Broadhembury is a rural parish of around 4,700 acres, with an adult population of approximately 700. The parish is bounded to the north and east by the Blackdown Hills, with the northern part lying within the Blackdown Hills National Landscape. The village of Broadhembury itself lies within a conservation area.
The parish is made up of several distinct communities. Broadhembury village, including Causeway End, is the largest settlement. Kerswell is a sizeable hamlet with working farms and private housing. Other smaller communities include Dulford, Colliton, Luton, Crammer and St Andrew’s Wood.
The busy A373 Honiton to Cullompton road runs through the parish and, in practical terms, divides some of its communities. School catchments, bus routes, telephone areas, mobile library visits and doctors’ surgeries also mean that parish life does not always have a single obvious focal point.
Even so, Broadhembury parish has several important unifying features: pride in the historic village, St Andrew’s Church, the parish magazine, the Church of England primary school, and the recently rebuilt Broadhembury Memorial Hall. The hall, traditionally a village facility, has been rebuilt to support parish-wide activities, clubs and events.
Broadhembury is a picturesque village of cob and thatch cottages, set within a wider rural parish where agriculture remains an important part of local employment and identity. The village shop, post office, newsagent and tea room sit at the centre of Broadhembury, opposite the Drewe Arms. Other local employment includes farming, hospitality, small businesses, nurseries, trades, holiday accommodation and the sawmill at Luton.
Broadhembury Church of England Primary School has strong links with St Andrew’s Church. Children are regularly involved in services and special occasions, and the relationship between school and church remains an important part of parish life.
The parish also has a range of social and community activity. Broadhembury and Kerswell both have children’s playgrounds, with Kerswell’s playground forming an important focus for the hamlet. Broadhembury has an active WI, Over 60s and Senior Citizens’ Luncheon clubs, and the Mothers’ Union is linked with Payhembury. A mobile library also visits the parish regularly.
Although the parish is made up of several separate settlements, St Andrew’s Church remains one of the places that helps connect the wider community — through worship, special services, school links, history, music, the churchyard, and the many occasions when parish life gathers around the church.
St Andrew’s Church, Broadhembury 