Breane

"BREAN, a parish in the hundred of Bempstone, in the county of Somerset, 8 miles to the W. of Axbridge, its post town. It lies in a detached part of the hundred, within the hundred of Brent-with-Wrington. This parish is situated on the coast of the Bristol Channel, and is bounded on the E. by the river Axe, which falls into the Channel at the foot of Breane Down, a lofty promontory northward of the village, running out above a mile into the sea. The Down rises to the height of 300 feet above the level of the sea. Some of the inhabitants of the village are employed in gathering samphire, which is found in abundance here. The living is a rectory* in the diocese of Bath and Wells, of the value of £216, in the patronage of W. Willes, Esq. The church is dedicated to St. Bridget." From The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland (1868) Transcribed by Colin Hinson © 2003