Venues in Devon; hire a Jazz Band
Salcombe
The most southerly resort in Devon, with some of the finest scenery along the coast—especially 2 miles south-west, around Bolt Head (National Trust). The climate here is exceptionally mild, and orange and lemon trees grow beside the estuary; in summer the palm trees, bright sunshine and glistening white houses seem almost Mediterranean. Salcombe is a noted yachting centre, and offers good fishing and two sandy beaches. The tower of a ruined Tudor castle stands near North Sands beach.
jazz bands at Beaford Country House, Winkleigh, Devon
jazz bands at Belmont Hotel, Sidmouth, Devon
jazz bands at Bickleigh Castle, Tiverton (nr Exeter), Devon
jazz bands at Bicton College, East Budleigh, Devon
Totnes
A charming old town set on a steep hill above the River Dart, with many interesting old buildings in Fore Street and High Street. It has been a borough since early times, and medieval Totnes grew rich on the cloth trade. '
At the north end of the town stands a castle, of which the 13th-century circular keep and some walls remain. The original castle dated from the nth century. In the High Street are Elizabethan and 17th-century houses, some of them slate-hung in typical Devon style. Just off the High Street is the parish church of St Mary, a 15th-century building with a stone rood screen which is one of the finest in England. Near the church is the guildhall, dating in part from the 16th century and built on the site of medieval Totnes Priory; it is now a museum. The Butterwalk, in the High Street, is a row of houses with overhanging storeys. The King Edward VI Grammar School, founded in 1554, occupies an 18th-century building in Fore Street. Dividing Fore Street from High Street is the restored 15th-century East Gate, formerly the eastern boundary of the town.
jazz bands at Boringdon Hall, Plympton, Plymouth, Devon
jazz bands at Bovey Castle, Dartmoor National Park, Devon
jazz bands at Browns Hotel, Tavistock, Devon
jazz bands at Buckerell Lodge Hotel, Exeter, Devon
Holsworthy
Devon's most spectacular stretch of coastal scenery extends from Welcombe on the west-facing coast, near the Cornish border, round to Trentishoe on the north coast—a chain of magnificent cliffs interrupted only by Woolacombe Sands and the long sand flats stretching southwards from Saunton. In some parts the cliffs drop sheer to the water's edge, as at Hartland Point; elsewhere they fall away to the sea in long, steep slopes. Dark grey rocks, crushed and folded, form peculiar zigzag patterns, as at the dramatic Gull Rock, just off Welcombe; but their grim beauty is softened by numerous coppices of thorn, oak and hazel which cling to the slopes, and by small waterfalls, such as the one at Speke's Mill Mouth, south of Hartland Quay. The region has several popular seaside resorts, ranging from the holiday centre of Ilfracombe to the smaller coastal villages of Clovelly and Appledore. The north-eastern part of the region leads up to Exmoor; inland are small market towns of quiet charm such as Holsworthy, in remote country near Holsworthy Beacon, and Great Torrington, above the River Toiridge. The most important centres of commerce and industry are Barnstaple and Bideford, which are linked by about 10 miles of mainly built-up road. The towns are near the estuary where the Rivers Taw and Torridge meet, and they were prosperous ports before the estuary silted up.
The climate of north-west Devon was well described by a local writer, the Victorian novelist Charles Kingsley, author of Westward Ho! 'It combines', he wrote, 'the soft warmth of south Devon with the bracing freshness of the Welsh mountains.'
jazz bands at Burton Farmhouse, Kingsbridge, Devon
jazz bands at Cadhay, Ottery St Mary, Devon
jazz bands at Canonteign Estate, Christow, nr Exeter, Devon
jazz bands at Castle Hill, Barnstable, Devon
jazz bands at Castle Hill, Barnstaple, Devon
jazz bands at Clovelly, Clovelly, Bideford, Devon
Acland Barton
A place in high wooded country northeast of Barnstaple. Nearly a thousand years ago a man named Acca had a farm here, so it was called Acca's land. On the site of the ancient farm stands the original house of the Aclands, for centuries one of the greatest West Country land-owning families, who took their name from the place. During the Second World War, the Aclands gave their entire estate in Devon to the National Trust. The house, built c. 1475, is still a private residence, a splendid example of a barton, or yeoman's residence, of the late medieval period.
jazz bands at Coombe House Hotel, nr Crediton, Devon
jazz bands at Deer Park Hotel, Honiton, Devon
jazz bands at Eggesford Barton, Chumleigh, Devon
jazz bands at Escot House, Ottery St Mary, Devon
jazz bands at Fishponds House, Honiton, Devon
jazz bands at Gipsy Hill Hotel, Exeter, Devon
jazz bands at Hare and Hounds, nr Sidmouth, Devon
Appledore
Here the Rivers Taw and Torridge meet before entering the sea about 2 miles away. This ideal site made Applcdore a famous shipbuilding centre, and the industry has taken on a new importance since the largest covered shipbuilding dock in Europe was opened here in 1970. The best parts of the village are extremely picturesque— narrow streets climbing steeply from the quay; yachts coming and going at the slipway; trim cottages and gracious small Georgian houses; and everywhere lobster-pots, fishing nets and sailors in their blue jerseys. A ferry boat crosses the Torridge to the sandy beaches of Instow.
jazz bands at Hatswell Meadows, Tiverton, Devon
jazz bands at Hazlewood, Loddiswell, Nr. Kingsbridge, Devon
jazz bands at Highbullen Hotel, Golf & Country Club, Chittlehamholt, Umberleigh, Devon
jazz bands at Holiday Inn Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon
jazz bands at Holne Park House, Ashburton, Devon
jazz bands at Huntsham Court, Huntsham, nr Tiverton, Devon
jazz bands at Kitley House Hotel, Yealmpton, Plymouth, Devon
Arlington
Hidden amid tree-lined lanes, the hamlet lies beside Arlington Court, built 1820-3, formerly the home of the Chichester family (whose most famous modern descendant is yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester). Arlington Court is now a National Trust property. The plainness of the house from the outside belies its rich interior. Among the treasures at Arlington Court is a water-colour by William Blake, Cycle of the Life of Man, discovered in an attic in the house in the I95o's. On the staircase is a display of dresses worn by the women of the family.
jazz bands at Kittiwell House Hotel, Croyde Bay, Devon
jazz bands at Landmark Theatre, Ilfracombe, Devon
jazz bands at Langdon Court Hotel, Wembury, Plymouth, Devon
jazz bands at Muddifords Court & Courtyard, Cullompton (nr Tiverton), Devon
jazz bands at Northcote Manor Hotel, Umberleigh, Devon
jazz bands at Oxenways, Axminster, Devon
jazz bands at Pickwell Manor, Nr. Braunton, Devon
jazz bands at Reed Hall, Exeter, Devon
Barnstaple
An important marketing centre, and one of the oldest towns in Britain. It was an established borough, minting its own coins, as early as the 10th century! Barnstaple, for long the third-largest town in Devon (after Exeter and Plymouth), was an important harbour until the estuary of the Taw silted up. It was also an important 'staple', or market, for the wool trade. The town prospered greatly in the i8th century, and its centre is still largely Georgian.
The 18th-century Queen Anne's Walk, a pleasant colonnade, retains the Tome Stone, on which merchants set their money to make their contracts binding. St Anne's Chapel, dating from the I4th century, once housed the grammar school which educated the poet John Gay (1685-1732), author of The Beggar's Opera; the building is now a local museum. Off the High Street is the colourful Pannier Market, thronged with traders selling Devon produce on market days, Tuesdays and Fridays.
The fine Long Bridge over the River Taw, with its 16 arches, dates from the 13th century. Some of the original stonework can still be seen, though the bridge has been widened several times.
jazz bands at Royal Beacon, Exmouth, Devon
jazz bands at Royal Clarence Hotel, Exeter, Devon
jazz bands at Saunton Sands Hotel, Braunton, Devon
jazz bands at Southgate Hotel, Exeter, Devon
jazz bands at St Elizabeth's House, Plympton St Maurice, Devon
jazz bands at St Olavs Hotel, Exeter, Devon
jazz bands at Stoodleigh Court, Stoodleigh, Tiverton , Devon
jazz bands at Tavistock Town Hall, Tavistock, Devon
jazz bands at The Fox and Hounds Hotel, Eggesford, Chumleigh, Devon
Bideford
The narrow streets of this busy town climb the steep hill on the west bank of the River Torridge, at the point where it begins to widen to form its estuary. The town's most famous sight is its bridge over the Torridge; it is 677 ft long, has 24 arches, and incorporates part of an original isth-ccntury stone bridge. An attractive street is Bridgeland Road, which has several 17th-century buildings. The town was the principal port of north Devon from the i6th century—when Sir Richard Grenville, captain of the Revenge, secured a charter for Bideford from Queen Elizabeth I —until the 18th century, when its overseas trade declined.
jazz bands at The Invicta Hotel, Plymouth, Devon
jazz bands at The Old Vicarage, Malborough, Near Salcombe, Devon
jazz bands at The Tumbling Weir Hotel, Ottery St Mary, Devon
jazz bands at Thistle Hotel, Exeter, Devon
jazz bands at Tiverton Hotel, Tiverton, Devon