Ashburton, Devon

Infobox UK place
static_

static_image_caption=West Street in Ashburton
country= England
region= South West England
shire_county= Devon
shire_district= Teignbridge
civil_parish= Ashburton
official_name= Ashburton
population= 3,909 (2001 UK Census) [cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=3&b=793742&c=Ashburton&d=16&e=15&g=437316&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1211997508015&enc=1&dsFamilyId=779|title=Parish Headcounts|work=The Office for National Statistics|accessdate=2008-05-28]
os_grid_reference= SX756698
latitude= 50.517
longitude= -3.751
post_town= NEWTON ABBOT
postcode_area= TQ
postcode_district= TQ13
dial_code= 01364
constituency_westminster= Totnes

Ashburton is a small town on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon, adjacent to the A38 Devon Expressway.

It was formerly important as a stannary town (a centre for the administration of tin-mining), and remains the largest town within the National Park, with a population of around 3,500. Ashburton has six pubs within the centre of town, and two restaurants.

History

The name is recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) as "Essebretone". During the English Civil War, Ashburton was a temporary refuge for Royalist troops fleeing after their defeat by General Fairfax at nearby Bovey Tracey.

The town was the terminus of the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway that opened on 1 May 1872. Ashburton railway station closed to passengers in November 1958 although goods traffic on the line continued until 7 September 1962.

Ashburton Carnival is one of the oldest, possibly the oldest, surviving in Devon. Written records date it back to 1891, but it is believed to have been started in the mid 1880s to raise funds for a new hospital.

Politics

Ashburton was the first place to elect a candidate of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party to public office. The candidate was Alan Hope, a local publican, who was elected unopposed to Ashburton Town Council in 1989. He subsequently became Deputy Mayor and later Mayor of Ashburton.

The town is one of a few to still nominally appoint a Portreeve or 'port warden'. Others are Beccles, Callington (where the name is given to the council chairman), Cheevel, and Yeovil.

Architecture

The fifteenth century church tower features sculptures by Herbert Read, who also carved the oak reredos. The porch is partly Norman.

References

External links

* [http://www.ashburton.org/ Official town website]
* [http://dmoz.org/Regional/Europe/United_Kingdom/England/Devon/Ashburton/ Ashburton (DMOZ.org)]