Devonshire September October 2018

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Marwood House
Glimpses of Honiton
by Nigel Jones
Pannier Market
1. St Paul's church with Allhallows chapel besides
it, which serves as the town's museum. Built by
Charles Fowler, a Devon native, he's notable for his
Covent Garden Market building, commissioned
for the Duke of Bedford. St Paul's church is said
to be a good example of Victorian Romanesque,
the tower being particularly fine, at 104 feet high,
it's one of the most notable features in this part
of the Otter valley.
2. The river Otter meanders gently through the valley,
passing through Ottery S. Mary, then Tipton
St John, Newton Poppleford, Otterton, before
finally entering the sea at Budleigh Salterton. It's
a lovely river holding many fine trout.
3. Honiton High Street, the church dominating the
skyline. Honiton stands on the Fosse Way, the
Roman road that linked Dorchester (Dvrnovaria)
to Exeter (Isca Dvmnoniorvm), so it'd be true
to say this high street which is notably straight
and long, has been here for nearly 2,000 years.
4. An antique shop - Honiton is something of a
centre for the antique trade. The internet, as
with everything over the last 15 or so years, has
had its effect. There were approximately twenty
dealers at the millennium, now probably about
ten. One dealer told me that about 80-90% of
his sales are now over the internet, although he
said people still like to come over to inspect the
goods pre-sale.
5. The forgotten church - St Michael's church was
built in 1406, built on the hill overlooking Honiton.
Unfortunately, as the settlement increased in
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