Brixham

Brixham
Brixham Harbour
Brixham Location within Devon
Population	16,825 (2021 Census)[1]
OS grid reference	SX9255
Civil parish	Brixham[2]
Unitary authority	Torbay
Ceremonial county	Devon
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BRIXHAM
Postcode district	TQ5
Dialling code	01803
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Devon and Somerset
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	Totnes
List of places UK England Devon 50°23′38″N 3°30′58″W / 50.394°N 3.516°W / 50.394; -3.516

Brixham /ˈbrɪksəm/ is a coastal town and civil parish in the borough of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. As of the 2021 census, Brixham had a population of 16,825. It is one of the main three centres of the borough, along with Paignton and Torquay.

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

On 5 November 1688, the Dutch prince, William of Orange landed in Brixham, with 40,000 soldiers, sailors and volunteers, prior to marching on London to be crowned King William III as part of the Glorious Revolution.