Barnstaple History Trail: A Guide to the Ancient Market Town

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Barnstaple audio tour: Barnstaple History Trail: A Guide to the Ancient Market Town

This is a 0.8mi walking tour

It takes an average of 90 mins to complete.

Barnstaple

The United Kingdom

$11.99

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About the Tour

Barnstaple is one of England’s oldest market towns, with its story woven through medieval bridges, Victorian market halls, and the vision of a single prolific architect.

On this walking tour, you’ll find out how this North Devon hub evolved from a Norman stronghold into a prosperous trading center, exploring landmarks where legends linger and history quietly persists.

The tour starts at the Long Bridge, one of the longest surviving medieval stone bridges in England, its 16 pointed arches spanning the River Taw since the late 1200s. You’ll walk along The Strand, once a bustling quay where ships unloaded tobacco and exotic spices, and through Victorian streets shaped by the vision of architect R.D. Gould.

Along the way, you’ll climb the grassy mound of Barnstaple’s thousand-year-old Norman castle, discover charitable institutions founded by compassionate benefactors, and visit St. Peter’s Church with its famously crooked spire. You’ll learn why the Albert Clock is called the “Four-Faced Liar” and hear tales of Huguenot refugees who found sanctuary here. The tour ends at the Golden Lion Tap, a former servants’ retreat from the 1700s, complete with ghost stories and an original carriage entrance.

On this 90-minute tour, you’ll have a chance to:

Walk through Butcher’s Row and the Victorian Pannier Market, both designed by prolific architect R.D. Gould
Pass the elegant Queen Anne’s Walk where merchants sealed deals over the Tome Stone in the 1700s
See St. Anne’s Chapel, Barnstaple’s only surviving chantry chapel from before the Reformation
Discover the Dodderidge Library, one of England’s earliest parish libraries, founded in 1667
Visit the site of Alice Horwood’s School, where poor girls learned practical skills from 1659
Explore Bridge Chambers, a striking neo-Gothic building with decorative stonework
Learn about John Gay, the celebrated playwright who studied here

This tour reveals Barnstaple’s layered past through its architecture, legends, and the people who shaped this enduring market town.

Tour Producer

Mark Langworthy

3 tours

I’m the founder of Devon History Tours, and if there’s one thing I love, it’s bringing the past to life right where it happened. Whether I’m guiding individuals or groups, my aim is always the same: to turn streets, buildings, and hidden corners into vivid stories packed with history, tradition, and the odd surprise.

Being a guide means staying sharp. I pride myself on quick wit, vibrant vocabulary, and having accurate answers ready for everything from curious questions to the wonderfully unexpected ones. A good tour should educate, entertain, and leave people smiling and yes, that means plenty of well-timed humour along the way. It can be draining work, but it’s also hugely rewarding, and the testimonials from guests say it all.

I also love creating self-guided tours, carefully designed to give people the freedom to explore at their own pace while uncovering the hidden stories, forgotten details, and fascinating history that often go unnoticed.

If you enjoy history served with personality, insight, and a spark of fun, you’re in the right place.

www.devonhistorytours.com
[email protected]

Preview Location

Location 8

Queen Anns Walk & West Gate

Please stop here and look to the building on your left.
::
You're now standing before Queen Anne's Walk, one of Barnstaple's most elegant reminders of its prosperous trading past. The building you see today was rebuilt in 1708 on the site of an earlier Merchant's Exchange, a... Please stop here and look to the building on your left.
::
You're now standing before Queen Anne's Walk, one of Barnstaple's most elegant reminders of its prosperous trading past. The building you see today was rebuilt in 1708 on the site of an earlier Merchant's Exchange, at a time when Barnstaple was buzzing with international trade and local ambition.

In the early 1700s, this was where merchants met to strike their deals, not with ink and paper, but with a firm handshake over the Tome Stone, a smooth block of granite symbolising honesty and fair dealing. That very stone, dating back to 1633, still rests just outside the building. It's easy to imagine the bustle of voices, the rustle of papers, and the clink of coins as traders bargained over cargo bound for America, the West Indies, and ports across Europe.

High above, the statue of Queen Anne, presented by Robert Rolle in 1709, looks proudly out over the town, a symbol of royal favour and civic pride. At her feet, a sunken walkway marks the line of the Great Quay, where ships once moored to unload spices, tobacco, and silk, while locally made cloth, pottery, and glassware were exported to the far corners of the empire. Barnstaple's riverfront was alive with industry, colour, and the scent of the sea.

And here's a little local legend to remember: it's said that at the final stroke of midnight, the statue of Queen Anne comes to life. She tosses a silver ball into the air three times and performs a quick jig before returning perfectly still to her royal stance. Few have claimed to see it, but those who have swear by it!

Now, turn your gaze to the right, just here toward the entrance of Cross Street.

Long ago, this was the site of The West Gate, one of Barnstaple's four great medieval gates. It dated back to around the 1100s and stood close to St Nicholas Chapel, dedicated to the patron saint of sailors, who is a fitting guardian for a town so deeply tied to the sea.
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Let’s continue walking.
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Cross over Cross street and continue ahead in the same direction as before. As you walk I will continue.
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The gate served many roles over the centuries: a meeting hall, a marketplace, even a prison and storehouse. Later known as Quay Hall, it stood proudly here until 1852, when it was finally demolished.
In medieval times, Barnstaple was surrounded by stout walls and four main gates, North, South, East, and West, protecting the town and controlling the flow of goods and travellers. By the 1600s, the South and East Gates were gone, and the West Gate stood as one of the last remnants of Barnstaple's fortified past.
::
Continue walking. You're almost at the next stop. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Museum of Barnstaple & North Devon
Barnstaple Pannier Market
Barnstaple Library
St Peter and Mary Magdalene Parish Church

Getting There

Route Overview

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Start location
Sticklepath Terrace, Barnstaple EX31, UK
Total distance

1km
Final location
The Square, Barnstaple EX32 8LS, UK
Distance back to start location

147.62m

Directions to Starting Point

Parking Information

There is plenty of parking within a few minutes’ walk of the start point.

Please note that nearby retail car parks such as B&Q and Currys are typically limited to short stays (around two hours), which may not be sufficient for the full tour duration.

For longer visits, the following town-centre car parks are recommended:

Cattle Market Car Park – A large central car park open 24 hours and only a short walk from Longbridge.

Green Lanes Car Park – Convenient for the shopping area and around five minutes on foot to the meeting point.

Rolle Quay Car Park – Located near the river and ideal if you prefer a scenic walk into town.

Several additional smaller car parks are also available throughout Barnstaple town centre, most within a 3–5 minute walk of Longbridge.

Arriving on Foot or by Public Transport

Longbridge is conveniently positioned between Barnstaple’s railway station and bus station, both within easy walking distance, making it accessible for visitors travelling without a car.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

The tour also takes you into the very heart of Barnstaple along the historic High Street and surrounding lanes, an area that has been the town’s commercial centre since Saxon times. Here you will find a mixture of independent shops and well-known high-street retailers, as well as Barnstaple’s famous Pannier Market, one of Britain’s largest indoor markets, dating back to 1855 and offering local produce, crafts, gifts and unique items.

As you pass through the town centre, you are free to pause for refreshments, explore the shops, or return after the tour to enjoy the lively atmosphere, riverside walks, and historic market streets that make Barnstaple the traditional hub of North Devon.

Best time of day

The tour is best experienced during daylight hours, as this allows you to clearly view all of the locations along the route.

Precautions

No Precautions most of the tour route is pedestrianised there are no hills unless you decide to walk up the Castle Mound this is not compulsory.

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Last Updated

23 Mar 2026

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