Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington, though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same region) is a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rura ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to the

River Torridge The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England; it rises near Meddon. The river describes a long loop through Devon farming country where its tributaries the Lew and Okement join before meeting the Taw at Appledore and flowing into the Bristol ...

below, with the lower-lying parts of the town prone to occasional

flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

ing. Torrington is in the centre of Tarka Country, a landscape captured by Henry Williamson in his novel '' Tarka the Otter'' in 1927. Great Torrington has one of the most active volunteering communities in the United Kingdom. In July 2019, Great Torrington was reported to be the healthiest place to live in Britain. Researchers from the

University of Liverpool The University of Liverpool (abbreviated UOL) is a Public university, public research university in Liverpool, England. Founded in 1881 as University College Liverpool, Victoria University (United Kingdom), Victoria University, it received Ro ...

found that the area had low levels of pollution, good access to green space and health services, along with few retail outlets.

History

There were Iron Age and medieval castles and forts in Torrington, located on the Castle Hill. Great Torrington had strategic significance in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. In the Battle of Torrington (1646), the Parliamentarians, led by

Sir Thomas Fairfax Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...

, swept into the town and defeated Lord Hopton's forces. This marked the end of

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

resistance in the

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

. Today the town is recognised as an important heritage centre for the history of the 17th century, and its people can often be seen dressed in

costume Costume is the distinctive style of dress and/or makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used to describe typica ...

for historical re-enactments,

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

s and celebrations. An interactive Civil War Experience, "Torrington 1646", used to mark the town's historically important role. The Torrington jail was not big enough for more than one man so the Royalists kept all the Parliamentarian prisoners in the church. Then 70 barrels of gunpowder exploded and killed everyone held captive and many of their captors. Great Torrington Town Hall, a

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

building, was completed in 1861.

Railway

The branch line from

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

Bideford Bideford ( ) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, South West England. It is the main town of the Torridge District, Torridge Districts of England, local government district. Toponymy In ancient records Bi ...

was extended to Great Torrington in July 1872 by the London and South Western Railway, which built a railway station and locomotive depot in the town. The station was always named 'Torrington', not 'Great Torrington'. The locomotive depot was closed in 1959 and the line was closed to passenger traffic as part of the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts, also colloquially referred to as the Beeching Axe, were a major series of route closures and service changes made as part of the restructuring of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain in the 1960s. They are named ...

. It was closed to goods traffic in 1984. At the site of the old station there is still in 2015 a pub named ''The Puffing Billy''. A few small sections of track remain, but most has been removed and replaced with a combined foot and cycle path as part of the Tarka Trail. The Tarka Trail continues to Bideford, Barnstaple and on to Braunton in one direction, and to Meeth in the other, making of traffic free trail.

Descent of the manor

The manor of Great Torrington was granted by Queen Mary to James Basset (1526–1558),Alexander, p.64 MP, a younger son of Sir John Bassett (1462 – 31 Jan 1529) of Umberleigh. James's son Philip Bassett sold it to Sir John Fortescue (–1607) of Ponsbourne, near Hatfield, Hertfordshire, the eldest son of Sir Adrian Fortescue (1476–1539), descended from Richard Fortescue, younger brother of Henry Fortescue (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1426),

Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the common pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other two common la ...

in Ireland and of Sir John Fortescue (ca. 1394–1480),

Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English and ...

. Denys Rolle (1614–1638) of nearby

Stevenstone Stevenstone is a former Manorialism, manor within the parish of St Giles in the Wood, near Great Torrington, North Devon. It was the chief seat of the Rolle family, one of the most influential and wealthy of Devon families, from c. 1524 un ...

in the parish of St Giles in the Wood, acquired the lordship of the manor of Great Torrington from his descendant Sir William Fortescue. Denys Rolle (1614–1638) founded the Bluecoat School in Torrington The fountain and clock in the square were given in 1870 by Mark Rolle (1835–1907) A number of family portraits were given to the town by the heirs of Mark Rolle, some of which remain on display in the Great Torrington Town Hall, some of the more valuable ones having been sold, including a portrait of John Rolle Walter (c.1714–1779) by

Pompeo Batoni Pompeo Girolamo Batoni (25 January 1708 – 4 February 1787) was an Italian painter who displayed a solid technical knowledge in his portrait work and in his numerous Allegory, allegorical and mythological pictures. The high number of foreign vis ...

Torrington Common

Torrington Common is an area of

common land Common land is collective land (sometimes only open to those whose nation governs the land) in which all persons have certain common rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect wood, or to cut turf for fuel. A person ...

which surrounds the town on all but the eastern side. The common is administered by a body called "The Commons Conservators". The Common covers and has over of public rights of way. The landscape features a variety of habitats, flora and fauna.

History of the common

An "area of waste called the Common" was donated to the town in 1194 by the feudal baron of Great Torrington. In 1889, the rights to this land were transferred by an Act of Parliament to an elected "Committee of Conservators". The bill was subject of a local poll, as the document now at Devon Record Office evidences: The Rolle Estate was the largest landowner in Devon, having been built up by the Rolle family of

. Since 2 October 1889 the Conservators have met regularly to fulfil their remit to manage the land. Early activity was mainly concerned with control over the grazing and quarrying of the common, but since 1980 grazing has stopped and instead various techniques have taken its place to prevent the common from reverting to scrub and woodland.

Features of the common

* Taddiport Bridge and Rothern Bridge: Prior to the opening of the Town Mills Bridge, these were the only local crossings of the River Torridge. * Rolle Road: This is the site of the Rolle Canal which opened in 1827 to help transport

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

, lime and other commodities between the boats on the tidal river at Landcross and the lime kilns, clay pits and farms around Torrington. It ran through common land, but was closed in 1871. Later, it was filled in to create a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

across the Common. * Waterloo Monument: A stone

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

erected in 1818 by "the ladies of Great Torrington" to commemorate the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (then in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium), marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. The French Imperial Army (1804–1815), Frenc ...

Visitor attractions

Attractions in Great Torrington include: * Dartington Crystal, Factory, Visitors Centre, Glass Shop and Restaurant of Dartington Crystal – the biggest employer in the town and the only major working glass factory in the UK The plough torrington 05041

* Rosemoor Garden, a collection of

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

s and

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

land owned by the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

* The Victorian Torrington Pannier Market with a glass roof, restored in 1999 * Great Torrington Heritage Museum, located next to the Pannier Market * St Michael and All Angels, a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ...

whose churchyard includes a mound said to contain the remains of 60

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

prisoners * The Plough Arts Centre, a small theatre, cinema and gallery * Great Torrington also has a selection of

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s selling food and a selection of

real ale Real ale is the name coined by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) for ale that is "brewed from traditional ingredients, matured by secondary fermentation in the container from which it is dispensed, and served without the use of extraneous ca ...

s. These include The Torridge Inn, Torrington Arms, Cavalier and Royal Exchange. Torrington had a small

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

called Clearwater Brewery with its "Cavalier" and "1646" brands.

Employment

Torrington has long been a factory town. In the nineteenth century it was a centre of the glove making industry. The major employer today is Dartington Crystal, but the shops in the town centre also provide a source of employment. Most of the shops are locally owned; however, there are branches of The Co-operative Food and

Lidl Lidl ( ) is a trademark, used by two Germany, German international discount supermarket, discount retailer chain store, chains that operates over 12,600 stores. The ''LD Stiftung'' operates the stores in Germany and the ''Lidl Stiftung & Co. K ...

. Large factories have deserted the town in recent years including the meat factory after a fire, and the milk factory which also caught fire has moved its production elsewhere. Various converted and purpose-built care homes in the town also provide a significant source of employment. In 2006, Tesco sought to open a store in the town; however, this was opposed by many locals and the planning application was rejected.

Sports and culture

Local radio is provided by The Voice, a station based in nearby

that broadcasts across North Devon on FM and DAB. Most of the content on the station is locally produced. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the nearby Huntshaw Cross TV transmitter situated north east of the town. BBC Local Radio station that broadcast to the town is

BBC Radio Devon BBC Radio Devon is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Devon. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Mannamead area of Plymouth. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...

on 94.8 FM. The regional radio station Heart West can be received in the town on FM and DAB. The station is a part of the

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

network and broadcasts across the South West of England. Most of the shows broadcast are national shows from the Heart London studios, rather than region-specific ones. Region-specific content includes the weekday Drivetime show produced in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, and local advertising. The local newspaper is the '' North Devon Journal'' also based in Barnstaple. The '' Western Morning News'' is a regional paper widely available. Most households receive a copy of the '' North Devon Gazette'' every week. ''The Crier'' is the community newsletter and diary delivered free to most households in the town and surrounding area for ten months of the year. Torrington's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

teams are Torrington F.C. and Torridgeside A.F.C. There are also rugby, netball, tennis and swimming teams. Torrington nine-hole Golf Course is northwest of the town centre. Great Torrington Bowling Club, established in 1645, is the third oldest bowling club in England. As of 2024 Torrington is also home to North Devon’s first and only Baseball Club, the Torrington Riptides. Great Torrington is twinned with the French port town of Roscoff, situated in northern Brittany. Roscoff is served by the Brittany Ferries service from

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

and is a popular destination for school trips from the area.

Transport

Torrington is served by 43 local bus services mostly operated by Stagecoach South West. Some only operate one way and a number are weekly only service. Belle Vue Airfield is a single runway airfield about 2.5 miles northeast of Great Torrington in North Devon, England. It is for private aviation only, operating restricted flying hours and is frequented by Microlight and hang-gliding clubs. The 580-metre (1,902-foot) runway is grass. Exeter Airport away operates scheduled flights from

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport () is an international airport located in County Clare in Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. With almost 2 million passengers in 2023, the airport is the third busiest ...

, Eire and the Channel Islands. The nearest ferry port is Plymouth away, at which Brittany Ferries offer a regular service from Roscoff in Brittany. There is a summertime-only ferry service based at Bideford Harbour (7 miles away) to and from Lundy Island. Torrington has no direct train services; Umberleigh (8 miles away) is served by the Tarka Line from Exeter St David's. Bus connections are available to and from Barnstaple station (11 miles away).

Notable people

* Thomas Fowler (1777–1843), inventor * Elizabeth Johnson (1721–1800), pamphleteer * William Johnson Cory (1823–1892), educator and poet * William Keble Martin (1877–1969), reverend, botanist and author *

William Sandford William Sandford (26 September 1841 – 29 May 1932) was an English-Australian ironmaster, who is widely regarded as the father of the modern iron and steel industry in Australia. Early life in England Sandford was born at Torrington, De ...

(1841–1932), pioneer of the Australian iron and steel industry. * Mary Theresa Vidal (1815-1873), Australia's first female novelist

References

External links

Great Torrington Town Councilwww.OneGreatTorrington.uk
{{authority control Former manors in Devon Market towns in Devon Towns in Devon Torridge District Deaneries of the Church of England