Bucks Mills One-Place Study

Bucks Mills is a small fishing hamlet on the North Devon coast. It is known as the village of a single surname and its history is inextricably linked with that of the Braund family. Very little of the settlement existed before the year 1800 and a full community reconstruction has been carried out. Information about the history of Bucks Mills is available here. A large photograph collection has been amassed, of both buildings and their inhabitants. Nineteenth century residential histories of all the cottages have been compiled. See ‘Who Lived in Cottages Like These?: the inhabitants of Bucks Mills’ by Rebecca and Janet Few, available from the Braund Society stand on Parish Chest.

Migration into and out of Bucks Mills was largely short distance in nature. Of those who did leave the area, a high proportion went abroad. These emigrations were almost all conducted as extended family groups and prompted by affiliation to the Bible Christian Church. A list of the emigrants and their stories is held.

For further information see Faith, Fish, Farm or Family? The Impact of Kinship Links and Communities on Migration Choices and Residential Persistence in North Devon 1841-1901.

Bucks Mills Coast copyright Rebecca Leese