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Great Torrington Town Hall

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27-464: Great Torrington Town Hall is a municipal building in the High Street, Great Torrington , Devon , England. The town hall, which is the meeting place of Great Torrington Town Council, is a Grade II listed building . The first municipal building in the town was a guildhall which was completed in the 16th century. A soldier from Lancashire , Henry Boose, was found guilty of mutiny and executed outside

54-461: A 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m ) store in the town; however, this was opposed by many locals and the planning application was rejected. Local radio is provided by The Voice , a station based in nearby Barnstaple that broadcasts across North Devon on FM and DAB. Most of the content on the station is locally produced. Local news and television programmes are provided by BBC South West and ITV West Country . Television signals are received from

81-583: A combined foot and cycle path as part of the Tarka Trail . The Tarka Trail continues to Bideford, Barnstaple and on to Braunton in one direction, and to Meeth in the other, making 32 miles (51 km) of traffic free trail. The manor of Great Torrington was granted by Queen Mary to James Basset (1526–1558), MP , a younger son of Sir John Bassett (1462 – 31 Jan 1529) of Umberleigh . James's son Philip Bassett sold it to Sir John Fortescue ( c.  1531 –1607) of Ponsbourne, near Hatfield , Hertfordshire,

108-502: A railway station and locomotive depot in the town. The station was always named 'Torrington', not 'Great Torrington'. The locomotive depot was closed in 1959 and the line was closed to passenger traffic as part of the Beeching Axe . It was closed to goods traffic in 1984. At the site of the old station there is still in 2015 a pub named The Puffing Billy . A few small sections of track remain, but most has been removed and replaced with

135-492: Is also a portrait by Thomas Hudson of John Rolle Walter's brother, Denys Rolle , and a portrait by Sir Thomas Lawrence of Denys Rolle's son, Lord Rolle . Great Torrington Great Torrington (often abbreviated to Torrington , though the villages of Little Torrington and Black Torrington are situated in the same region) is a market town in Devon , England. Parts of it are sited on high ground with steep drops down to

162-493: Is an area of common land which surrounds the town on all but the eastern side. The common is administered by a body called "The Commons Conservators". The Common covers 365 acres (148 ha) and has over 20 miles (32 kilometres) of public rights of way. The landscape features a variety of habitats, flora and fauna. An "area of waste called the Common" was donated to the town in 1194 by the feudal baron of Great Torrington . In 1889,

189-655: Is frequented by Microlight and hang-gliding clubs. The 580-metre (1,902-foot) runway is grass. Exeter Airport 35 miles (56 km) away operates scheduled flights from Shannon Airport , Eire and the Channel Islands. The nearest ferry port is Plymouth 40 miles (64 km) away, at which Brittany Ferries offer a regular service from Roscoff in Brittany. There is a summertime-only ferry service based at Bideford Harbour (7 miles away) to and from Lundy Island . Torrington has no direct train services; Umberleigh (8 miles away)

216-577: Is served by the Brittany Ferries service from Plymouth and is a popular destination for school trips from the area. Torrington is served by 43 local bus services mostly operated by Stagecoach South West. Some only operate one way and a number are weekly only service. Belle Vue Airfield is a single runway airfield about 2.5 miles northeast of Great Torrington in North Devon, England. It is for private aviation only, operating restricted flying hours and

243-639: Is served by the Tarka Line from Exeter St David's. Bus connections are available to and from Barnstaple station (11 miles away). Castle Hill, Torrington There are two hills named Castle Hill within the immediate environs of Great Torrington in Devon , England . The first is within the town and is the site of the Norman and mediaeval castles, but was probably an Iron Age hill fort before this. 50°57′03″N 4°08′37″W  /  50.9509°N 4.1436°W  / 50.9509; -4.1436 The second

270-600: The Bluecoat School in Torrington The fountain and clock in the square were given in 1870 by Mark Rolle (1835–1907) A number of family portraits were given to the town by the heirs of Mark Rolle, some of which remain on display in the Great Torrington Town Hall, some of the more valuable ones having been sold, including a portrait of John Rolle Walter (c.1714–1779) by Pompeo Batoni . Torrington Common

297-643: The River Torridge below, with the lower-lying parts of the town prone to occasional flooding . Torrington is in the centre of Tarka Country, a landscape captured by Henry Williamson in his novel Tarka the Otter in 1927. Great Torrington has one of the most active volunteering communities in the United Kingdom. In July 2019, Great Torrington was reported to be the healthiest place to live in Britain. Researchers from

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324-756: The University of Liverpool found that the area had low levels of pollution, good access to green space and health services, along with few retail outlets. There were Iron Age and medieval castles and forts in Torrington, located on the Castle Hill . Great Torrington had strategic significance in the English Civil War . In the Battle of Torrington (1646), the Parliamentarians , led by Sir Thomas Fairfax , swept into

351-432: The neoclassical style , built in red brick with stone dressings and was completed in 1861. The design involved a symmetrical main frontage with five bays facing onto the High Street; the ground floor was rusticated with large round headed openings with keystones . The central section of three bays, which was projected forward, featured sash windows with architraves and pediments on the first floor. The central section

378-806: The Commoners of Great Torrington and the Owners of the Rolle Estate and for other purposes". The Rolle Estate was the largest landowner in Devon, having been built up by the Rolle family of Stevenstone . Since 2 October 1889 the Conservators have met regularly to fulfil their remit to manage the land. Early activity was mainly concerned with control over the grazing and quarrying of the common, but since 1980 grazing has stopped and instead various techniques have taken its place to prevent

405-460: The borough records were destroyed in a serious fire in the guildhall in July 1724. After a foundation stone had been laid by the town recorder and local land-owner, John Rolle Walter , the aging guildhall was substantially rebuilt in 1761. By the mid-19th century, the guildhall had again become very dilapidated and the borough leaders decided to replace the building again. The new structure was designed in

432-471: The common from reverting to scrub and woodland. There has been building development on the commons which some locals oppose. Attractions in Great Torrington include: Torrington has long been a factory town. In the nineteenth century it was a centre of the glove making industry. The major employer today is Dartington Crystal , but the shops in the town centre also provide a source of employment. Most of

459-655: The eldest son of Sir Adrian Fortescue (1476–1539), descended from Richard Fortescue, younger brother of Henry Fortescue ( fl. 1426), Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in Ireland and of Sir John Fortescue (ca. 1394–1480), Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales . Denys Rolle (1614–1638) of nearby Stevenstone in the parish of St Giles in the Wood , acquired the lordship of the manor of Great Torrington from his descendant Sir William Fortescue. Denys Rolle (1614–1638) founded

486-506: The guildhall on the orders of the Royalist commander, Lord Goring , in July 1645 during the English Civil War . After St Michael's Parish Church was blown up by parliamentary forces in the aftermath of their victory at the Battle of Torrington in February 1646, the chaplain to the parliamentary forces, Hugh Peters, preached from the balcony of the guildhall to the people of the town. Most of

513-558: The meeting place of Great Torrington Town Council. A portrait by Pompeo Batoni of John Rolle Walter was sold to raise funds for building repairs in November 2008. An eleven-year refurbishment of the town hall, which included the complete redecoration of the building, was initiated at that time and was finally completed in April 2019. Works of art in the town hall include portraits by Godfrey Kneller of King James II and of Queen Mary II . There

540-644: The nearby Huntshaw Cross TV transmitter situated north east of the town. BBC Local Radio station that broadcast to the town is BBC Radio Devon on 94.8 FM. The regional radio station Heart West can be received in the town on FM and DAB. The station is a part of the Heart network and broadcasts across the South West of England. Most of the shows broadcast are national shows from the Heart London studios, rather than region-specific ones. Region-specific content includes

567-593: The rights to this land were transferred by an act of parliament to an elected "Committee of Conservators". The bill was subject of a local poll, as the document now at Devon Record Office evidences: Poll of inhabitants on "A Bill for Vesting the Management of Great Torrington Common, Castle Hill Common and other lands in the Borough of Great Torrington in the County of Devon in a Body of Conservators and to settle questions between

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594-438: The shops are locally owned; however, there are branches of The Co-operative Food , Lidl , Spar and Lloyds Pharmacy . Large factories have deserted the town in recent years including the meat factory after a fire, and the milk factory which also caught fire has moved its production elsewhere. Various converted and purpose-built care homes in the town also provide a significant source of employment. In 2006, Tesco sought to open

621-505: The town and defeated Lord Hopton 's forces. This marked the end of Royalist resistance in the West Country . Today the town is recognised as an important heritage centre for the history of the 17th century, and its people can often be seen dressed in costume for historical re-enactments , festivals and celebrations . An interactive Civil War Experience, "Torrington 1646", marks the town's historically important role. The Torrington jail

648-649: The weekday Drivetime show produced in Bristol , and local advertising. The local newspaper is the North Devon Journal also based in Barnstaple. The Western Morning News is a regional paper widely available. Most households receive a copy of the North Devon Gazette every week. The Crier is the community newsletter and diary delivered free to most households in the town and surrounding area for ten months of

675-542: The year. Torrington's football teams are Torrington F.C. and Torridgeside A.F.C. There are also rugby, netball, tennis and swimming teams. Torrington nine-hole Golf Course is 1.2 miles (2 km) northwest of the town centre. Great Torrington Bowling Club, established in 1645, is the third oldest bowling club in England. Great Torrington is twinned with the French port town of Roscoff , situated in northern Brittany. Roscoff

702-606: Was not big enough for more than one man so the Royalists kept all the Parliamentarian prisoners in the church. Then 70 barrels of gunpowder exploded and killed everyone held captive and many of their captors. Great Torrington Town Hall , a neoclassical style building, was completed in 1861. The branch line from Barnstaple to Bideford was extended to Great Torrington in July 1872 by the London and South Western Railway , which built

729-452: Was surmounted by a modillioned pediment, with a cartouche in the tympanum . Internally, the principal room was the council chamber which was lined with panelling from a local public house. The town hall was used as a magistrates' court until 1968 and as the meeting place of the borough council until 1974: it ceased to be the local seat of government on the formation of the enlarged Torridge District Council at that time and instead became

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