Instow

Instow is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having two ploughlands and {{convert|66|acre}} of meadow, pasture and woodland.{{cite web |title=Instow {{!}} Domesday Book |url=https://opendomesday.org/place/SS4730/instow/ |website=opendomesday.org |access-date=3 November 2022}} The name of Instow derives from Anglo-Saxon of St John's Holy Place, which would have been Johnstow, or Jonestow.{{cite web |title=Instow :: Survey of English Place-Names |url=http://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53284f38b47fc4097e001991 |website=epns.nottingham.ac.uk |access-date=3 November 2022}}{{cite book |last1=Hesketh |first1=Robert |title=Devon place names |date=2008 |publisher=Bossiney |location=Launceston |isbn=1899383980 |page=22}} The suffix Stow, denotes a holy place in the Anglo-Saxon language, and the name is found in many places across Devon which had a church (Churchstow, Christow, Virginstow).{{cite book |last1=Stanes |first1=Robin |title=A history of Devon |date=1986 |publisher=Phillimore |location=Chichester, Sussex |isbn=0850335280 |page=35}} The original settlement was on the high ground opposite the more modern site of the village low against the riverside.{{cite book |last1=Lauder |first1=Rosemary Anne |title=Villages of North Devon |date=1982 |publisher=Badger |location=Bideford |isbn=0946290008 |page=30}} This is where the 14th century Church of St John the Baptist is located, near to the Instow Community Primary School.{{cite web |title=Instow |url=https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16.3&lat=51.05918&lon=-4.17325&layers=168&b=1 |website=maps.nls.uk |access-date=3 November 2022}}{{NHLE|desc=Church of St John the Baptist |num=1107600 |grade=I|access-date=3 November 2022}}

The parish was formerly in the hundred of Fremington, some {{convert|3|mi}} north-east of Bideford,{{cite web |title=Genuki: Instow, Devon |url=https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/DEV/Instow |website=Genuki.org.uk |access-date=3 November 2022}} and {{convert|6|mi}} west of Barnstaple.{{cite web |title=Parishes: Ide - Jacobstow {{!}} British History Online |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/magna-britannia/vol6/pp287-295#h3-0006 |website=British-history.ac.uk |access-date=3 November 2022}} In 1889, a directory described the village as being {{convert|218|mi}} from London, and on "the high road from Bideford to Barnstaple."{{cite book |title=Kelly's Directory of Devonshire |date=1889 |publisher=Kellys Directories |location=London |page=274|oclc=1131686133}}

Before the arrival of the railway in 1855, the village was quite small consisting of two sets of cottages, one by Lane End, and the other set next to the quay.{{cite book |last1=Lauder |first1=Rosemary Anne |title=Villages of North Devon |date=1982 |publisher=Badger |location=Bideford |isbn=0946290008 |page=28}} The quay was built {{circa|1620}}, and is a Grade II listed structure.{{NHLE|desc=Instow Quay Jetty |num=1107594 |grade=II|access-date=3 November 2022 }}{{cite book |last1=Lauder |first1=Rosemary Anne |title=Villages of North Devon |date=1982 |publisher=Badger |location=Bideford |isbn=0946290008 |page=29}} The village hall, which was built in 1911, was formerly known as Rifle Hall, as it was used to train soldiers on rifle drills for the First World War.{{cite book |editor1-last=McDonald |editor1-first=Pat |title=The Devon village book |date=1990 |publisher=Published jointly by Countryside and the D.F.W.I |location=Newbury |isbn=185306078X |page=125}} Military training in the Second World War included practise D-Day landings with walls built into the dunes near to Instow. These were removed quite quickly after the war had ended.{{cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=Robert |title=The rough guide to Devon & Cornwall. |date=2013 |publisher=Rough Guides |location=London |isbn=9781409361121 |page=191 |edition=5}}{{cite web |title=Devon & Dartmoor HER |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MDV102587&resourceID=104 |website=Heritagegateway.org.uk |access-date=3 November 2022}}

File:Instow Signal Box, Instow.jpg

The line opened from Barnstaple to Fremington in 1848, and then passenger trains ran from Barnstaple to Bideford from 2 November 1855 after the Bideford Extension Railway reached {{rws|Torrington}} and a station was built at Instow. The line was further extended to Torrington in 1872. Passenger services ceased on 2 October 1965 although ball clay traffic continued until 1982.{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=David St John |title=The West country |date=1981 |publisher=David & Charles |location=Newton Abbot |isbn=0-7153-8210-1 |page=97 |edition=5}}{{cite news |last1=Clark |first1=Daniel |title=Devon and Cornwall's lost and abandoned railways - and how some will return to life - Some of these lost railway routes could be restored |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWGLNB&t=&sort=YMD_date%3AD&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=20&val-base-0=track%20lifted%20meeth&docref=news/1807EDA2D6285530 |access-date=3 November 2022 |work=infoweb.newsbank.com |date=7 February 2021|url-access=subscription}}

Instow has a famous railway signal box, which is over 130 years old and was the UK's first Grade II listed signal box. It used to control the signals at Instow Station and also the operation of the level crossing. You can see the wheel that operated the gates, pull the signal levers, one of which still operates a signal, and generally learn how the box worked. In 2003 the box was nationally recognised for its restoration and educational value by receiving the Carillion Rail Award at the National Railway Heritage Awards. The signal box is now managed and run by volunteers of the Bideford Railway Heritage Centre and is open to the public on occasional Sundays and Bank Holidays.{{cite web |title=Instow signalbox |url=https://www.bidefordrailway.co.uk/instow/ |website=Bidefordrailway.co.uk |access-date=3 November 2022}}

File:Instow Beach overlooking River Torridge.jpg Torridge Bridge ]]

Instow Beach also known as Instow Sands, is used widely during summer months at the peak of the tourist season. The beach is suitable for families as it enjoys few waves because of the sandbanks at the mouth of the estuary cancelling out most of the ocean swell. However, bathing water quality has regularly failed Environment Agency mandatory standards over the last few decades.{{cite web| title = Bathing water quality| url = http://environment.data.gov.uk/lab/bwq-info.html?_search=ins&site=ukk4304-34000| archive-url = https://archive.today/20121224004026/http://environment.data.gov.uk/lab/bwq-info.html?_search=ins&site=ukk4304-34000| url-status = dead| archive-date = 24 December 2012| work = Environment Agency| date = 15 October 2012}}{{cite web| title = Instow Beach Bathing Water Profile| url = http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/bwprofiles/BW_34000_Instow.pdf| work = Environment Agency| date = February 2011| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121216094416/http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/bwprofiles/BW_34000_Instow.pdf| archive-date = 16 December 2012}}{{cite news |last1=Elliott |first1=Valerie |title=One in eight beaches polluted by flood sewage |work=The Times |issue=69099 |date=24 August 2007 |page=27|issn=0140-0460}}

There is a large number of boats anchored on the sand. Many are only accessible at low-tide or via a dinghy or what is locally known as a tender. Windsurfing and kite surfing have become popular, taking advantage of the open position and calm waters. Canoeing and kayaking in the rivers to Instow beach is also popular.{{cite web |title=Instow Beach {{!}} Visit Devon |url=https://www.visitdevon.info/things-to-do/instow-beach |website=Visitdevon.info |access-date=3 November 2022}}

File:Instow Range Rear Light - geograph.org.uk - 942026.jpg

In 1820 a pair of leading lights was established at Braunton Burrows to help guide vessels entering the Taw Torridge Estuary from Bideford Bay.{{cite book |last1=Woodman |first1=Richard |last2=Wilson |first2=Jane |title=The Lighthouses of Trinity House |date=2002 |publisher=Thomas Reed |location=Bradford-on-Avon, Wilts. |page=207}} Designed by Joseph Nelson, they were known as the Bideford High and Low Lights.{{cite web | title = Lighthouse management : the report of the Royal Commissioners on Lights, Buoys, and Beacons, 1861, examined and refuted Vol. 2 | pages = 94–95 | url = https://archive.org/stream/lighthousemanage02blak#page/94/mode/2up |website=archive.org}} When the ground they were on became unstable they were demolished (in 1957) and replaced by a new pair of leading lights at Instow. Initially the rear light was supported on a tubular steel structure (since replaced by a steel lattice structure){{cite web |title=Instow Rear Lighthouse |url=https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses-and-lightvessels/instow-rear-lighthouse |website=Trinity House |access-date=28 May 2019}} and the front light on a wooden structure, which was irreparably damaged in a storm in January 1990 and likewise replaced by a steel lattice tower.{{cite web |title=Instow Front Lighthouse |url=https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses-and-lightvessels/instow-front-lighthouse |website=Trinity House |access-date=28 May 2019}} Both lights remain operational and are managed by Trinity House.

Near the village is RM Instow, a military installation operated by the Royal Marines; the main unit which uses the camp is No. 11 (Amphibious Trials and Training) Squadron.{{cite news |title=Royal Marines amphibious trials base remembers D-Day |url=https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/news/2019/may/10/190510-royal-marines-instow |access-date=3 November 2022 |work=Royal Navy |date=10 May 2019}}

The parish and built-up area had a population of 786 at the 2011 Census,{{NOMIS2001|id=18UE031|title=Instow Parish|access-date=3 November 2022}} which had dropped to 706 by the time of the 2011 Census. The ward had a population of 1,501 in 2011.{{NOMIS2011|id=E05003549|title=Instow Ward (as of 2011)|access-date=3 November 2022}} The area is represented at Parliament under the North Devon.{{cite web |title=Instow CP |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/?x=248163&y=130555&z=6&bnd1=CPC&bnd2=WMC&labels=off |website=Ordnancesurvey.co.uk |access-date=3 November 2022}}

• John Harmer (1857–1944), Bishop of Rochester, died in Instow{{Cite book|url=https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/harmer-john-reginald-6566|title=Australian Dictionary of Biography|first=David|last=Hilliard|publisher=National Centre of Biography, Australian National University}}
• Leonard Slater (1875–1914), English cricketer and British Army officer was born in Instow{{Cite web|url=http://www.devonheritage.org/Places/Instow/InstowWarMemorial.htm|title=Instow War Memorial|website=Devonheritage.org}}
• John Durnford-Slater (1909–1972), British Army officer credited with raising the first Army commando unit during the Second World War
• Robin Durnford-Slater (1902–1984), Royal Navy Admiral who went on to become the last Commander-In-Chief, The Nore
• David Shepherd (1940–2009), English cricketer and umpire{{cite news |last1=Foot |first1=David |title=David Shepherd obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/oct/28/david-shepherd-obituary |access-date=15 November 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=28 October 2009}}
• Norah Simpson (1895–1974), Australian modernist artist, died at Crossways, Instow.{{cite web | url =http://www.daao.org.au/bio/norah-simpson/biography/? | title = Norah Simpson: Biography | last = Gray | first = Anne | publisher = Design and Art Australia Online | date = 7 May 2012 | access-date = 30 October 2012 }}

Instow features prominently in the 1919 novel Last of the Grenvilles by Frederick Harcourt Kitchin (under his pseudonym, Bennett Copplestone)

Instow is served by frequent Stagecoach services 21/21A between Georgeham/Ilfracombe, Barnstaple, Bideford and Westward Ho!/Appledore daily.{{cite web |title=Stagecoach Bus Timetable |url=https://www.stagecoachbus.com/routes/south-west/21/ilfracombe-or-barnstaple-appledore-or-westward-ho/xdao021.o |website=Stagecoachbus.com |access-date=21 May 2021}} These connect at Barnstaple with trains to Exeter and buses towards Exeter and Tiverton and at Bideford with buses towards Okehampton, Holsworthy and Hartland. Instow is also served by Stagecoach service 5B between Barnstaple, Bideford, Torrington, Winleigh, Crediton and Exeter and National Express coach services to London, Heathrow Airport, Taunton, Bristol and Birmingham.{{cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=Robert |title=The rough guide to Devon & Cornwall. |date=2013 |publisher=Rough Guides |location=London |isbn=9781409361121 |page=180 |edition=5}}

File:Instow Beach Panoramic.jpg

During summer a ferry service operates across the Torridge estuary from Instow Quay to Appledore slipway.{{cite book |title=Philip's street atlas Devon. |date=2008 |publisher=Philip's |location=London |isbn=9780540094943 |page=15}} The service runs two hours either side of high tide. Aimed both at locals and users of the Tarka Trail / South West Coast Path this has been operated in recent times as a not-for-profit service on days when water levels in the estuary have been high enough.

{{reflist}}

{{Commons category|Instow}}

• [http://www.ndyc.org/ North Devon Yacht Club]
• [https://www.instowparish.com/ Instow Parish Council]

{{Settlements in North Devon}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Villages in Devon