 The derivation of the name Cullompton is disputed . One derivation is that the town 's name means " Farmstead on the River Culm " with Culm probably meaning knot or tie ( referring to the river 's twists and loops ) . The other theory is that it is named after Saint Columba of Tir @-@ de @-@ Glas , who preached to West Saxons in 549 AD . The Revd Grubb also states that the parish church was probably formerly dedicated to St Columba ( although for the last 500 years it has been dedicated to St Andrew ) and that tradition records there was an ancient figure or image of Columba . There are 40 recorded spellings of Cullompton between the first recorded use of the name and the present day , and even as late as the mid @-@ nineteenth century three spellings were in use : the post office spelled it Cullompton ; in their 1809 first edition the Ordnance Survey map used Cullumpton and the railway station sign said Collumpton . The railway station sign was changed to Cullompton in 1874 and the Ordnance Survey used Cullompton in the edition of their map published in 1889 . It is affectionately known as Cully . 
