We went to Tiverton twice in less than a week. It’s a small town in Devon, about fifty miles and fifty minutes away from home. The first time, last week was a minibus trip organised by a friend and we went first to Knightshayes – a stately home and parklands, and then on to Tiverton. Because we had two destinations, we didn’t spend that much time in either. We have been to Knightshayes many, many times before and we concentrated on looking at the kitchen garden which was wonderful, full of all sorts of interesting plants, shrubs, vegetables, fruit, and bees, lots of lovely bees. We got back on the minibus and headed to Tiverton and first things first, we had lunch. After lunch we wandered about and decided it was a very interesting place, but all too soon it was time to get back on the minibus. In fact, I was so interested in a wonderful and quirky shop, and was buying a lovely selection – a jacket, a wine glass, some fairy lights and something else – that a friend from the minibus had to come and find me!
This week we fancied a jaunt and decided we would go back to Tiverton to the little shop, described as a sustainable lifestyle store, to the interesting places we didn’t manage to explore enough, and generally find out more about this interesting place. We thought we’d like to and spend the day there, which we did, and again enjoyed ourselves and found plenty of interest. I was tempted to go back to the craft shop but resisted; my will was not so strong when I went into a bookshop however, and bought two books.
Tiverton, like many places, has an ancient history. the name was originally Twyfyrde, meaning town of two fords, and Tiverton stands on two rivers – the Lowman and the Exe. It was thought to have been a Saxon settlement founded in the 7th century. I’ve got this information from a guide to Devon, which goes on to tell me that Tiverton also has Roman connections. Tiverton has a castle – closed when we went to visit – another reason to go back and visit again! “The town was once the industrial centre of Devon’s fabric trade and the rivers provided sources of power for the woollen industry. The Heathcoat Lace Factory, which has been in operation since 1816, continues the trade today.” Here’s a link to more information: https://www.devonguide.com/tiverton
The lovely and interesting shop has an online link, if you can’t get to Tiverton, then you could visit here: https://www.leela-uk.com/
Lois Elsden 