AXMINSTER, urban district, Devonshire, England, on the river Axe, 27m. E. by N. of Exeter by the Southern railway.
Pop. (I 931) 2,327. The situation of Axminster at the intersec tion of the two great ancient roads, Iknield Street and the Fosse Way, and also the numerous earthworks and hill-f ortresses in the neighbourhood indicate a very early settlement. According to Domesday, Axminster was held by the king. In I246 Reginald de Mohun, then lord of the manor, founded a Cistercian abbey at Newenham within the parish of Axminster, granting it a Saturday market and a fair on midsummer day, and the next year made over to the monks from Beaulieu the manor and hundred of Ax minster. The abbey was dissolved in 1539. The midsummer fair established by Reginald de Mohun is still held. The minster, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, illustrates every style of archi tecture from Norman to Perpendicular. Axminster was long cel ebrated for the admirable quality of its carpets, which were woven by hand, like tapestry. Their manufacture was established in Their name is preserved, but since the seat of this industry was removed to Wilton near Salisbury, the inhabitants of Ax minster have found employment in brush factories, timber yards and an iron foundry.