Pilton, Devon

Pilton
Pilton is located in Devon
Pilton
Pilton
Location within Devon
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
List of places
UK
England
Devon
51°05′20″N 4°03′47″W / 51.089°N 4.063°W / 51.089; -4.063
18th century view of Pilton (left) and Barnstaple (right), divided by the small River Yeo, flowing into the broad River Taw (foreground). Left: St Mary's Church, Pilton; Pilton Bridge over the River Yeo. The centrally placed crenellated white mansion house appears to represent Pilton House, built in 1746. Right: St Peter's Church, Barnstaple, with spire; Barnstaple Long Bridge over River Taw. Undocumented[1] 18th century (?) oil painting now in the Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon
Bull Hill, Pilton
Bridge over River Yeo at northern end of Pilton Causeway linking towns of Barnstaple and Pilton. Built originally by Sir John Stowford
Pilton Causeway, looking towards Barnstaple. Here it crosses the tip of the last surviving meander in the River Yeo. Built originally by Sir John Stowford

Pilton is a suburb of the town of Barnstaple, it is located about quarter of a mile north of the town centre, in the civil parish of Barnstaple, in the North Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It was formerly a separate village. The civil parish of Pilton West covers the more rural parts of the ancient parish of Pilton that have not been incorporated into the town of Barnstaple. In 2009, the Pilton (Barnstaple) ward had a population of 4,239 living in some 1,959 dwellings.[2] It has its own infants and junior school, houses one of Barnstaple's larger secondary schools, and one of Barnstaple's SEN specialist schools. North Devon Hospital is also within West Pilton parish. It has a Church Hall, two public houses, two hotels, and residential homes. It has residential estates of both private and public housing including flats. It also has a historic Church that dates back to at least the 11th Century.

It was once separated from the adjacent town of Barnstaple by the River Yeo.[3] Sir John Stowford (born c.1290[4] died c.1372[5]) of Stowford, West Down. Chief Baron of the Exchequer[6] built Pilton Causeway which links the town of Barnstaple and village of Pilton, which were then separated by the treacherous marshy ground in which flowed the tidal meanders of the small River Yeo. It is recounted by John Prince (1643–1723), that Stowford decided on building the causeway when on his way from his home at Stowford, north of Pilton, to Barnstaple, he met whilst fording the Yeo the drowned bodies of a woman with her child.[7] He is also believed to have contributed to the financing of the long-bridge in Barnstaple.[8]

  1. ^ Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon has no information, whether regarding provenance, date, or subject matter, on this very large painting hanging on the wall of the first floor, which dominates the staircase of the museum building in Barnstaple
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ Reed, p.3
  4. ^ Prince, p.727
  5. ^ Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954), p.390
  6. ^ Prince: "Lord Chief Baron"
  7. ^ Prince, John, (1643–1723) The Worthies of Devon, 1810 edition , p.728
  8. ^ Prince, p.728