: Another Lost Colebrooke Watermill

One further mill stood within Colebrooke parish, although its water originated higher up the valley in Cheriton Bishop.

Wotton Mill stood south of Higher Wotton, where Mill Farm now stands, on the southern edge of Colebrooke parish. After passing through the mill, the stream entered Crediton Hamlets parish and eventually joined the Yeo at Yeoford.

Wotton Mill is mentioned in documents dating from the early 18th century and ceased working around 1900.

A painting of the mill, made in 1850 by F. T. Lee of Barnstaple, is known to exist.

*Written by Neville Enderson, 2017.