History of Devon
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History of Devon
Featured Property
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Local Information
Cornwall Misc Links
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Devon was the cornerstone of one of Britain's most significant Celtic Kingdoms (Dumnonia), and retains a significant heritage from those days. Devon's people are predominantly of Celtic stock, with the Celtic language (which also resulted in Cornish) being spoken well into the Dark Ages, and is retained today in place names, dialect, as well as in customs and culture.
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Exeter in Devon has been inhabited for approximately 2000 years through every significant period of English history. Traces of each period are still present today despite a quarter of the City having been destroyed during the Second World War.
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The 7 miles of the railway now known as the South Devon Railway originally ran from Ashburton to Totnes (where it joins the Plymouth to Exeter main line) a distance of some 9 miles. The line had a difficult birth as there were several schemes put forward in the mid 1800's to link the towns of Buckfastleigh and Ashburton to the fast growing railway network.
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The North Devon Clay company, part of WBB Devon Clays, has a continuous history stretching back to the very beginnings of commercial clay mining in Devon, around 1685, while in South Devon, WBB's predecessors can be traced back to 1710.
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| South Devon have existed in south-west England for about 400 years. They are believed to have evolved from the large red cattle of Normandy which were imported to England at the time of the Norman invasion. Over 100 years of selection for performance have given the South Devon its outstanding qualities of beef and maternal characteristics |
