Totnes has a long
recorded history, dating back to AD 907 when its first castle was built; it was already an important market town by the 12th century. Indications of its former wealth and importance are given by the number of merchants' houses built in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Today, the town is a thriving centre for music, art, theatre and natural health. It has a sizeable alternative and "New Age" community, and is known as a place where one can live a bohemian lifestyle.[1] Twoelectoral wards mention Totnes (Bridgetown and Town). Their combined populations at the 2011 census was 8,076.[2][3]
History
Ancient and medieval history
According to the
Historia Regum Britanniae written by
Geoffrey of Monmouth in around 1136, "the coast of Totnes" was where
Brutus of Troy, the mythical founder of Britain, first came ashore on the island.
[4] Set into the pavement of Fore Street is the 'Brutus Stone', a small granite boulder
[5] onto which, according to local legend, Brutus first stepped from his ship. As he did so, he was supposed to have declaimed:
[6]
Here I stand and here I rest. And this town shall be called Totnes.
The stone is far above the highest tides and the tradition is not likely to be of great antiquity, being first mentioned in
John Prince's Worthies of Devon in 1697.
[6] It is possible that the stone was originally the one from which the
town crier, or
bruitercalled his
bruit or news; or it may be
le Brodestone, a boundary stone mentioned in several 15th century disputes: its last-known position in 1471 was below the East Gate.
[6]
Also according to the
Historia, Ambrosius Aurelius and his brother
Uther Pendragonlanded at Totnes to win back the throne of Britain from the usurper
Vortigern.
Despite this legendary history, the first authenticated history of Totnes is in AD 907, when it was fortified by King
Edward the Elder as part of the defensive ring of
burhsbuilt around Devon, replacing one built a few years earlier at nearby Halwell.
[7] The site was chosen because it was on an ancient trackway which forded the river at low tide.
[7] Between the reigns of
Edgar and
William II (959–1100) Totnes intermittently
minted coins.
[8] Some time between the Norman Conquest and the compilation of the Domesday Book, William the Conqueror granted the burh to
Juhel of Totnes, who was probably responsible for the first construction of the castle. Juhel did not retain his lordship for long, however, as he was deprived of his lands in 1088 or 1089, for rebelling against William II.
[8]
The Brutus Stone in Fore Street
The name
Totnes (first recorded in AD 979) comes from the
Old English personal name
Totta and
ness or headland.
[9]Before reclamation and development, the low-lying areas around this hill were largely marsh or tidal wetland, giving the hill much more the appearance of a "ness" than today.
By the 12th century, Totnes was already an important market town, due to its position on one of the main roads of the South West, in conjunction with its easy access to its
hinterland and the easy navigation of the River Dart.
[10]
Modern history
Governance
Totnes'
borough charter was granted by
King John, probably around 1206; at any rate, the 800th anniversary of the charter was celebrated in 2006. Totnes lost its borough status in local government reorganisation in 1974. Totnes was served by Totnes electoral borough from 1295 until the reform act of 1867, but was restored by the 1884 Franchise Act. The constituency of Totnes was abolished a second time in 1983, and formed part of the
South Hams constituency until 1997, when it was restored as the
Totnes county constituency: as such it returns one
MP to Parliament. In August 2009, Totnes became the first constituency to select the
Conservative PPC through an
open primary that was
organised by the local Conservative Association. Current
MP,
Dr Sarah Wollaston, won the
Totnes primary in August 2009, and went on to be elected to Parliament at the
2010 general election. In 2009, Totnes Rural was the only county division in
Devon to
elect a
Green councillor.
[13]
Totnes has a mayor who is elected by the sixteen town councillors each year.
[14]Follaton House, on the outskirts of the town, is the headquarters of the
South HamsDistrict Council.
[15] The town is twinned with the French town of
Vire,
[16] after which Vire Island on the River Dart near the "Plains" is named. There is also a local longstanding joke that Totnes is twinned with the fantasy land of
Narnia.
[17]
Geography
The River Dart at Totnes
The town is built on a hill rising from the west bank of the
River Dart, which separates Totnes from the suburb of
Bridgetown. It is at the lowest bridging point of the river which here is tidal and forms a winding estuary down to the sea at
Dartmouth. The river continues to be tidal for about 1 mile (1.6 km) above the town, until it meets Totnes
Weir, built in the 17th century.
Today there are two road bridges, a railway bridge and a footbridge over the river in the town. Totnes Bridge is the nearest bridge to the sea and is a road bridge built in 1826–28 by Charles Fowler.
[18] At low tide the foundations of the previous stone bridge are visible just upstream—it was probably built in the early 13th century and widened in 1692. Before the first stone bridge was built there was almost certainly a wooden bridge here, and a tidal ford for heavy vehicles was just downstream.
[19] In 1982 a new concrete bridge was built about 1,000 feet (300 m) upstream as part of the Totnes inner relief road. Its name, Brutus Bridge, was chosen by the local residents.
[20] A further 0.5 miles (0.80 km) upstream, the railway bridge carries the
National Rail Exeter to Plymouth line over the river. Immediately upstream of the railway bridge is a footbridge, built in 1993 to provide access to the
Totnes (Littlehempston) terminus of the
South Devon Railway.
[21]
Economy
Totnes has attracted a sizeable "alternative" community, and the town is known as a place where one can live a "New Age" lifestyle.[22][23] There are a number of facilities for artists, painters and musicians, and there is a twice-weekly market offering antiques, musical instruments, second-hand books, handmade clothing from across the world, and local organically produced products. In 2007, Time magazine declared Totnes the capital of new age chic. In 2008, Highlife, the British Airways magazine, declared it one of the world's Top 10 Funky Towns.
In March 2007 Totnes was the first town in Britain to introduce its own local alternative currency, the Totnes pound, to support the local economy of the town.[24] Fourteen months later, 70 businesses within the town were trading in the "Totnes Pound," accepting them as payment and offering them to shoppers as change from their purchases.[24] The initiative is part of the Transition Towns concept, which was pioneered by Rob Hopkins, who had recently moved to Totnes.[25]
Emphasising the town's continuing history of boatbuilding, between 1998 and 2001
Pete Goss built his revolutionary but ill-fated 120-foot
Team Philips catamaran there.
[26]
Landmarks
St Mary's Church
The
Norman motte-and-bailey Totnes Castle, now owned by
English Heritage, was built during the reign of
William I, probably by
Juhel of Totnes.
[18] The late medieval church of St Mary with its 120 feet (37 m) high west tower, visible from afar, is built of rich red Devonian sandstone.
[18] A prominent feature of the town is the Eastgate—an arch spanning the middle of the main street. This
Elizabethan entrance to the walled town was destroyed in a fire in September 1990, but was rebuilt.
[29]
The Butterwalk
The ancient
Leechwell, so named because of the supposed medicinal properties of its water, and apparently where lepers once came to wash, still provides fresh water. The Butterwalk is a
Tudor covered walkway that was built to protect the dairy products once sold here from the sun and rain.
[30] Totnes Elizabethan House Museum is in one of the many authentic
Elizabethan merchant's houses in the town, built around 1575.
[31]
Transport
Education
Notable people
A plaque commemorating Sean O'Casey's residence in Totnes.
Notable people from Totnes include:
- Pegaret Anthony, World War II artist, was born in the town in 1915
- Charles Babbage had a strong family connection with the town and returned to attend the King Edward VI Grammar School for a period before going up to Cambridge.
- The novelist Desmond Bagley lived in Totnes from 1966 to 1976.
- William Brockedon, Artist and inventor, 1787–1854. Son of Philip Brockedon, Clockmaker.
- James Brooke, the first Rajah of Sarawak, spent his final years in nearby Burrator, and Brooke's biographer claims "there is little doubt ... he was carnally involved with the rough trade of Totnes."[32]
- Richard Burthogge, physician, magistrate and philosopher (1637/38–1705)
- Pop music prankster Jimmy Cauty (one half of The KLF) was born in Totnes.[33]
- Actor and dancer Emrhys Cooper grew up in Totnes.[34]
- Sophie Dix, actress - born in Totnes.
- Sir William Elford, 1st Baronet, Recorder of the borough and artist
- Historian James Anthony Froude, author of ''History of England From the fall of cardinal Wolsey to the Defeat of the Spanish Armada, was born in Totnes.
- His brother Richard Hurrell Froude was a theologian; he belonged to a group of Anglicans who initiated the Oxford Movement in 1833.
- Television screenwriter and author David Gilman lives in Totnes.
- Humorous poet Matt Harvey is a resident.
- Rob Hopkins, founder of the Transition movement.
- Folk singer-songwriter Ben Howard was brought up and lives in Totnes.
- Singer-songwriter and filmmaker Cosmo Jarvis was raised in Totnes.
- Comic-book artists Jock and Dom Reardon live and work in Totnes.
- Hebrew scholar, Benjamin Kennicott was also born in Totnes.
- Keith Law , Songwriter for Velvett Fogg lives in Totnes
- Linguist Edward Lye, who wrote the first dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, was born in Totnes.
- Rik Mayall previously lived in Totnes.[35]
- Admiral Sir Frederick Michell KCB (1788–1873) died in Totnes.
- Mike Edwards, former cellist with the Electric Light Orchestra from 1972-1975, lived in Totnes in the later years of his life until his death in 2010.
- Joseph Mount, a musician who records under the name Metronomy, lived in Totnes for a while.
- Playwright Sean O'Casey lived in the town from 1938 to 1954.
- John Prince was vicar of Totnes in the late 17th century, was author of The Worthies of Devon, a major biographical work. He was also involved in a scandal, the court records of which were made into a book and stage play in the early 2000s.
- William Reeve, composer, musician and actor, was organist of the church from 1781-1783 before moving to London to compose for Sadler's Wells and theLyceum Theatre
- Sam Richards, musician and music teacher lives in Totnes
- Matt Roper, a character stand-up comic.
- Oliver St John represented the town in both the Short and the Long parliaments. One of the outstanding political leaders of the Pariamentary cause in the English Civil War. His reputation was made when he acted as lead counsel for John Hampden in the Ship Money case.
- William Stumbels, a clockmaker lived and worked in Totnes in the 18th century. (His workshop was possibly at No. 4 Castle Street, within the town walls.) Two of his clocks, a longcase (grandfather) and a turret clock, are displayed in Totnes Museum.[36]
- Christopher Titmuss, an Insight Meditation meditation instructor and an author of books on Dharma
- Novelist Mary Wesley, author of The Camomile Lawn, spent her final years in Totnes.
- The explorer William John Wills of Burke and Wills expedition fame was born in Totnes. A memorial to Wills was erected using money from public subscriptions in 1864. It can still be seen on the Plains. There were originally two gas lamps attached to the monument, but both have since been removed.
- Film-score composer and mystery writer Bruce Montgomery (penname Edmund Crispin) lived in Totnes in the 1950s-60's.
Cultural references
Bevis, the homicidal barber who sings
The Lumberjack Song in a Monty Python sketch, had spent five ghastly years at the Hairdressers' Training Centre at Totnes.
[37]
See also
References
- Edwards, Adam (10 November 2007)."Property in Totnes: Wizards of the wacky West". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved15 August 2009.
- "Totnes Town ward 2011". Retrieved20 February 2015.
- "Totnes Bridgetown ward 2011". Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- Brown, Theo (1955). "The Trojans in Devon". Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association 87: 63.
- "Brutus Stone to Front of Nos 51/53, Totnes". British Listed Buildings. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- Brown, Theo (1955). "The Trojans in Devon". Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association 87: 68–69.
- Stansbury, Don (1998). "907–1523: The king's town". In Bridge, Maureen. The Heart of Totnes. Tavistock: AQ & DJ Publications. pp. 123–131. ISBN 0-904066-36-3.
- Hoskins, W. G. (1954). A New Survey of England: Devon. London: Collins. pp. 504–508.
- Ekwall, Eilert (1960). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names (4th ed.). Oxford [Eng.]: OUP. p. 478. ISBN 0-19-869103-3.
- Kowaleski, Maryanne (1992). "The port towns of fourteenth-century Devon". In Duffy, Michael; et al. The New Maritime History of Devon; Volume 1: From early times to the late eighteenth century. London: Conway Maritime Press. p. 63.ISBN 0-85177-611-6.
- Totnes Guildhall, Whatsonwhen.
- Totnes Guildhall, Visit Britain, UK.
- "Devon County Council elections 2009".Devon County Council. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
- "Welcome to Totnes Town Council". Totnes Town Council. Retrieved 2 July2008.
- "Follaton House, its History and Architecture". South Hams District Council. 2005. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
- "National Commission for Decentralised cooperation". Délégation pour l’Action Extérieure des Collectivités Territoriales (Ministère des Affaires étrangères) (in French). Retrieved 26 December 2013.
- "Twin town's return to Narnia". This is Devon. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May2013.
- Bridget Cherry & Nikolaus Pevsner (1989). The Buildings of England — Devon. Harmondsworth: Penguin. pp. 866–875. ISBN 0-14-071050-7.
- Russell, Percy (1984). The Good Town of Totnes (Second impression with Introduction ed.). Exeter: The Devonshire Association. p. 26.
- Russell 1984, p.xv.
- Taylor, Alan; Treglown, Peter (May 1999).South Devon Railway - A Visitors Guide. South Devon Railway Trust. pp. 23–28.
- Siegle, Lucy (8 May 2005). "Shiny hippy people". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 July2008.
- Totnes, Devon: the home of boho chic(retrieved 4 December 2008)
- Sharp, Rob (1 May 2008). "They don't just shop local in Totnes - they have their very own currency". The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2008.
- "Take note - Totnes will be quids in!" inTotnes Times 7 March 2007, p.6
- "Team Philips wreckage found on island". BBC Devon News. 23 January 2002. Retrieved 16 August 2009.
- Town's Transition boosting economy (retrieved 30 November 2010)
- Else, D. Britain. Lonely Planet, 2003. (ISBN 978-1740593380) p. 381
- Iconic arch rebuilt after devastating 1990 fire
- "Totnes Town Trail". South Devon Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Retrieved2 July 2008.
- "Totnes Elizabethan House Museum". Devon Museums Group. Retrieved 2 July2008.
- Barley, N. (2003) White Rajah, Abacas: London, p. 208.
- Frame, Peter (1999) Rockin' Around Britain. Omnibus, p. 29
- Totnes actor has his sights set on becoming the next Bond (retrieved 18 January 2015)
- Knowhere: Totnes, Devon, Local Heroes, Famous Residents
- Bellchambers, J. K. (1962) Devonshire Clockmakers. Torquay: The Devonshire Press.
- Wikiquote:Monty Python's Flying Circus
External links
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