1.
Devon
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Devon, also known as Devonshire, which was formerly its common and official name, is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the northeast, combined as a ceremonial county, Devons area is 6,707 km2 and its population is about 1.1 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia, which, during the British Iron Age, Roman Britain, the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the eighth and ninth centuries. The western boundary with Cornwall was set at the River Tamar by King Æthelstan in 936, Devon was constituted as a shire of the Kingdom of England thereafter. The north and south coasts of Devon each have both cliffs and sandy shores, and the bays contain seaside resorts, fishing towns. The inland terrain is rural, generally hilly, and has a low density in comparison to many other parts of England. Dartmoor is the largest open space in southern England at 954 km2, to the north of Dartmoor are the Culm Measures and Exmoor. In the valleys and lowlands of south and east Devon the soil is fertile, drained by rivers including the Exe, the Culm, the Teign, the Dart. As well as agriculture, much of the economy of Devon is linked with tourism, in the Brittonic, Devon is known as Welsh, Dyfnaint, Breton, Devnent and Cornish, Dewnens, each meaning deep valleys. One erroneous theory is that the suffix is due to a mistake in the making of the original letters patent for the Duke of Devonshire. However, there are references to Defenascire in Anglo-Saxon texts from before 1000 AD, the term Devonshire may have originated around the 8th century, when it changed from Dumnonia to Defenascir. Kents Cavern in Torquay had produced human remains from 30–40,000 years ago, Dartmoor is thought to have been occupied by Mesolithic hunter-gatherer peoples from about 6000 BC. The Romans held the area under occupation for around 350 years. Devon became a frontier between Brittonic and Anglo-Saxon Wessex, and it was absorbed into Wessex by the mid 9th century. This suggests the Anglo-Saxon migration into Devon was limited rather than a movement of people. The border with Cornwall was set by King Æthelstan on the east bank of the River Tamar in 936 AD, the arrival of William of Orange to launch the Glorious Revolution of 1688 took place at Brixham. Devon has produced tin, copper and other metals from ancient times, Devons tin miners enjoyed a substantial degree of independence through Devons Stannary Parliament, which dates back to the 12th century. The last recorded sitting was in 1748, agriculture has been an important industry in Devon since the 19th century
2.
Barnstaple
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Barnstaple /ˈbɑːrnstəbəl/ or /ˈbɑːrnstəpəl/ is the main town of North Devon, England, and possibly the oldest borough in the United Kingdom. It is a former river-port, located at the lowest crossing-point of the River Taw, from the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool, since the merchants claimed that the town had been declared a free borough in Saxon times. This brought great wealth to Barnstaple, whose town centre still preserves a medieval layout, later the town became an importer of Irish wool, but its harbour silted up, and it developed other industries, such as shipbuilding, foundries and sawmills. Its Victorian market survives, with its glass and timber roof on iron columns. Barnstaple railway station is the terminus of a line from Exeter. Since 1974, Barnstaple has been a civil parish governed by town council, the parish itself had a population of 24,033 and including the satellite settlements known as the Barnstaple Town Area, it is 53,514. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete, but is retained by an American county, Barnstaple was formerly referred to as Barum, from a contraction of the Latin form of the name in Latin documents such as the episcopal registers of the Diocese of Exeter. Barum was mentioned by Shakespeare, and the name was revived and popularised in Victorian times, the name Barum is retained in the names of a football team, brewery, and of several local businesses. The former Brannam Pottery works which was sited in Litchdon Street was known for its trademark Barum etched on the base of its products, the earliest settlement in the area was probably at Pilton on the bank of the River Yeo, now a northern suburb of the present town. Barnstaple had its own mint before the Norman Conquest, the large feudal barony of Barnstaple had its caput at Barnstaple Castle. It was granted by William the Conqueror to Geoffrey de Montbray, the barony escheated to the crown in 1095 after Montbray had rebelled against King William II. William re-granted the barony to Juhel de Totnes, formerly feudal baron of Totnes, in about 1107, Juhel, who had already founded Totnes Priory, founded Barnstaple Priory, of the Cluniac order, dedicated to St Mary Magdalene. After Juhels son died without children, the barony was split into two, passing through the de Braose and Tracy families, before being reunited under Henry de Tracy. It then passed through other families, before ending up in the ownership of Margaret Beaufort. See Feudal barony of Barnstaple for full details, in the 1340s the merchants of the town claimed that the rights of a free borough had been granted to them by King Athelstan in a lost charter. Although this was challenged from time to time by subsequent lords of the manor, the towns wealth in the Middle Ages was founded on its being a staple port licensed to export wool. It had a merchant guild, known as the Guild of St. Nicholas. In the early 14th century it was the third richest town in Devon, behind Exeter and Plymouth and its wool trade was further aided by the towns port, from which in 1588 five ships were contributed to the force sent to fight the Spanish Armada
3.
Parson Russell Terrier
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The Parson Russell Terrier is a breed of small white terrier that was the original Fox Terrier of the 18th century. The breed is named after the person credited with the creation of this type of dog and it is the recognised conformation show variety of the Jack Russell Terrier and was first recognised in 1990 in the United Kingdom as the Parson Russell Terrier. In America, it was first recognised as the Jack Russell Terrier in 1997, the name was changed to its current form in 1999 in the UK and by 2008 all international kennel clubs recognised it under the new name. A mostly white breed with either a smooth, rough or broken coat and it is a feisty, energetic terrier, suited to sports and able to get along with children and other animals. It has a range of breed-related health issues, mainly relating to eye disorders and this breed shares a common history with the Jack Russell Terrier until the early 1980s. This type of white terrier dates back to the work of the Reverend John Russell. In 1819 he purchased a white and tan terrier bitch named Trump from a milkman in the hamlet of Elmsford. She formed the basis for his programme, and by the 1850s the dogs were recognised as a distinct type of Fox Terrier. In 1894, the Devon and Somerset Badger Club was founded by Arthur Blake Heinemann who created the first breed standard for this type of terrier, the club was formed with the aim of promoting badger digging, rather than fox hunting. By the turn of the 20th century, the name of John Russell had become associated with type of terrier. The Devon and Somerset Badger Club would go on to be renamed the Parson Jack Russell Terrier Club, the Jack Russell Terrier Club of Great Britain was established in 1974 as the parent club for the Jack Russell Terrier in the UK. The club has actively opposed recognition of the Jack Russell Terrier by Kennel Club, in 1983, the Parson Jack Russell Terrier Club was reformed with the aim of seeking Kennel Club recognition for the breed. The American Kennel Club recognised the breed as the Jack Russell Terrier effective 1 November 1997, on 1 August 1999, the PJRTC successfully petitioned the Kennel Club to change the name of the breed to the Parson Russell Terrier, with the name of the breed club following suit. The international kennel association, the Fédération Cynologique Internationale, recognised the Parson Russell Terrier on 4 June 2001, the American Kennel Club updated the name of the recognised breed from Jack Russell Terrier on 1 April 2003. The United Kennel Club adopted the new name on 23 April 2008, in 2009, there were 18 Parsons registered with the ANKC compared to 1073 Jack Russells. The Parson Russell Terrier is bred to conform to a show standard. Unlike its close relative, the Jack Russell Terrier, Parson Russell Terriers have noticeably longer legs that are about as tall as the length of the Terriers body. It is a predominantly white breed with black, tan or tricolour markings, the breed standard does not recognise a Parson Russell with a curly or rough coat
4.
Parish
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A parish is a church territorial unit constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the care and clerical jurisdiction of a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or more curates. Historically, a parish often covered the same area as a manor. By extension the term refers not only to the territorial unit. In England this church property was technically in ownership of the parish priest ex-officio, the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury Theodore of Tarsus appended the parish structure to the Anglo-Saxon township unit, where it existed, and where minsters catered to the surrounding district. In the wider picture of ecclesiastical polity, a parish comprises a division of a diocese or see, parishes within a diocese may be grouped into a deanery or vicariate forane, overseen by a dean or vicar forane, or in some cases by an archpriest. Some churches of the Anglican Communion have deaneries as units of an archdeaconry, in the Roman Catholic Church, each parish normally has its own parish priest, who has responsibility and canonical authority over the parish. These are called assistant priests, parochial vicars, curates, or, in the United States, associate pastors, each diocese is divided into parishes, each with their own central church called the parish church, where religious services take place. An example is that of personal parishes established in accordance with the 7 July 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum for those attached to the form of the Roman Rite. Most Catholic parishes are part of Latin Rite dioceses, which cover the whole territory of a country. There can also be overlapping parishes of eparchies of Eastern Catholic Churches, the Church of England geographical structure uses the local parish church as its basic unit. The parish system survived the Reformation with the Anglican Churchs secession from Rome remaining largely untouched, Church of England parishes nowadays all lie within one of 44 dioceses divided between the provinces of Canterbury,30 and York,14. A chapelry was a subdivision of a parish in England. It had a status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church. In England civil parishes and their parish councils evolved in the 19th century as ecclesiastical parishes began to be relieved of what became considered to be civic responsibilities. Thus their boundaries began to diverge, the word parish acquired a secular usage. Since 1895, a council elected by public vote or a parish meeting administers a civil parish and is formally recognised as the level of local government below a district council. The parish is also the level of church administration in the Church of Scotland
5.
Church (building)
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A church building, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly worship services. The term in its sense is most often used by Christians to refer to their religious buildings. In traditional Christian architecture, the church is arranged in the shape of a Christian cross. When viewed from plan view the longest part of a cross is represented by the aisle, towers or domes are often added with the intention of directing the eye of the viewer towards the heavens and inspiring church visitors. The earliest identified Christian church was a church founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, a cathedral is a church, usually Roman Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox, housing the seat of a bishop. In standard Greek usage, the word ecclesia was retained to signify both a specific edifice of Christian worship, and the overall community of the faithful. This usage was retained in Latin and the languages derived from Latin, as well as in the Celtic languages. In the Germanic and some Slavic languages, the word kyriak-ós/-ē/-ón was adopted instead, in Old English the sequence of derivation started as cirice, then churche, and eventually church in its current pronunciation. German Kirche, Scottish kirk, Russian церковь, etc. are all similarly derived, according to the New Testament, the earliest Christians did not build church buildings. Instead, they gathered in homes or in Jewish worship places like the Second Temple or synagogues, the earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church, the Dura-Europos church, founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, in addition to being a place of worship, the cathedral or parish church was used by the community in other ways. It could serve as a place for guilds or a hall for banquets. Mystery plays were performed in cathedrals, and cathedrals might also be used for fairs. The church could be used as a place to thresh and store grain, a common architecture for churches is the shape of a cross. These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in the interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, another common feature is the spire, a tall tower on the west end of the church or over the crossing. The Latin word basilica was used to describe a Roman public building
6.
Devon and Somerset Railway
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The Devon and Somerset Railway was a cross-country line that connected Barnstaple in Devon, England to the network of the Bristol and Exeter Railway near Taunton. It was opened in stages between 1871 and 1873 and closed in 1966 and it served a mostly rural area although it carried some through services from east of Taunton to the seaside resort of Ilfracombe. The Act of Parliament that authorised the D&SR received assent on 29 July 1864, eugenius Birch was appointed as Engineer, but he was replaced by Richard Hassard in 1870. The first 7¼ mile section of the line was opened on 8 June 1871, the remaining 35¾ miles to Barnstaple opened on 1 November 1873. The line used its own station at Barnstaple, some distance from the station at Barnstaple Quay The line was built as 7 ft broad gauge. The last broad gauge train ran on 14 May 1881, after which the line was converted to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in standard gauge, in 1884 the Tiverton and North Devon Railway opened from a junction on the D&SR to Tiverton. The Tiverton services started from Dulverton and ran over the D&SR as far as Morebath Junction where they diverged southwards, in 1890 the GWR appointed a Mrs Towns as signalwoman at Morebath Junction. She is the only recorded example of a signalwoman on any railway in Britain in the 19th century, in October 1913 the Railway Magazine reported that she was very proud of her job after 23 years service and hoped to continue indefinitely. Conversion to standard gauge enabled a connection to the London and South Western Railway at Barnstaple and this was opened on 1 June 1887, after which GWR trains ran through to Ilfracombe via Barnstaple and the LSWR. The GWR acquired the Devon and Somerset Railway in 1901, on 1 July 1905 an avoiding line was opened at Barnstaple, which allowed through trains to Ilfracombe to run directly to the LSWR station without having to reverse in the D&SR terminus. During the 1930s the line carried traffic on summer weekends. In 1937 the junction at Norton Fitwarren was modified to allow an easier route from the line. On 1 January 1948 the GWR was nationalised to become part of British Railways, the D&SR station was named Barnstaple Victoria Road from 26 September 1949 to distinguish it from Barnstaple Junction and Barnstaple Town railway stations, the former Southern Railway stations. Victoria Road station closed to passengers on 12 June 1960, after all through trains ran directly to Barnstaple Junction. On 1 October 1966 the last train ran on the line, Victoria Road remained open for traffic, served from Barnstaple Junction. The line featured steep gradients,16.75 miles were at 1 in 60 or steeper, the pillars have been reused for the North Devon Link road. A station was opened at the junction on the line on 1 June 1873. The section from Wiveliscombe to Barnstaple opened on 1 November 1873 with nine new stations, the stations are described here from east to west
7.
Great Western Railway
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The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England, the Midlands, and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835, Goods wagons were painted red but this was later changed to mid-grey. Great Western trains included long-distance express services such as the Flying Dutchman, the Cornish Riviera Express and it also operated many suburban and rural services, some operated by steam railmotors or autotrains. The company pioneered the use of larger, more economic goods wagons than were usual in Britain and it operated a network of road motor routes, was a part of the Railway Air Services, and owned ships, docks and hotels. The Great Western Railway originated from the desire of Bristol merchants to maintain their city as the port of the country. The company was founded at a meeting in Bristol in 1833 and was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1835. Isambard Kingdom Brunel, then aged twenty-nine, was appointed engineer and this was by far Brunels largest contract to date. Firstly, he chose to use a gauge of 7 ft to allow for the possibility of large wheels outside the bodies of the rolling stock which could give smoother running at high speeds. Secondly, he selected a route, north of the Marlborough Downs and this meant the line was not direct from to London to Bristol. From Reading heading west, the line would curve in a northerly sweep back to Bath, the first 22.5 miles of line, from Paddington station in London to Maidenhead Bridge station, opened on 4 June 1838. When Maidenhead Railway Bridge was ready the line was extended to Twyford on 1 July 1839, the cutting was the scene of a railway disaster two years later when a goods train ran into a landslip, ten passengers who were travelling in open trucks were killed. This accident prompted Parliament to pass the 1844 Railway Regulation Act requiring railway companies to provide carriages for passengers. The next section, from Reading to Steventon crossed the Thames twice, a 7. 25-mile extension took the line to Faringdon Road on 20 July 1840. Meanwhile, work had started at the Bristol end of the line, on 17 December 1840, the line from London reached a temporary terminus at Wootton Bassett Road west of Swindon and 80.25 miles from Paddington. The section from Wootton Bassett Road to Chippenham was opened on 31 May 1841, as was Swindon Junction station where the Cheltenham and Great Western Union Railway to Cirencester connected. That was an independent line worked by the GWR, as was the Bristol and Exeter Railway, in 1851, the GWR purchased the Kennet and Avon Canal, which was a competing carrier between London, Reading, Bath and Bristol. The GWR was closely involved with the C&GWUR and the B&ER, the South Wales Railway had opened between Chepstow and Swansea in 1850 and became connected to the GWR by Brunels Chepstow Bridge in 1852. It was completed to Neyland in 1856, where a port was established
8.
Taunton railway station
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Taunton railway station is a junction station on the route from London to Penzance,143 miles west of London Paddington station. It is situated in Taunton, Somerset, England and is operated by Great Western Railway and it is also served by CrossCountry trains and by the West Somerset Railway on special event days and by mainline steam excursions. Originally opened on 1 July 1842 as part of the Bristol and Exeter Railway, isambard Kingdom Brunels original design was for a single-sided station with two platforms, each with their own buildings and train sheds, placed on the south side of the line. A hotel was built between them and the Grand Western Canal, an engine shed was provided at the west end of the station. A series of branches opened in the area during the thirty years. These were the Yeovil branch line, the West Somerset Railway to Watchet, the Chard Branch Line, while none of these branches had a junction in Taunton, the trains were generally run through to Taunton to provide connections. The station was unable to cope with all these trains and passengers. Goods traffic was moved away from the platforms by the opening on 1 November 1896 of a pair of avoiding lines that skirted around the south side of the station behind the old hotel. A larger engine shed was opened in the same year, the platforms were extended again in 1895. Now covering the length of the original single-sided station, they were the longest platforms on the Great Western Railway. New bay platforms were added to handle the trains from the branch lines and this work forced another rebuilding of the station. The train shed was dismantled and new buildings constructed on the up side along with a new platform in the middle of the station. This gave a face for each of the four through lines. Work included a new subway that replaced the old footbridge, the old goods shed was replaced by a two-storey goods warehouse next to the avoiding line, east of the station on 20 February 1932. London trains stopping at Taunton now crossed over to the lines at the London end of the station. The second pair of lines from Cogload were removed in 1986, the goods depot closed for general traffic in 1965, although bulk coal was handled until 1972. The engine shed closed on 1 January 1972, by time it only served as a fueling point for local diesel shunting locomotives. The various branch lines closed during the 1960s and 1970s, so only one bay platform was retained for local trains starting towards Bristol, the island platform was taken out of regular use for a few years, although it could be opened up in an emergency
9.
Tanning (leather)
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Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed, Tanning hide into leather involves a process which permanently alters the protein structure of skin, making it more durable and less susceptible to decomposition, and also possibly coloring it. Before tanning, the skins are unhaired, degreased, desalted and soaked in water over a period of 6 hours to 2 days, historically this process was considered a noxious or odoriferous trade and relegated to the outskirts of town. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, a chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name. The use of a solution was adopted by tanners in the Industrial Revolution. The English word for tanning is from medieval Latin tannāre, deriv. of tannum and this refers to use of the bark of oaks in some kinds of hide preservation. Ancient civilizations used leather for waterskins, bags, harnesses and tack, boats, armour, quivers, scabbards, boots, Tanning was being carried out by the inhabitants of Mehrgarh in India between 7000 and 3300 BC. Around 2500 BC, the Sumerians began using leather, affixed by copper studs, formerly, tanning was considered a noxious or odoriferous trade and relegated to the outskirts of town, amongst the poor. Indeed, tanning by ancient methods is so foul smelling, tanneries are still isolated from those towns today where the old methods are used, Skins typically arrived at the tannery dried stiff and dirty with soil and gore. First, the ancient tanners would soak the skins in water to clean, then they would pound and scour the skin to remove any remaining flesh and fat. Next, the tanner needed to remove the hair from the skin and this was done by either soaking the skin in urine, painting it with an alkaline lime mixture, or simply allowing the skin to putrefy for several months then dipping it in a salt solution. After the hairs were loosened, the tanners scraped them off with a knife, once the hair was removed, the tanners would bate the material by pounding dung into the skin, or soaking the skin in a solution of animal brains. Bating was a process which relied on enzymes produced by bacteria found in the dung. Among the kinds of dung commonly used were those of dogs or pigeons, sometimes, the dung was mixed with water in a large vat, and the prepared skins were kneaded in the dung water until they became supple from bacterial enzyme action, but not too soft. The ancient tanner might use his feet to knead the skins in the dung water. This combination of urine, animal feces, and decaying flesh made ancient tanneries malodorous, children employed as dung gatherers were a common sight in ancient cities. Also common were piss-pots located on street corners, where human urine could be collected for use in tanneries or by washerwomen, historically the actual tanning process used vegetable tanning. In some variations of the process, cedar oil, alum, as the skin was stretched, it would lose moisture and absorb the agent
10.
A361 road
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The A361 is a major road in England and at 195 miles is the longest 3 digit A road in the UK. When first designated in 1922 the A361 ran only from Taunton to Banbury and it was later extended west though Bampton to South Molton, on the route of the former A398, and from South Molton to Barnstaple and Ilfracombe, previously part of the route of the A373. In 1988, when the North Devon Link Road was opened, the old route from Taunton through Bampton to South Molton was downgraded to become the B3227. In the 1970s the route was extended north from Banbury to Daventry providing an A road link from Swindon to the M1 motorway, the road starts in Ilfracombe as part of the towns High Street, and is mostly single carriageway. The road passes through the villages of Knowle and Braunton, before becoming dual carriageway standard at Ashford, from there it passes the towns railway station then merges with the A39 for a short while before splitting back off near Portmore Golf Park. This section is a modern, wide single carriageway trunk road, Tiverton Parkway railway station is situated close to the junction with the motorway in order to give easy rail connections for people driving from north Devon. The road is merged with the A38 from Junction 27 of the M5 until Taunton, the rest of the road, from there to Swindon, is largely county-road class. 1m, making the road impassable. Next, it passes by the towns of Langport and Glastonbury, from there it continues northeast near Cranmore and becomes part of Frome bypass, it then passes through Trowbridge and Devizes towns. It crosses the A4 and here the A361 has been re-numbered the A4361 northwards of Avebury as it heads for Swindon town centre via Wroughton and it emerges near Stratton-St-Margaret – becoming the A361 again at the junction with the A419 which passes north-east of Swindon. This road links Highworth to Lechlade and has no pavement for the entire length apart from a section in Inglesham. It carries traffic at high speeds, the Thames Path National Trail follows the verge for a little over one mile between Upper Inglesham and Inglesham, further north the road crosses the Thames on entering Lechlade, Gloucestershire. From there it continues through Lechlade, Burford and Chipping Norton passing many Oxfordshire villages on its way and it is also the boundary for the Cotswolds AONB at Lechlade. It then enters Banbury from the southwest as a road passing the Banbury Cross, and heading north. For about two miles the route is signed as A422, the dual carriageway Hennef Way until Junction 11 of the M40, from there it heads north-east through the villages of Wardington, Chipping Warden, Byfield, Charwelton, and Badby. Sections of land were purchased in the 1970s after the road was upgraded from the B4038 to the A361 to straighten out some of the sharper corners, the road then multiplexes once more, this time with the A45 just outside Daventry. From Watford Gap to Camelot – A travelog following a section of the A361
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