Brixham

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 by a marshy lane. In Fishtown, in the immediate vicinity of the harbour, the residents made a living mainly from fishing and related trades, as the name suggests. Cowtown, one mile (1.6 km) inland in the vicinity of what is now St Mary's Square, made its living from agriculture. Cowtown is on the road out of town to the south-west in the direction of Kingswear. St Mary's Square is overlooked by a sizeable church standing on the site of a Saxon original.