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The ancient and historic town of Pilton is today a suburb of Barnstaple. It is located about half a mile north on the outskirts of the town in the English county of Devon, and the district of North Devon. In 2009, the Pilton (Barnstaple) ward had a population of 4,239 living in some 1,959 dwellings.〔http://www.northdevon.gov.uk/18UEHH.pdf〕 It has its own infants, junior and secondary schools. It has the North Devon District Hospital, The Fire Station, a Church Hall, four public houses, two hotels, residential homes and the largest industrial estate in Barnstaple. There are many clubs and activity groups including the town's Rugby Ground, Pilton Cricket Ground and soccer pitches. It has residential estates of both private and public housing including flats. The Ecclestiastical parish of Pilton includes the areas of Yeo Vale, Bradiford, and Ashford village which has seen and is still seeing increased residential areas being added within the Pilton, Pilton West, Ashford and Yeo Wards. It is separated from the adjacent town of Barnstaple by the originally meandering River Yeo, now much straightened.〔Reed, p.3〕 Sir John Stowford (born c.1290〔Prince, p.727〕 died c.1372〔Hoskins, W.G., A New Survey of England: Devon, London, 1959 (first published 1954), p.390〕) of Stowford, West Down, Devon, Chief Baron of the Exchequer〔Prince: "Lord Chief Baron"〕 built Pilton Causeway which links the towns of Barnstaple and Pilton, which were then separated by the treacherous marshy ground in which flowed the tidal meanders of the small River Yeo. It is recounted by John Prince (1643–1723), that Stowford decided on building the causeway when on his way from his home at Stowford, north of Pilton, to Barnstaple, he met whilst fording the Yeo the drowned bodies of a woman with her child.〔Prince, John, (1643–1723) The Worthies of Devon, 1810 edition , p.728〕 He is also believed to have contributed to the financing of the long-bridge in Barnstaple.〔Prince, p.728〕 == History == Pilton was originally separate from Barnstaple. It has been subsumed as a suburb of the nearby town due to ribbon development in the 1930s, but by and large sees itself as distinct from the town. Situated on an easily defended hill at the head of the Taw estuary and close to where the river narrows enough to be fordable, Pilton was an important Saxon settlement. Alfred the Great (871-899) had a fortified town, or burh, built at Pilton. According to the Burghal Hidage, an early 10th Century document setting out the details of all burhs then functioning, Pilton's wall was 1485 feet long and the nominated garrison consisted of 360 men drawn from the surrounding district in the event of an invasion. The other burhs in Devon were Exeter, Halwell (near Totnes) and Lydford; Watchet in Somerset was another burh which could provide mutual support. Pilton remained the site of the original burh through much of the 10th century until this was moved a mile or so to the south-east to become Barnstaple, probably because times were more peaceful and the burh's role as a civilian market centre had become more significant. Barnstaple was better located for trade and developed as a market town and then as a borough. A Saxon ford would have typically been indicated by a ''stapol'', or post - ''Bearda's stapol'' giving the town of Barnstaple its name. The 13th century parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is a grade I listed building.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title= Name: PARISH CHURCH OF ST MARY THE VIRGIN List entry Number: 1385316 )〕 This building is used for regular services, coffee mornings and concerts. www.pilton-ashfordchurchesdevon.co.uk Since 2012, the history and heritage of Pilton has been collected by a group based in Pilton Church Hall, which is compiling an archive of old and new memories, tales, documents, recordings and photographs of the people and settlement of the settlement (The Pilton Story ). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pilton, Devon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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