Tiverton ( ) is a town and
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, England, and the commercial and administrative centre of the
Mid Devon
Mid Devon is a local government district in Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, t ...
district. The population in 2019 was 20,587.
History
Early history

The town's name is conjectured to derive from "Twy-ford-ton" or "Twyverton", meaning "the town on two fords", and was historically referred to as "Twyford". The town stands at the confluence of the rivers
Exe
Exe or EXE may refer to:
* .exe, a file extension
* exe., abbreviation for Executive (disambiguation)#Role, title, or function, executive
Places
* River Exe, in England
* Exe Estuary, in England
* Exe Island, in Exeter, England
Transportation a ...
and Lowman. Human occupation in the area dates back to the
Stone Age
The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
, with many flint tools found in the area. An
Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
hill fort
A hillfort is a type of fortification, fortified refuge or defended settlement located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typical of the late Bronze Age Europe, European Bronze Age and Iron Age Europe, Iron Age. So ...
,
Cranmore Castle, stands at the top of
Exeter Hill above the town, and a
Roman fort or marching camp was discovered on the hillside below
Knightshayes Court near
Bolham, just to the north of the town.
Tiverton formed part of the inheritance of
Aethelweard, youngest son of
King Alfred.
Countess Gytha of Wessex controlled the town in 1066 and the Domesday Book indicates that
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
was its tenant-in-chief in 1086. Tiverton was also the seat of the court of the hundred of Tiverton. It was the strategic site chosen by
Henry I for a Norman castle,
Tiverton Castle, first built as a
Motte and Bailey
A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...
in 1106.
Tiverton has a medieval town
leat, built for it by
Countess Isabella de Fortibus, who was the eldest daughter of
Baldwin de Redvers, 6th Earl of Devon and grew up at Tidcombe Hall, close to Tiverton. Isabella also controlled the Port of
Topsham, Devon, through which much of Tiverton's woollen exports were transported, mostly to the
Low Countries
The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...
. Every seven years there is a
Perambulation of the Town Leat: a ceremony to clear the path of the leat and ensure it is kept running. The leat can be seen in Castle Street, where it runs down the centre of the road, and at Coggan's Well, in Fore Street.
Tiverton owes its early growth and prosperity to the wool trade, which caused the town to grow rapidly in the 16th and 17th centuries. Many wealthy wool merchants added to the town's heritage. John Greenway (1460–1529), for example, built a chapel and porch onto
St Peter's parish church in 1517, and a small chapel and almshouses in Gold Street, which still stand – the Almshouse Trust still houses people today.
Peter Blundell, another wealthy merchant, who died in 1601, bequeathed the funds and land for
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...
to educate local children. It was founded in Tiverton in 1604 and relocated to its present location on the outskirts of town in 1882, where it functions as an
independent school
A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...
.
John Waldron (died 1579) founded ''Waldron's Almshouses'', on Wellbrook Street, and his elaborate
chest tomb survives in St Peter's Church.
Around the turn of the 17th century, there were two major fires in the town. The first, allegedly started in a frying pan, was in 1596 and destroyed most of the town. The second, in 1612, was known as the "dog-fight fire" – a dog fight had distracted those meant to be looking after a furnace. The parish registers of
Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...
reported of the second fire: "In the yere of o
r Lorde God 1612 in the 5th daye of the month of Auguste was the towne of Teverton burned the second tyme w
th fyer to the nomber of 260 dwellynge howses."

During the English Civil War in 1645
Tiverton Castle, held by the Royalists, was the scene of a relatively brief siege by
Thomas Fairfax
Sir Thomas Fairfax (17 January 1612 – 12 November 1671) was an English army officer and politician who commanded the New Model Army from 1645 to 1650 during the English Civil War. Because of his dark hair, he was known as "Black Tom" to his l ...
's Parliamentarian forces. The Parliamentarian forces entered Tiverton under Major General Massey on 15 October, the town's defenders fleeing before him towards Exeter. They left a defending force in the castle and church. Fairfax arrived from Cullompton on 17 October, set up his artillery and bombarded the castle for two days, ceasing fire for the sabbath in the afternoon of Saturday 18 October. On Sunday Fairfax had "several great pieces" of artillery brought up, ready for a renewed barrage on Monday, which commenced at 7 a.m. The siege was ended when a lucky shot broke one of the drawbridge chains and an alert squad of Roundheads gained swift entry.
18th and 19th centuries
The town enjoyed prosperity from the wool trade in the early 18th century. However, a period of decline followed during the early
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
. There were occasional riots, and societies of woolcombers and weavers were formed in an effort to protect jobs and wages. By the end of the century, imports of cotton and the expansion of industrialization elsewhere, along with the effect of the Napoleonic Wars on exports, took the town's woollen industry into terminal decline. In June 1731
another fire destroyed 298 houses, causing £58,000 worth of damage. After this, the streets were widened. In May 1738,
riots broke out in the town.
The industrialist
John Heathcoat bought an old woollen mill on the
river Exe
The River Exe ( ) is a river in England that source (river), rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lie ...
in 1815, and after the destruction of his machinery at
Loughborough
Loughborough ( ) is a market town in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood Borough of Leicestershire, England; it is the administrative centre of Charnwood Borough Council. At the United Kingdom 2021 census, the town's built-up area had a popula ...
by former
Luddites thought to be in the pay of
Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
lacemakers, he moved his whole lace-making operation to Tiverton. The factory turned the fortunes of Tiverton again, making it an early industrial centre in the South West. Trade was aided when a branch of the
Grand Western Canal
The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal ...
from Tiverton to Lowdwells was opened in 1814, with an extension to Taunton in 1838. This was followed by a branch of the Great Western Railway in 1848.
Tiverton Town Hall, elaborately designed by Henry Lloyd, was completed in 1864.
Although small, Tiverton had two members of Parliament. As one of the "
rotten boroughs
A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act of 1832, which had a very small electo ...
" it was often targeted by those seeking electoral reform.
Lord Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...
, or "Pam" as he was known locally, was an MP for Tiverton for much of the 19th century. In 1847, the
Chartists
Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of ...
, a radical group seeking to change the electoral system, stood one of their leaders,
George Julian Harney, against Palmerston. He is widely reported as having gained no votes – but in fact he won the "popular vote" (a show of hands of the people of the town) and withdrew when Palmerston called a ballot, aware that he would lose in a vote by only 400 wealthy and propertied in the town out of a population of 7,000. Broadening the franchise was one of the Chartist objectives. After the
Reform Act 1867
The Representation of the People Act 1867 ( 30 & 31 Vict. c. 102), known as the Reform Act 1867 or the Second Reform Act, is an act of the British Parliament that enfranchised part of the urban male working class in England and Wales for the ...
, Tiverton had a single MP, held for a long period by a member of the Heathcoat-Amory family, who own much of the land and property surrounding Tiverton, most recently by
Derick Heathcoat-Amory who served from 1945 to 1960. Up until 2010
David Heathcoat-Amory was the MP for
Wells in nearby
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
.
The town was the last in the Devon and Cornwall area to retain an independent police force, until 1945. In the second half of the 20th century, Tiverton again declined slowly, as the Heathcoat factory became ever more mechanised and the Starkey Knight & Ford brewery was taken over by
Whitbread as its regional brewery, but later closed, becoming just a bottling plant located in Howden (now Aston Manor cider makers). The factory lay derelict for some years before being demolished to make way for a supermarket. The manufacture of agricultural machinery adjacent to the River Lowman dwindled, the railway closed in 1964 and the Globe Elastic plant in Kennedy Way closed in the 1980s. However, a few far-sighted individuals, notably William Authers, secured some important assets for the future. Tiverton Museum was opened, the track bed of the old railway was bought to provide footpaths and an adventure playground, and the Grand Western Canal was saved from dereliction as a country park.
Retailing in the town declined further in the 1990s after the opening of the Southern Relief Road (now Great Western Way) led to the closure of Fore Street in the town centre to all but pedestrians.
20th and 21st centuries

Tiverton's revival in recent years began with the construction of the
A361 (the North Devon Link Road) in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, an industrial estate was built at Little Gornhay on the north-eastern edge of the town and a junction was added to the Link Road, with a distributor road (now the
A396) into the town that has become its main gateway. Great Western Way, linking this road to the Exeter Road along the line of the old railway, was also constructed.
Demand has driven up housing prices, particularly in the South-West. Many now look to towns on the periphery of employment centres. Tiverton has become a
dormitory town for commuters to
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
and
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...
, with its growth supported by large housing projects to the north of the town by most national house builders, including
Westbury Homes,
Barrett Homes and
Bellway Homes. The resulting influx has brought further development of the town's services and shops. Tiverton's outmoded swimming pool was replaced by a new leisure centre near the main campus of the
East Devon College consisting of a swimming pool and gymnasium.
Mid Devon District Council moved in December 2003 to new offices at Phoenix House, at the foot of Phoenix Lane, close to the site of a disused brewery. The town has a newly built
Tiverton and District Hospital funded by the
Private Finance Initiative
The private finance initiative (PFI) was a United Kingdom government procurement policy aimed at creating "public–private partnerships" (PPPs) where private firms are contracted to complete and manage public projects. Initially launched in 1992 ...
, which opened in May 2004.

The
Pannier Market in the town was redeveloped at a cost of over £3 million, alongside its car park and minor shopping precinct, increasing market capacity and allowing markets to be held more frequently: the work was completed in April 2006.
In 2007 the former cinema, the Electric, was bulldozed for redevelopment as housing, while the only operative cinema, the Tivoli, which had been mostly run by volunteers, closed its doors and the site was put up for sale. After a well-supported public campaign, the Tivoli reopened on 28 June 2008, bought by Merlin Cinemas.
Tiverton as the venue for the annual
Mid Devon Show won one of 15 positions in the Round 2 pilot scheme as a
Portas Town in 2018.
Education
*
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...
, an independent coeducational day and boarding school
*Bolham Primary School
*The Castle Primary School, formerly in the old Grammar School building, but replaced by a new build in 2017, the old building being demolished
*East Anstey County Primary School
*Halberton Primary School
*Heathcoat Primary School, member of the Federation of Tiverton Schools
*
Petroc College, formerly
East Devon College, a further education college sharing a campus with Tiverton High School
*Rackenford Primary School, member of the Federation of Tiverton Schools
*St John's Roman Catholic Primary School
*Tidcombe Primary School, once a state school, now an academy
*
Tiverton High School, the local community secondary school and a specialist visual arts college belonging to the Federation of Tiverton Schools
*Two Moors Primary School
*Wilcombe Primary School, once a state school, now part of an academy with 12 other Devon primaries
*Witheridge V. P. (C) School
Transport
Road
Tiverton has easy access to the
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
. The town's revival in recent years began with the construction of the
A361 North Devon Link Road in the late 1980s.
Coach
National Express
Mobico Group, formerly National Express Group, is a British multinational public transport company with headquarters in Birmingham, England. Domestically it currently operates bus and coach services under brands including National Express. Th ...
operates coach services in and out of Tiverton bus station towards London and North Devon.
Up till 11 January 2023, Tiverton was served twice daily by the London Superfast Service of
Berry's Coaches.
Rail
The
Bristol and Exeter Railway opened a station known as Tiverton Road on 1 May 1844. It was renamed
Tiverton Junction on 12 June 1848, when
Tiverton railway station was opened nearer the town at the end of a branch from the Junction station. A second branch, the Exe Valley line reached this station from the south, branching off the
London to Penzance main line at
Stoke Canon and following the River Exe. Mainline trains were occasionally diverted via Tiverton if there was engineering work or damage on the section north of Stoke Canon. Another line headed north to join the Taunton–Barnstaple line at
Dulverton. None of these lines remain.
In 1986,
Tiverton Parkway railway station opened on the main line on the site of the old
Sampford Peverell station, to replace the junction station a few miles down the line at
Willand. As a
parkway station, it stands six miles east of the town, alongside Junction 27 of the
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...
. Its proximity to the motorway – and the relative inaccessibility of
Exeter St Davids railway station
Exeter St Davids railway station is the principal and largest railway station in Exeter, also the second-busiest station in Devon.
It is from the zero point at , from where trains travel through Exeter to and . The station is also served by ...
– means that the station is often used as a coach exchange when the line between Exeter and Plymouth is closed.
Canal
The
Grand Western Canal
The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal ...
from Taunton to Tiverton opened in 1838.
Bus
Most bus services are run by
Stagecoach South West. Stagecoach offers a half-hourly, Monday to Saturday services to
Exeter
Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...
via the
A396, with a two-hourly service on Sundays and Bank Holidays; and an hourly service to Exeter via
Cullompton on Mondays to Saturdays. Stagecoach also runs a two-hourly service to
South Molton, with connecting bus services to
Barnstaple
Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...
.
Other than Stagecoach,
First Buses of Somerset operates a two-hourly service to
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...
and
Dartline Coaches operates a two-hourly service to
Dulverton.
Sport
The town has a main football club,
Tiverton Town, and many amateur clubs, including
Elmore and Amory Green Rovers. The town also has a
rugby club and several cricket clubs. Tiverton White Eagles is a local women's hockey club with three teams in various leagues.
Media
The ''Tiverton Gazette'' is a weekly tabloid newspaper for Tiverton and district, published on Tuesdays to coincide with market day. It first appeared as the ''Tiverton Gazette and East Devon Herald'' in 1858, when the founder, Robert Were, was only 22 years old; he died just five years later. The newspaper split into three editions in 1872 – the ''Tiverton Gazette'', ''Crediton Gazette'' and ''South Molton Gazette'' – but recombined in the mid-1890s as the ''Mid Devon Gazette''. It then split into Town and Rural editions, before splitting three ways once more.
Local news and television programmes are provided by
BBC South West and
ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the
Stockland Hill and local relay TV transmitters.
The town is served by the local radio stations
BBC Radio Devon,
Heart West,
Greatest Hits Radio South West,
Radio Exe, and TCR Radio, a community-based station.
Geography

Tiverton lies in north-east
Devon
Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
north of Exeter, north-east of
Plymouth
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
and west of
Taunton
Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...
. The villages of Ashley to the south and
Bolham to the north have become suburbs of Tiverton. The
River Exe
The River Exe ( ) is a river in England that source (river), rises at Exe Head, near the village of Simonsbath, on Exmoor in Somerset, from the Bristol Channel coast, but flows more or less directly due south, so that most of its length lie ...
flows through the town.
Climate
Tiverton has an
oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''Cfb'').
Twin Towns
Tiverton is twinned with the German town of
Hofheim am Taunus. Tiverton is also twinned with
Chinon
Chinon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Indre-et-Loire Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France.
The traditional province around Chinon, Touraine, became a favorite resort of French kings and their nobles beginn ...
in France which in turn is also twinned with
Hofheim am Taunus. The three towns therefore form twinning triangle.
Notable people
In birth order:
*
Isabella de Redvers, Countess of Devon (1237–1293), countess who bequeathed the Town Leat, was born at Tidcombe.
*
John Greenway (c. 1460–1529), a wealthy wool merchant and benefactor of the church
*
Catherine of York (1479–1572), During her lifetime, she was daughter of
King Edward IV, sister to
Edward V
Edward V (2 November 1470 – ) was King of England from 9 April to 25 June 1483. He succeeded his father, Edward IV, upon the latter's death. Edward V was never crowned, and his brief reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle and Lord ...
, niece to
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
, sister-in-law to
Henry VII and aunt to
Henry VIII
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. Died at
Tiverton Castle.
*
John Waldron (died 1579), a wealthy merchant who founded and endowed the surviving
grade II* listed
In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...
"Waldron's Almshouses" and Chapel on the outskirts of Tiverton.
*
Peter Blundell (1520–1601), merchant clothier whose bequest founded
Blundell's School
Blundell's School is an Private schools in the United Kingdom, independent co-educational boarding school, boarding and Day school, day school in the English Public School (United Kingdom), public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon, T ...
*
George Slee (died 1613), merchant clothier who built The Great House and bequeathed Slee's Almshouses
*
Peter Sainthill (1593–1648), Member of Parliament for Tiverton as a
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
politician
*
Richard Newte (1613–1678), Anglican clergyman, son of Henry Newte the elder, Tiverton's first post-
Restoration town clerk
*
Theophilus Polwhele (died 1689), religious controversialist, once a priest in Tiverton, later first minister of the Steps Meeting House
*
Benjamin Incledon (1730–1796), antiquary, trustee of Comyn or Chilcott's school at Tiverton and of Blundell's School, whose first history he wrote
*
Robert Land (1739–1818), United Empire Loyalist, British spy during the American Revolution, and early settler of
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
, was born in Tiverton.
*
James Nixon (c. 1741–1812), noted miniature painter, died in Tiverton.
*
Richard Cosway
Richard Cosway (5 November 1742 – 4 July 1821) was a leading English portrait painter of the Georgian and Regency era, noted for his miniatures. He was a contemporary of John Smart, George Engleheart, William Wood, and Richard Cross ...
(1742–1821), leading portrait painter of miniatures in the
Regency era
The Regency era of British history is commonly understood as the years between and 1837, although the official regency for which it is named only spanned the years 1811 to 1820. King George III first suffered debilitating illness in the lat ...
, was born in Tiverton.
*
Hannah Cowley (1743–1809), playwright and poet born in Tiverton
*
Martin Dunsford (1744–1807), English merchant and
Dissenter, known as an antiquarian and radical politician, born in Tiverton.
*
John Heathcoat (1783–1861), industrialist who invented the
bobbinet lace machine, founder of Heathcoat Fabrics, MP for Tiverton (1832–1859)
*
Lord Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...
(1784–1865), MP for Tiverton (1835–65) and twice prime minister
*
John Taylor Coleridge
Sir John Taylor Coleridge (9 July 1790 – 11 February 1876) was an English judge, the second son of Captain James Coleridge and nephew of the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Life
He was born at Tiverton, Devon, and was educated as a Colleger ( ...
(1790–1876), high court judge and
privy councillor, was born in Tiverton.
*
William Rowcliffe (1806-1876?), Butcher and
Chartist political opponent of
Lord Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865), known as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman and politician who served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1855 to 1858 and from 1859 to 1865. A m ...
*
William Romaine Govett (1807–1848), surveyor of unexplored country in
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, returned to his birthplace of Tiverton.
*
Edward Capern (1819–1894), postman and poet, born in Tiverton
*
William Oxenham (1823–1875), recipient of the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...
, was born in Tiverton.
*
Charles Rossiter Forwood (1827–1890),
Attorney General of Fiji from 1872 to 1873, born in Tiverton.
*
Sir John Heathcoat-Amory (1829–1914), first of the
Heathcoat-Amory baronets
*
Richard Blundell Comins (1848–1919), Anglican missionary in the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
, was born in Tiverton.
*
Frank R. Gooding (1859–1928), seventh Governor of Idaho and US Senator from Idaho
*
George Burrington (1864–1942), first-class cricketer, was born in Tiverton.
*
Francis Bateman-Champain (1877–1942), first-class cricketer, died in Tiverton.
*
Thomas Henry Sage (1882–1945), was born and died in Tiverton.
*
George Jennings (1895–1959), first-class cricketer, was born in Tiverton.
*
Alfred Toye (1897-1955), spent his later years in Tiverton.
*
J. D. Salinger (1919–2010), author of
The Catcher in the Rye, spent three months in Tiverton waiting for
D Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
in the spring of 1944.
*
Bobby G (born 1953), singer with the Eurovision-winning '80s pop group
Bucks Fizz
*
Martyn Rogers (born 1955), professional footballer, manager of
Tiverton F.C. for 18 years, returning in 2014
*
Mark Labbett (born 1965), television personality, was born in Tiverton.
*
Gareth Townsend (born 1968), first-class cricketer, was born in Tiverton.
*
Simon Hall (born 1969),
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of
Chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
at the
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
, was raised in Tiverton.
*
Pete Vuckovic (born 1971), singer/songwriter, was born in Tiverton.
See also
*
Grand Western Canal
The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton, Devon, Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal ...
*
Perambulation of the Town Leat
Further reading
*
*
References
External links
*
Tiverton Town CouncilTiverton Museum
{{Authority control
Towns in Devon
Towns in Mid Devon District
Market towns in Devon
Civil parishes in Devon
Roman fortifications in Devon
Roman fortified camps in England
Grand Western Canal
Deaneries of the Church of England