Contact: Trevor Lumbard. GIFireE
CSAR Fire Limited,
24 Lyde Road, Yeovil, Somerset, BA21 5AT
Tel: 01935 424188 Mobile: 07974 409001
E-
Mail: trevor@fire-
risk-
assessment.net
Barnstaple is a town in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon in South West England. It lies 68 miles (109 km) west southwest of Bristol, 50 miles (80 km) north of Plymouth and 34 miles (55 km) northwest of the county town of Exeter.
It is the main town of the district and claims to be the oldest borough in the United Kingdom. It was founded at the lowest crossing point of the River Taw, about 3 miles (5 km) from the Taw's seafall at the Bristol Channel. By the time of the Domesday Book, Barnstaple had its own mint. Its size and wealth in the Middle Ages was based on it being within the staple, a staple port licensed to export wool, and its importance is still obvious in the town's name. The wool trade was further aided by the town's excellent port, with five ships being sent in 1588 to aid the fight against the Spanish Armada.
Heritage Centre Barnstaple's population in the 1801 census was 3,748, in the 1901 census 9,698, and in the 2001 census, the population was 30,765. The town has swallowed the villages of Pilton, Newport, and Roundswell through ribbon development from the 1930s to the 1950s. In April 2006 the population was 34,000.
The interior of the Pannier Market in Barnstaple has been the major market for North Devon since Saxon times. Demands for health regulation of its food market in Victorian times saw the construction in 1855-56 of the town's Pannier Market, originally known as the Vegetable Market and designed by R D Gould. The building has a high glass and timber roof on iron columns. At 107 yards (97.5 m) long, it runs the length of Butchers Row. Market days are Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. According to the UK newspaper 'The Independent' the Pannier Market is voted one of the top ten food markets in Britain.
