Tiverton

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Tiverton is an old town with a rich history. While it is not comprehensively picturesque, it can reward the history-hunter with many small and large details of its thousand-year story. Tiverton is sited near the junction of the Rivers Exe and Lowman, in the Collipriest suburb on the southern boundary. The two fords across these rivers provided the early name Two-ford ("Twi-ford") Town. In your travels, you may notice this name recurring, such as in the (commendable) Twyford Inn at the top of Bampton Street.

Traces of primitive Iron Age Castles have been found within a few miles radius (Cadbury, Cranmore, Huntsham). A Roman fort (AD 50.) was discovered at Knightshayes, Bolham (one mile north of Tiverton), and a model of this can be seen in Tiverton Museum.

The royal will of King Alfred in AD 899 bequeaths the land at Collumpton and at Twyfyrde to his son, Ethelweard. The defeat of Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 brought the armies of William of Normandy to the lands of Wessex. The Domesday inventory of 1086 assesses the status of Tovretone, and documents the gradual transfer of property from the deposed royal family of Harold to the Norman conquerors.

The invaders' grasp of the region was precarious at best. To help enforce his rule, Henry I (son of William of Normandy) commanded the construction of Tiverton Castle (date >1100) high above the River Exe by Richard de Redvers. This site commands an excellent view with its steep western banks, and is believed previously to have had a Saxon fort which belonged to the mother of King Harold. Some parts of Tiverton castle have been lost, but it is still inhabited, and is open to visitors during summer months - it is just a few minutes' walk north from the Town Centre.

Next door to the Castle is St Peters church. A single doorway of this dates from Norman times, having a characteristic zigzag carving around an archway.

In the following centuries, Tiverton was held in a feudal grip. The families of de Redvers (who had built the castle) and the Courtenays, (who later owned it) controlled the town. The Courtenays had strong royal links, and were involved in battles further abroad. In turn, they encouraged the European travels of Tiverton merchants who might otherwise have remained close to home.


Tiverton had the magic ingredients for success: Water power from the River Exe, easy access to ports in Dartmouth and Exeter, and the introduction of Flemish weavers by Edward III around 1350 allowed Tiverton to develop from from simply being a go-between trader, into an early "industrial" centre. Wool from many parts of Devon, as well as Wales and Ireland, was brought to Tiverton to make into cloth, for sale in London and abroad. The town became famous for a fine woollen cloth called "Tiverton Kersey", and acquired a propserity which was remarked by several writers, including Daniel Defoe. The legacy of this properity has given the town the character which we see today. Throughout the centuries, many of Tiverton's wealthiest town citizens gave generously for public works: church buildings, almshouses for the poor, and schools.

A key player was John Greenway (1460-1529). His name can still be seen in places around the town, such as the almshouse in Gold Street and many decorations in St Peter's church. Greenway became a member of the Draper's guild in London which was necessary for trading in cloth. In Tiverton, unlike other towns, production was not controlled by guilds. The traders bought and distributed wool for preparation by cottage-based weavers, then finished the job and packed the items in their mills. By 1482, Greenway started having his own ships built in Dartmouth for trade with Holland, France, Ireland and Spain.

Another successful clothier was John Waldron (1520-1597). Like John Greenway, he left his visible mark on the town by constructions in churches and chapels, and by good works for the poor, such as the tiny almshouses in the Tiverton suburb of West Exe. These tiny residences have a lovely arcade, along which you can read an inscription: "Depart thy goods whyl thou hast time, after thy deathe they are not thyne". Evidently Waldron was one of those wealthy merchants whose pangs of piety increased in later years.

Prosperity in the town improved until troubled times at the end of the 16th century. The region was taxed and goods confiscated to support the armies and navies in the Spanish Wars, including the defeat of the Spanish Armada off Plymouth in 1588. A plague of 1591 and a huge fire in 1598 spelled catastrophe for lives and property. Years of rebuilding followed, until the fire of 1612 which demolished almost the entire town. As in 1598, the fire spread quickly amongst the thatched roofs so closely packed in the town, leaving unscathed only the largest structures such as the churches and Tiverton castle, plus a few other lucky buildings.

The rebuilding effort was financed by a royal appeal for donations. With the "new-look" Tiverton, in 1615 King James I granted borough status to the town, including a Mayor and councillors and parliamentary representation, for "the better ordering of the town". It was thought that further disasters could be avoided if the town took better charge of its own affairs.


n the mid 17th century, dramatic events swept over the town. Ironically, soon after the town gained a parliamentary presence, King Charles I dismissed Parliament, insisting that he ruled by the "divine right of kings", showing huge disdain for the populace. In the 1640's, Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), led the armed forces (called "Roundheads" after their distinctive helmets) to eventual victory against the King's "Cavaliers" (from the French word chevalier or horseman).

From the outset, Tiverton demonstrated no great commitment to either side. A contingent of the King's soldiers took over the town in 1643, to enforce a stronger support against Cromwell. Hostility over the heavy-handed tactics erupted amongst the townspeople who stoned the soldiers; as a show of force, the soldiers selected one John Locke who was hanged outside the White Horse pub, (which still exists in Gold Street).

Waves of fighting ebbed and flowed across the country. Tiverton was temporarily occupied by Cromwell's forces from 1644, until regained by the king's army. Tables were turned a year later. Cromwell's General Fairfax moved through Devon towards Plymouth, which was under siege by the Royalists. Unwilling to have the King's garrison at Tiverton behind him, Fairfax laid siege to the army stronghold in Tiverton castle. After some weeks, a lucky shot by the Parliamentarians broke through the chain of the drawbridge, opening the castle to Cromwell's soldiers. Parts of the castle were destroyed in the rout, thereby forever ending it's military role.

Cromwell ruled England from 1653 to 1658. He had an iron will and proved to be a great, self-taught military genius, his forces losing no major battles during the war. Cromwell's rule proved to be fiercely puritannical. Religious festivities were circumscribed. Ex-Royalist supporters were rooted out and punished. The Cromwell Charter of 1655, now on display in Tiverton Museum, decreed that Market Day should be moved from Monday to Tuesday, to avoid the disturbance of the Sabbath by the preparations of the market traders.

Despite the religious upheavals, Tiverton flourished in subsequent decades. The wealthiest in the town contributed to public works, such as the schools built and financed by John Newte, where children received free education - and this was still 150 years before state-financed eductaion became the rule. In 1604, another rich merchant, Peter Blundell, made enough money to start the school in his own name and which still flourishes. The Old Blundell's School is now in the care of the National Trust, and it's forecourt is usually open to visitors. One ex-Blundell boy was the writer R D Blackmore - in Lorna Doone he used the Blundell triangular lawn as the stage for a fight between John Ridd and Robin Snell.

Towards the middle of the 18th century, the Yorkshire woollen industry caught up with Tiverton in manufacturing skills, threatening the town's pre-eminence. In 1731, another huge fire destroyed swathes of property. In the rebuilding effort, a long overdue edict forbade the use of thatch roofs, in favour of less incendiary slates and tiles. Such hard times fuelled public dissent against the closed-circle of town burghers who alone maintained the right to elect members of parliament. The historian Hoskins called Tiverton "one of the rottenest boroughs in England". When the mayor refused the election of the townspeople's representative in 1765, riots erupted, destroying the mayor's personal property and the water supply to his factories.


The war against Napoleon in the early 1800's required taxes to pay for it, and the military presence in the town raised prices and caused hardship. Competition in textile manufacturing from the North of England, and loss of European markets to homegrown suppliers made life even more unpleasant. Then, in 1816, came a stroke of luck with the arrival of John Heathcoat, a lace manufacturer from Leicestershire, and the inventor of the bobbinet lace machine. His Loughborough factory had been destroyed by Luddites. He salvaged what machinery and workers he could, and moved into the factory on the north side of town, which even today is the single biggest employer in Tiverton.

Heathcoat found a willing workforce and convenient source of water- power, and developed some landmark innovations of his own design. He was also a benevolent employer by the standards of the time, with fair treatment of his workers. He continued a long Tiverton tradition of investment in public works, such as the building, in 1843, of a public school. He insisted that his school was to cater for children regardless of their religious background - it now serves as a retail outlet for the adjacent factory.

The demands of the town for parliamentary representation were eventually granted, in 1832, when John Heathcoat himself was elected as MP. In 1835 he was joined by Lord Palmerston. They became an unlikely but popular combination - Heathcoat was a self-made man, whereas Palmerston came from the upper classes. Palmerston served with distinction as a British foreign secretary from 1830 and as Prime Minister from 1855.


The 19th century saw the construction of many large buildings which remain significant today. The present site of the imposing Blundell's school, on the eastern edge of Tiverton, was adopted in 1882. In 1832, in St Peters Street was built the church now known as the United Reform Church, and just across the square can be seen the town hall, built in 1864, and now including the public library. Meanwhile, just north of the town, in Bolham, John Heathcoat Amory (the grandson of the original Heathcoat) was building the very grand Knightshayes Court. The house was pressed into service as a Red Cross hospital during the First World War and it was also adopted the US Air Force in the Second World War. Knightshayes is now owned by the National Trust; it has recently completed a 16-year renovation and well worth a visit : either explore the house, have a small stroll around the formal gardens, or a more energetic walk around the whole grounds.

The First and Second World Wars took their share of young men from Tiverton, attested by the various memorials around the town and in St Peters church. Local farming was not flourishing. The Second World War brought a manufacturing boost to Heathcoats factory. It had been destroyed by a fire in 1936, but rebuilt, and adapted to make not only textiles (parachutes, camouflage and mosquito nets) but also "hard" items such as engine parts and bombs. With Britain's renewed dependence on home-grown food, Heathcoats also built some farming machinery.

Tiverton in the present day is a much more diverse town. Heathcoats is still the single biggest employer after all these years, but the unhealthy dependence of the town on a single source of income has been eroded. With a direct rail connection to London from Tiverton Parkway, the North Devon Link Road and the M5 motorway, many townspeople can work elsewhere, and of course many people from outside the town come to work here. Fore Street in the town centre is pedestrianised, contributing to a pleasant and bustling atmosphere.


For an excellent discussion and illustrations of the history of Tiverton, we can recommend Tiverton and the Exe Valley by Mary de la Mahotière, (1990, pub. Phillimore, ISBN 0 85033 738 0). We are indebted to her book for much of the information on this page.

For a walking tour of the town's historical sites, visit the Tourist Information Centre in Phoenix Lane (near the bus station) and pick up the excellent leaflet "Tiverton Town Trail". Or, if you plan to stay a little longer, look out for one of the "Circular Walks" booklets by the well-known local foot-slogger and history expert Ken Dives - you'll find these at either Tiverton Book Shop, Ottakers or WHSmith.

For historical artefacts you are well-advised to visit Tiverton Museum, down St Andrews street. This is a large, award-winning museum, normally open 10:30 - 16:00 Monday-Saturday.... except it's closed for renovation during most of 2000!