Guildhall, 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 which it earned great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, but its harbour silted up and other trades developed such as shipbuilding, foundries and sawmills. A Victorian market building survives, with a high glass and timber roof on iron columns.

St Peter's Church is the parish church of the town of Barnstaple in North Devon, England. Parts of the church date to the 13th-century with much restoration during the Victorian era by George Gilbert Scott and later by his son John Oldrid Scott which changed the atmosphere of the building, although many fine wall monuments and tablets remain. The church comes under the Diocese of Exeter.

The Dodderidgian Library (Latin: Bibliotheca Doddridgiana) was founded in 1667 in Barnstaple, North Devon, England, by Judith Dodderidge, third wife and widow of John Dodderidge (1610–1659) of Barnstaple and Bremridge, South Molton, MP. It represents one of the earliest town libraries in England which continues in existence since its foundation.

The Voice is a local radio station serving North Devon, and based at studios in Barnstaple. As of September 2023, the station broadcasts to a monthly audience of 25,000, according to RAJAR.

The Queen's Theatre is a theatre in Barnstaple, North Devon, England. It assumed its current form in 1993, but the history of theatre in Barnstaple can be traced back to at least 1435, when minstrels, players, jugglers and buffoons were an established feature of Barnstaple's annual fair. Documents indicate that in 1605 a touring troupe, the King's Players visited, and it is believed that William Shakespeare was one of their members.John Gay, a renowned contributor in the theatre world, best known for the 'Beggar's Opera' was born in Barnstaple. Barnstaple's first theatre was built in Honey Pot Lane (now Theatre Lane) in 1760. By 1832, it had become 'ruinous' and was forced to close. A new theatre, 'The Grecian Hall', opened in 1834. Renamed 'The Theatre Royal' around 1860, it regularly staged popular musicals and musical comedies. By 1880 this too had closed, although performances continued at a large room above the Corn Market (the site of the present theatre) which had served as a music hall since 1854. The 'Theatre Royal' re-opened in 1893 and the music hall, now the 'Albert Hall', in 1897. The two venues operated successfully until just prior to World War I, when the 'Theatre Royal' was demolished. The Albert Hall continued providing musical entertainment until 1941, when it was destroyed by fire, probably from a discarded cigarette. In 1952 the hall was rebuilt (only the outer walls had survived the fire) as The Queen's Hall. Although with a plain and functional interior, it served the Barnstaple community, for a variety of purposes of live entertainment, antique markets, dog shows and similar functions for over forty years. In 1993 the local council decided to fully refurbish the building, reopening as The Queens Theatre. The first production in the new facilities - the pantomime Snow White - opened on Christmas Eve that year. In the summer of 2013 the theatre closed for major backstage refurbishment including a 23 line electric flying system (moving from 17 lines of three line hemp) and an electric orchestra pit. There were also minor improvements for access. The theatre reopened on 14 September. This theatre, along with The Landmark, Ilfracombe is managed by The North Devon Theatres' Trust, a registered charity promoting the arts (including dance, drama, literature, music and singing) in North Devon. On Monday 23 January 2017, it was announced that North Devon Theatres Trust which owns this theatre and The Landmark Theatre in Ilfracombe, had gone into administration. The theatre was bought out of administration and is now run by Parkwood Theatres. The shows started again on 31 May 2017. On Friday 23 November 2018, it was announced that Selladoor Worldwide had been awarded a 10 Year Contract to manage the venue.

Queen Anne's Walk (formerly The Mercantile Exchange) is a grade I listed building in the town of Barnstaple, North Devon, completed in 1713 as a meeting place for the town's merchants. It is believed to have been designed by the architect William Talman, on the basis of its similarity to his work at the Hall in Drayton, Northamptonshire. It was promoted and financed by the thirteen members of the Corporation of Barnstaple whose armorials are sculpted on and above the parapet, and the work was overseen by Robert Incledon (1676–1758), Mayor of Barnstaple in 1712–13. It has been owned for many decades by North Devon District Council, which currently (2014) leases it to Barnstaple Town Council, and now trades as The Cafe on the Strand.

North Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based just outside Barnstaple, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Ilfracombe, Lynton and Lynmouth and South Molton along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The east of the district includes part of the Exmoor National Park, and the district's coast is also recognised for its natural beauty, forming part of the North Devon Coast, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The district borders Torridge to the south-west, Mid Devon to the south-east, and Somerset to the east. The term "North Devon" can also be used to describe a wider geographic area than the local government district, often including neighbouring Torridge District, based in Bideford.

Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon is a local museum covering the history and culture of the North Devon area and which is located in The Square in Barnstaple in Devon. The displays range from prehistoric times to the Victorian era. The building and its garden railings beside the river front have been Grade II listed since 1988.

Barnstaple Long Bridge is a medieval bridge linking Tawstock with Barnstaple in North Devon, England, spanning the River Taw. One of the largest medieval bridges in Britain, it is a Grade I listed building and ancient monument. Another major medieval bridge, the Bideford Long Bridge over the River Torridge, is a few miles away.

Barnstaple Castle stood near what is now the centre of the town of Barnstaple, Devon (grid reference SS557332). When it was built, it was on the western side of the fortified town and commanded a good view of both the town and its important river crossings. The castle was built on top of an early medieval cemetery.

The Albert Clock is a clocktower memorial in Barnstaple in Devon to Albert, Prince Consort, the husband of Queen Victoria. It has been listed Grade II on the National Heritage List for England since 1988. Located in The Square in Barnstaple, the tower was built in 1862 at the suggestion of the then Mayor of Barnstaple, John Norrington, following the death of Prince Albert in the previous year. The tower was paid for by public subscription with some of the money being raised for the provision of a drinking fountain. The original design was for a tower without a clock.At its solemn dedication ceremony in 1862 surrounded by local dignitaries the clock's pendulum was set to swing at 11.00 p.m., the hour Prince Albert had died. At the same time the water started to flow from the fountain. As Mayor Norrington, a teetotaller, stepped forward to take the first drink from the fountain a man threw a cupful of what was found to be gin into the water. Norrington was outraged at this indignity to himself, to the Queen and to the memory of Prince Albert. An investigation revealed that the mystery man was John Baker, the landlord of the Mermaid Inn and a local Tory councillor.Designed by local architect Richard Davie Gould (c1816-1900), the tower is constructed with limestone ashlar with dressings of Devon marble and sandstone together with other local stones and patterned tiles. The tower has an octagonal shaft on a broader octagonal base surmounted with a square and corbelled clock chamber with a clock-dial in each face. The summit consists of a small belfry with a leaded spire and weather-vane. The bell is still inside.The tower's base has a stair doorway on the South side, while on the North side is a water-trough. At the back of the recess is a panel of coloured tiles with a coat of arms in white marble above it. The drinking fountain, given by Sir William Fraser, MP, has been removed. On the East and West sides are pointed arches of moulded red sandstone with above an arch of different coloured local stones. Within the arches are commemorative marble plaques to Prince Albert.The Albert Clock Tower was restored in 2009 with funding from Barnstaple Town Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Pilton Yard, in Barnstaple was, between 1898 and 1935, the main depot and operating centre of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway ('L&B'), a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in north Devon, England. Pilton station was served by regular passenger services advertised between 1898 and 1904 after which only goods facilities were provided. Passengers were catered for at the nearby LSWR station, Barnstaple Town, which provided connections with trains on the standard gauge branch line to Ilfracombe. The L&B's main offices were also based at Pilton, in a building formerly belonging to the Tannery which had earlier occupied the site, and which took over the site after the railway closed. Pilton was the site of the L&B's only turntable. Locomotives always travelled with their boilers facing "down" the line, i.e. towards Lynton (down as it was away from London by rail, although geologically, Lynton was higher, and geographically nearer to London). The turntable was used to turn rolling stock periodically to even-out bearing wear. After closure, the turntable was installed at the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway in Kent, but is now owned by the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust and in storage for eventual restoration and reuse on the new L&B. The carriage sheds, locomotive shed and other remnants of the railway were destroyed in a fire in 1992. Much of the site is now a car park, although there are still signs of its former railway use.