Portal:Devon

The Devon Portal

Devon (/ˈdɛvən/ DEV-ən; historically also known as Devonshire /-ʃɪər, -ʃər/ -⁠sheer, -⁠shər) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west. The city of Plymouth is the largest settlement.

Devon has a varied geography. It contains Dartmoor and part of Exmoor, two upland moors that are the source of most of the county's rivers, including the Taw, Dart, and Exe. The longest river in the county is the Tamar, which forms most of the border with Cornwall and rises in Devon's northwest hills. The southeast coast is part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site, and characterised by tall cliffs that reveal the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous geology of the region. The county gives its name to the Devonian geologic period, which includes the slates and sandstones of the north coast. Dartmoor and Exmoor have been designated national parks, and the county also contains, in whole or in part, five national landscapes. High Willhays (Dartmoor national park) is broadly recognised as the most southernly nuttall/hewitt mountain in the United Kingdom, standing at 621 m/ 2039 ft above sea level.

In the Iron Age, Roman and the Sub-Roman periods, the county was the home of the Dumnonii Celtic Britons. The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the kingdom of Wessex in the eighth and ninth centuries, and the western boundary with Cornwall was set at the Tamar by king Æthelstan in 936. (Full article...)

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The A303 is a trunk road in southern England, running between Basingstoke in Hampshire and Honiton in Devon via Stonehenge. Connecting the M3 and the A30, it is part of one of the main routes from London to Devon and Cornwall. It is a primary A road throughout its length, passing through five counties.

The road has evolved from historical routes, some of which are thousands of years old, including the Harrow Way and the Fosse Way. The modern route was first laid out in the early 19th century as the New Direct Road, a faster coaching route from London to Exeter. It was initially in demand but fell into disuse as railways became popular from the 1840s onwards. It was not thought of as a significant through route when roads were initially numbered, but was revived as a major road in 1933, eventually becoming a trunk road in 1958. Since then, the A303 has gradually been upgraded to modern standards, though there are still several unimproved parts with longstanding plans to fix them.

As a primary route to southwestern England, the A303 is frequently congested on its single carriageway sections. It passes through the Stonehenge World Heritage Site and the Blackdown Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and attempts to upgrade the road in those areas have been controversial. In particular, the Stonehenge tunnel, which would see the A303 rerouted underground, has been proposed and delayed several times. Nevertheless, the road remains a popular alternative to motorway driving. (Full article...)

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The following are images from various Devon-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1The coat of arms of Devon County Council (from Devon)
Image 2From left to right, the 15th-century St Martin's Church, 16th-century Mol's Coffee House and 17th-century Nos 2–5 Cathedral Close (from Exeter)
Image 3Roger Deakins, multi-award-winning cinematographer (from Devon)
Image 4The Mayflower Steps Memorial (from Plymouth)
Image 5Princesshay Shopping Centre (from Exeter)
Image 6Stores on Exeter's High Street in 2014 (from Exeter)
Image 7Grade I listed Town Hall, Column and Library in Devonport (from Plymouth)
Image 8National Armada memorial (Britannia) (from Plymouth)
Image 9Exeter St Davids railway station (from Exeter)
Image 10The Great Hall in the Guildhall (from Plymouth)
Image 11Population pyramid of Plymouth (unitary authority) in 2021 (from Plymouth)
Image 12Saltram House remodelled by the architect Robert Adam (from Plymouth)
Image 13Barnfield Theatre (from Exeter)
Image 14Remains of the medieval Exe Bridge, built around 1200 (from Exeter)
Image 15Siege of Plymouth, 1643 (from Plymouth)
Image 16Plymouth Pavilions, home to the Plymouth City Patriots (from Plymouth)
Image 17A portion of Exeter's city wall, formed of both Roman and medieval stones (from Exeter)
Image 18Prysten House (1498) on Finewell Street is the oldest surviving house in Plymouth, built from local Plymouth limestone and Dartmoor granite (from Plymouth)
Image 19Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay (from Devon)
Image 20Charter map of Sutton harbour and Plymouth in 1540 (from Plymouth)
Image 21Plymouth Sound and Breakwater (from Plymouth)
Image 22Plymouth Drake's Island (1860s–1880s) by Francis Frith (from Plymouth)
Image 23The early Norman gatehouse of Rougemont Castle (from Exeter)
Image 24North-eastward view of Plymouth Sound from Mount Edgcumbe Country Park in Cornwall, with Drake's Island (centre) and, behind it from left to right, the Royal Citadel, the fuel tanks of Cattedown and Mount Batten; in the background are the hills of Dartmoor (from Plymouth)
Image 25The Great Hall and piazza at Streatham Campus, University of Exeter (from Exeter)
Image 26Exeter Canal Basin (from Exeter)
Image 27Black-eyed Sue and Sweet Poll of Plymouth mourning their lovers, who are soon to be transported to Botany Bay, 1792 (from Plymouth)
Image 28The beach at Westward Ho!, North Devon, looking north towards the shared estuary of the rivers Taw and Torridge (from Devon)
Image 29Interior of the Drake Circus shopping centre in 2006 (from Plymouth)
Image 30Naval War Memorial (from Plymouth)
Image 31The New Palace Theatre in 2008 (from Plymouth)
Image 32John Foulston's Town Hall, Column and Library in Devonport (from Plymouth)
Image 33Plymouth the Hoe (postcard c.1920) by A.R. Quinton (from Plymouth)
Image 34Smeaton's Tower (from Plymouth)
Image 35The inner harbour, Brixham, south Devon, at low tide (from Devon)
Image 36Civic Centre, completed 1962, symbolic of the post-war 'Heroic Modernism' of the welfare state; a listed building since 2007 (from Plymouth)
Image 37Sir Francis Drake (from Plymouth)
Image 38Ponies grazing on Exmoor near Brendon, North Devon (from Devon)
Image 39Beckley Point (from Plymouth)
Image 40Plymouth harbour, around 1860 (from Plymouth)
Image 41The East Stand at Sandy Park, the home of the rugby union club Exeter Chiefs (from Exeter)
Image 42The main offices for Exeter City Council at the Civic Centre (from Exeter)
Image 43Plymouth (1860s–1880s) by Francis Frith (from Plymouth)
Image 44Bridge carrying the M5 motorway across the River Exe (from Exeter)
Image 45HMNB Devonport – the largest operational naval base in Western Europe. (from Plymouth)
Image 46The flag of the historic county of Devon (from Devon)
Image 47Geological map of Wales & Southwest England (from Devon)
Image 48Unloading mail by hand from the Sir Francis Drake at Millbay Docks, March 1926 (from Plymouth)
$Image 49Ilfracombe, on the coast of North Devon (from Devon)$
Image 49Ilfracombe, on the coast of North Devon (from Devon)
Image 50Cliffs in Devon (from Devon)

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Little Trowlesworthy Tor on Lee Moor, near Cadover Bridge.

Recently featured: Bigbury sea tractor - Crazywell cross - South Devon Cattle - Dartmoor tors – Plymouth harbour – Westward Ho! beach

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Some of the larger settlements of Devon

See List of places in Devon for more information

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Did you know...

... that Plymouth's lighthouse, Smeaton's Tower (pictured), was dismantled and then rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe as a memorial?
... that Devon is the third largest of the English counties and has a population of 1,109,900?
... that the name Devon derives from the name of the Celtic people who inhabited the southwestern peninsula of Britain at the time of the Roman invasion?
... that Devon was one of the first areas of England settled following the end of the last ice age?
... that the St Nicholas Priory in Exeter is being restored with the same methods that were used 500 years ago?
... that Devon is the only county in England to have two separate coastlines?
... that there was no established coat of arms for Devon until 1926?
... that the English Riviera Geopark in Torbay is the world's only urban Geopark?

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Economy and industry of Devon • Flag of Devon • History of Devon • Notable people from Devon

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v t e Ceremonial county of Devon
Devon Portal
Unitary authorities	Plymouth Torbay
Boroughs or districts	East Devon Exeter Mid Devon North Devon South Hams Teignbridge Torridge West Devon
Major settlements (cities in italics)	Ashburton Axminster Bampton Barnstaple Bideford Bovey Tracey Brixham Buckfastleigh Budleigh Salterton Chagford Chudleigh Chulmleigh Colyton Crediton Cullompton Dartmouth Dawlish Exeter Exmouth Great Torrington Hatherleigh Holsworthy Honiton Ilfracombe Ivybridge Kingsbridge Kingsteignton Lynton Moretonhampstead Newton Abbot North Tawton Northam Okehampton Ottery St Mary Paignton Plymouth Plympton Plymstock Salcombe Seaton Sidmouth South Molton Tavistock Teignmouth Tiverton Topsham Torquay Totnes See also: List of civil parishes in Devon
Rivers	Ashburn Avon Axe Barle Bovey Bray Burn Clyst Creedy Culm Dart East Dart West Dart Erme Exe Heddon Lemon Lew Lumburn Lyd East Lyn West Lyn Meavy Mole Okement East Okement West Okement Otter Plym Sid Swincombe Tamar Tavy Taw Teign Thrushel Torridge Walkham Wallabrooke East Webburn West Webburn Wolf Yealm
Topics	Flag Devon County Council Parliamentary constituencies Economy Places Towns by population SSSIs Country houses Grade I listed buildings Grade II* listed buildings Scheduled monuments Bridges History Schools Museums Lord Lieutenants High Sheriffs Notable people Dartmoor Exmoor South Devon AONB Tamar Valley AONB Jurassic Coast South West Coast Path Two Moors Way North Devon's Biosphere Reserve