TOTNES  , a

market town and municipal borough in the Totnes parliamentary division of Devonshire, England, on the Dart, 29 m . S.S.W. of Exeter, by the Great Western railway . Pop . (1901), 4035 . It stands on the west bank of the river, and is joined by a bridge to the suburb of Bridgetown . It was formerly a walled town, and two of the four gates remain . Many old houses are also preserved, and in High Street their overhanging upper stories, supported on pillars, form a covered way for foot-passengers . The castle, founded by the Breton Juhel, lord of the manor after the Conquest, was already dismantled under Henry VIII.; but its ivy-clad keep and upper walls remain . The grounds form a public garden . Close by are the remains of St Mary's Priory, which comprise a large Perpendicular gatehouse, refectory, precinct wall, abbot's gate and still-house . A grammar school, founded 1554, occupied part of the Priory, but was removed in 1874 to new buildings . The Perpendicular church of St Mary contains a number of interesting tombs and effigies dating from the 15th century onwards, and much excellent carved work .

The

guildhall is formed from part of the Priory . Vessels of 200 tons can lie at the wharves near the bridge . The industries include brewing, flour milling, and the export of agricultural produce, chiefly corn and cider . Trout and salmon are plentiful in the river . The town is governed by a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12 councillors . Area 1423 acres . Totnes (Toteneis, Totton) was a place of considerable importance in Saxon times; it possessed a mint in the reign of !Ethelred, and was governed by a portreeve . In the Domesday Survey it appears as a mesne borough under Juhel of Totnes, founder of the castle and priory; it had 95 burgesses within and 15 without the borough, and rendered military service according to the custom of Exeter . In 1215 a charter from John instituted a gild merchant with freedom from toll throughout the land . A mayor is mentioned in the court roll of 1386—1387, and a charter from Henry VII. in 1505 ordered that the mayor should be elected on St Matthew's day, and should be clerk of the market . The present governing charter was granted by Elizabeth in 1596, and instituted a governing body of a mayor, fourteen masters or councillors, and an indefinite number of burgesses, including a select body called " the Twenty-men." A fresh charter of incorporation from James II. in 1689 made no alterations of importance . The borough was represented in parliament by one member in 1295, and by two members from 1298 until disfranchised by the act of 1867 .

A market on Saturday existed at least as

early as 1255, and in 16o8 is described as well stocked with 'provisions . The charter of Elizabeth granted a three days' fair at the feast of SS Simon and Jude (Oct . 28), and in 16o8 fairs were also held on May day and at the feast of St James (July 25) . The market day has been transferred to Friday, but the May and October fairs are continued . The town was formerly noted for serges, and in 1641 the inhabitants represented their distress owing to the decline of the woollen trade . The industry is now extinct . During the Civil War General Goring quartered his troops at Totnes, and Fairfax also made it his temporary station . See Victoria County History; Devonshire; The History of Totnes, its neighbourhood and Berry Pomeroy Castle, (Totnes, 1825) ; William Cotton, A Graphic and Historical Sketch of the Antiquities of Totnes (London, 1858) .