Devon (pop. 811,640), a county in the southwest of England, has scenery of great beauty and variety. Tourism is its largest source of employment and is even more important than farming to the county’s economy. Apart from its many seaside resorts, “Glorious Devon,” as the county is often called, is also known for its quiet farms, rolling hills, and winding valleys. It includes the Dartmoor National Park, famous for its granite tors (hills), and part of Exmoor, which has beautiful scenery associated with R. D. Blackmore’s novel Lorna Doone.
Devon covers an area of 2,534 square miles (6,564 square kilometers). Exeter is its administrative center.
People and government
Local customs.
Many Devon towns have annual fairs and other traditional events. In Exeter, the Lammas Fair takes place in July. The “hot pennies” ceremony opens the town fair held at Honiton, also in July. Other well-known events are Widecombe Fair, Torrington May Fair, Tavistock Goosey Fair, and the carnival and tar-barrel rolling ceremony held at Ottery St. Mary.
Local government.
Devon is divided into eight districts: East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, and West Devon. In 1998, Plymouth and Torbay became unitary authorities (separate administrative areas) with all local government powers within their boundaries. Devon County Council, which has headquarters at Exeter, provides some public services throughout the county. The police force is the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary. The crown court meets at Barnstaple, Exeter, and Plymouth.
Economy
Tourism
provides more jobs than any other industry in Devon. The chief seaside resorts lie along the warmer southern coast of the county. They include Torbay (which consists of three resorts—Brixham, Paignton, and Torquay), Teignmouth, Dawlish, Exmouth, Sidmouth, and many smaller towns. The northern coast has fine cliff scenery and beautiful surf. Exeter and Plymouth are also important tourist centers.
Agriculture and fishing.
Farming is Devon’s second most important industry. Much of the farmland is used for grazing cattle and sheep. Large numbers of both sheep and cattle are kept in the county. Two traditional Devon products are cider and cream.
Fishing was important in Devon during the early 1900’s. But today, it is only a small industry.
Manufacturing and mining.
In Plymouth, Devonport, and Stonehouse, many of the workers are employed either in naval dockyards or in shipbuilding. Plymouth also has an electronics factory. Other products manufactured in Devon include carpets and textiles.
Clay is quarried on the edge of Dartmoor. It is also quarried in the Newton Abbot area.
Transportation and communication.
A main rail line from London runs through Exeter and Newton Abbot. Important roads include the M5 motorway, which runs from Exeter to the Midlands, and the A30/303 from London. Other major roads are the A39 in the north of the county and the A38 in the south.
Daily newspapers are published at Exeter and Torquay. The county has many weekly newspapers. Exeter has both an independent local radio station and a BBC local radio station.
Land
Location and size.
Devon is bounded by the Bristol Channel and the Atlantic Ocean on the north, by the counties of Somerset and Dorset on the east, by the English Channel on the south, and by Cornwall Unitary Authority on the west.
Land regions.
The rolling upland of Exmoor, in the north, lies mostly in Somerset. East Devon is mostly hilly, with lighter soils on the hills and deep rich soils in the valleys. The Vale of Exeter includes the low-lying areas of the Exe, Creedy, and Culm rivers. The soils of the Vale of Exeter are mostly red in color and are deep and rich.
The South Hams, which is the southernmost part of the county, consists of a plateaulike area rising to about 400 feet (120 meters). The higher ground is broken by deep, fertile valleys, which have a warm climate. The area is called the Garden of Devon because of its fertility. North of the South Hams, the granite plateau of Dartmoor, with its rolling foothills and thin soils, rises to 2,038 feet (621 meters) at High Willhays. The Tamar Valley is sheltered by Dartmoor on one side and the Cornish moors on the other. On the lower ground, the soil is extremely fertile. West and Mid Devon is the largest single region in the county. The soil is less fertile than in most other regions.
Rivers and lakes.
The two longest rivers, the Tamar and the Exe, flow from north to south into the English Channel. Other important rivers in the county are the Taw and the Torridge. Much of Dartmoor is water-logged, and rivers flow in nearly all directions from the moor to the sea. The chief rivers, apart from the Taw, are the Dart, Plym, and Teign. The largest sheets of water are artificially created reservoirs. The Burrator reservoir provides water for Plymouth.
Climate.
The climate of Devon is tempered by the sea. The winters tend to be mild, and the summers, cool. The average temperature for February, the coldest month, is 41 °F (5 °C) and for August, the hottest month, about 48 °F (16 °C). The average annual rainfall varies from 55 inches (1,400 millimeters) at Princetown, on Dartmoor, to 32 inches (810 millimeters) at Exeter.
History
Devon has been a generally peaceful county, partly because of its remoteness. Exeter was always an important local capital and was once a walled city. Before the Roman occupation, Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum, as it was then called) was the tribal capital of the Celtic kingdom of Dumnonia (see Celts).
Devon has lost its former basic industries of cloth production and mining. But it attracts new residents because of its scenery and mild winters.
Devon is associated with many famous people, such as the painters Nicholas Hilliard, Sir James Millais, and Sir Joshua Reynolds; the sea captains Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh; and the lawyer Henry de Bracton. A noted Christian missionary, St. Boniface, was born in Devon.
A number of eminent writers were born in Devon. They include Richard Hooker, John Gay, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. John Galsworthy, the novelist and dramatist, lived and wrote for many years at Manaton. The writer Henry Williamson lived in Georgeham, North Devon, from the 1920’s until his death in 1977 and is buried in Georgeham Churchyard.
