Overview of Holsworthy

Holsworthy is a market town in the north west of Devon, England. It is situated near the county border with Cornwall, and is 9 miles from the coastal resort of Bude. It is on the intersection of the A388 and A3072 roads, and lies on the River Deer, a tributary of the Tamar. The population increased by 15% from 1981 to 1999 and was estimated at 2,116: the census figure for 2001 is 2,256. Holsworthy is a historic market town with hundreds of years of history and is mentioned in the Domesday Book, as being part of the estate of Harold Godwinson. The town has occupied a hill top site since Saxon times, and in 1154 became a safe trading centre (known as a port town). The date of the original charter for the Market and Charter fair is between 1154 and 1185. At that time, the spokesman for the inhabitants was known as the Portreeve and the ruling council as the Court Leet. The Court Leet used to hold their tribunals beneath the Great Tree, and a metal disc set in the road on Stanhope Street marks the site. A second charter was granted by James I of England in 1614 and this is proclaimed by the Town crier on Wednesday of St Peter’s Fair. Holsworthy is twinned with Aunay-sur-Odon, Calvados, France. Holsworthy was the birthplace in 1886 of the prominent Methodist minister and ecumenist Robert Newton Flew.