The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon The Museum is reopening on Wednesday 12th August, please check our website or social media as opening times will change as government guidelines are announced. The seat of government was the Barnstaple Guildhall. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, Traffic congestion in the town used to be severe, but in May 2007, the Barnstaple Western Bypass was opened so traffic heading towards Braunton and Ilfracombe avoids travelling through the town centre over the ancient bridge. A junction was later provided to allow trains access to Barnstaple Junction and these ran through to Ilfracombe. By the time of the death of the last Henry de Tracey in 1274, the castle was beginning to decay. The church has a notable broach spire, claimed by W. G. Hoskins to be the best of its kind in the country.  |  [37], Petroc (formerly North Devon College) is a large tertiary college providing a wide range of vocational and academic further education for more than 3,000 young people over 16. Barnstaple has a similar ethnic make-up to other south-west towns such as Truro and Cullompton. In 1811 the town Improvement Act included provision for new markets for both meat and produce. Barnstaple is the main town of North Devon and claims to be the oldest borough in the United Kingdom. The old bus station on the Strand (now a restaurant) was built in 1922 and was in use until the bus station moved to its present site in Queen Street a few years ago. Barnstaple [36] As part of this work, the town's main square was re-modelled as the entrance to the town centre, and The Strand was closed to traffic. Only one of the shops remains as a butchers,[33] although the new shops still sell local agricultural goods. Barnstaple is the main town of North Devon, England and possibly the oldest borough in the United Kingdom. However, by far the largest employer in the region is local and central government. Not just a shopping hub. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool. [10] The town's wealth in the Middle Ages was founded on its being a staple port licensed to export wool. The fabric of the castle was used in the construction of other buildings and by 1326 the castle was a ruin. Before the days of supermarkets, the Pannier Market was the best source for many daily goods; the fore-runner of modern Farmers' Markets. [11], Other religious buildings in the town include St Anne's Chapel (a 14th-century chantry chapel, now a museum) in the parish churchyard; the Church of St Mary the Virgin in the suburb of Pilton is 13th-century and a Grade I listed building; Holy Trinity, built in the 1840s but necessarily rebuilt in 1867 as its foundations were unsound – it has a fine tower in the Somerset style; the Roman Catholic church of the Immaculate Conception, said to have been built to designs supplied by Pugin, in Romanesque Revival style; the late 19th-century church of St John the Baptist in the Newport area of the town and a Baptist chapel of 1870 which includes a lecture hall and classrooms.[11][15]. Northam Connecting wires run all over the building. Barnstaple returned 2 members to Parliament until 1885.