Edmund, King and Martyr, stood on this spot before the
year 1250; but it was rebuilt and aisles were added by the Abbot and
monks of Buckfast in the beginning of the fifteenth century. In the
south transept of the present church are remains of early English work,
and the font is Early English. Hagioscopes slant through the chancel
walls from the aisle on either side. The very unusual name of a
benefactress must be noticed--Tryphena Tobys.

Dodbrooke is joined so closely to Kingsbridge that their streets run
into each other, and they are separated only by small streams now partly
covered in. It would be almost impossible for a stranger wandering about
to say offhand which town he was in. Dodbrooke is really the older of
the two. A grant to hold a market was made to Alan Fitz-Roald, in or
possibly just before the year 1256. About this time a serious quarrel
occurred, when 'Henry Fitz-Alan impleaded Matthew Fitz-John, with forty
others, for throwing down a pillory in Dodbrooke. Forty seems a good
many against the pillory! But the affair was not one of those cases in
which a spark causes a fire, but was rather an outburst of flame in a
long-smouldering feud between the Fitz-Alans and the Lords of Stokenham
over the manor of Dodbrooke. In the end, the Fitz-Alans triumphed.

Three hundred years later we find the people of Dodbrooke complaining of
the heavy contributions that they were called on to make towards
furnishing 'ships of war'; for after the Armada had been defeated the
means of defence on these coasts were for some years kept up to a very
high standard. Mr Richard Champernowne,--who, it must be admitted, from
the general tenor of his ways, seems to have been one of those
well-meaning but egotistical and meddlesome people who are always being
surprised and hurt because their good offices are not better
received,--wrote to the local authorities as follows:

'Cousin Cary, and the rest of the Commissioners for the ship causes, I
have received some grievous complaints of some poor men who are taxed in
Dodbrook to this, more than all their goods are worth.... Surely, as the
country must bitterly speak against those [who] are procurors and
assistants in this country, so would it be as highly disliked both of
her Majesty as of the Lords, if they knew rightly of whom, and on what
sort, this tax is levied.'

But, alas! a severe snub was the result of this appeal, and the unhappy
Mr Cary must have deeply regretted that he