Kingsbridge

At the head of an estuary named after it, Kingsbridge is reckoned as the capital of the South Hams - the most southerly part of the South Devon area. Kingsbridge and the lands around it passed into the possession of the Buckfast Abbey some time after the Norman Conquest and in 1219 the Abbot was granted the right to hold a market in Kingsbridge, his monks selling their produce of honey, fruit, vegetables and thick cream. There are still regular markets on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and a Farmers Market on the first Saturday of each month.

A brief stroll around Kingsbridge soon tells of its maritime past - shipbuilding, ropemaking and other industries have been the town's mainstay, and shipbuilding enterprises prospered till the late 19th century building wooden coastal and oceangoing vessels.

The little lanes off Fore Street are very pleasant for an idle hour or two, and there's plenty of shopping interest as well as the excellent Cookworthy Museum - set in a 17th Century Grammar school and named after William Cookworthy, born in the town in 1705. It was Cookworthy who invented the English porcelain industry when he discovered china clay in Cornwall. If you require cultural diversion, there are two art galleries and a private cinema. There's also a leisure centre for more athletic diversions.

More details at the Tourist Information Centre.

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