Name Index

To

The History of Great Torrington

Trans. Devon. Assoc. vol. 7 (1875), pp. 75-78 (1899), pp. 89-101.

by

Rev Frederick D. Colby

Prepared by Michael Steer

The paper, presented at the Association's June 1875 Torrington meeting provides a sweeping panoramic display of the ancient town's history. Great Torrington had strategic significance in the Civil War. In the Battle of Torrington (1646), the Parliamentarians, led by Sir Thomas Fairfax, swept into the town and defeated Lord Hopton's forces. This marked the end of Royalist resistance in the West Country. Today the town is recognised as an important heritage centre for the history of the 17th century, and its people can often be seen dressed in costume for historical re-enactments, festivals and celebrations. An interactive Civil War Experience, "Torrington 1646", marks the town's historically important role. The Torrington jail was not big enough for more than one man so the Parliamentarians kept all the Royalists in the church. Then 70 barrels of gunpowder went off and killed everyone held captive. Google with the Archive Organization has sponsored the digitisation of books from several libraries. The Internet Archive makes available, in its Community Texts Collection (originally known as Open Source Books), books that have been digitised by Google from a number of libraries. These are books on which copyright has expired, and are available free for educational and research use. This rare book was produced from a copy held by the New York Public Library, and is available from the Internet Archive.