Fremington is a very large village,
civil parish and former
manor in
North Devon, the historic centre of which is situated three miles (5 km) west of
Barnstaple. There is an
electoral ward with the same name. The ward mainly covers the village and the population at the
2011 census was 4,310.
Fremington is situated between the south bank of the tidal estuary of the
River Taw and a small inlet of that river known as "Fremington Pill". Fremington Quay was formerly a port on the River Taw, half a mile north of the village centre. Fremington was formerly a
borough which sent members to Parliament in the reign of King
Edward III (1327-1377). The parish includes the neighbouring former hamlets (greatly expanded in the 20th century) of
Bickington to the east and
Yelland to the west. Fremington
hundred was one of the 32 historic hundreds of Devon. Fremington, Bickington and Yelland, all on the B3223 main road from Barnstaple to
Instow have, according to
Hoskins (1959), been spoilt by almost uninterrupted ribbon-building to provide housing for commuters to Barnstaple, but some old houses survive near the Church of St Peter, the parish church. and plenty of residential property on all sides of its roads between
Bideford and Barnstaple. Little Bridge House in the village is a
children's hospice run by
Children's Hospice South West.