The North Devon town of Barnstaple has a claim to being the oldest borough in England. Its location on the River Taw, from which shipping could reach the Bristol Channel, enabled it to grow as a major port in the south-west of England in the Middle Ages. The wool trade brought prosperity to Barnstaple and the town that grew up around the port has a recognisable layout from this period. Although the wool trade had declined by the eighteenth century, the town developed other industries, and the surviving nineteenth-century market building is evidence of the continuing importance of Barnstaple to the surrounding area.

In this book local authors Denise Holton and Elizabeth J. Hammett take the reader on a fascinating A–Z tour of the town’s history and the surrounding area, telling the story of its buildings, places and people along the way. Fully illustrated with photographs from the past and present, A–Z of Barnstaple will appeal to all those with an interest in this North Devon town.