Great Torrington, Devon

Description
Torrington or Great Torrington, a town and a parish in Devonshire. The town stands on the river Torridge, with a station on the L. & S.W.R., 226 miles from London, and 6 1/4 SSE of Bideford. It was anciently called Cheping or Chepan Toriton; belonged to Editha the mother of Harold, passed to Richard de Merton, acquired in his time (about 1340) a castle which is now extinct (only a mound, the site of the old keep, remains together with traces of the ditch round the castle), went in the time of Mary to the Bassets. In 1484 it was the scene of the trial of Bishop Courtenay for treason. In 1590 the county assizes were held here on account of the plague at Exeter. It was garrisoned in 1643 for Charles I., suffered capture by Fairfax after a severe action in 1646, when the church was blown up by gunpowder stored there. It sent members to Parliament from the time of Edward I. till that of Henry VI., was made a municipal borough, by Mary, is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen, and 12 councillors, who act as the urban district council; gave the title of Earl in 1660 to General Monk, the same title in 1669 to Admiral Herbert, and the title of Viscount in 1720 to George Byng. In 1724 a fire occurred in which the town records were burned. The town is situated on an eminence commanding delightful views; contains many old-fashioned houses, and several handsome residences, is a seat of petty sessions and county courts, and has a head post office, three banks, several inns, a guildhall, a market-hall, subscription reading-rooms, a free institute, a drinking fountain erected in 1870, a column commemorative of the battle of Waterloo, an endowed school, and a workhouse. The church is a large building of stone in the Decorated style, with an embattled western tower and lofty spire. The building has been well restored and contains some memorial windows and monuments. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter; gross value, £419 with residence. Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church, Oxford, There are Wesleyan, Congregational, Baptist, and Bible Christian chapels. The town-hall is a structure of brick, rebuilt in 1860. A weekly market is held on Saturday in a recently erected cattle market, a cattle sale on the last Saturday in every month, and annual fairs on the first Thursday and two following days in May, and the second Thursday and two following days in October. The manufacture of silk gloves is largely carried on; there are also flour mills and a leather dressing establishment. A public recreation ground has been laid out at the west end of the town. Area of the municipal borough, 3592 acres; population, 3436. The ecclesiastical parish is coextensive with the borough.