Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon is a local museum covering the history and culture of the North Devon area and which is located in The Square in Barnstaple in Devon. The displays range from prehistoric times to the Victorian era. The building and its garden railings beside the river front have been Grade II listed since 1988. The structure was built in 1872 for William Thorne, but sold to the Barnstaple Bridge Trust in 1876 who then sold it to William Frederick Rock. Constructed in red brick with dressings of stone and terracotta,
Barnstaple tanneries, sawmills and foundries, and shipbuilding was also carried on. The Bear Street drill hall was completed in the early 19th century. Barnstaple was one of the boroughs reformed by the Municipal Reform Act 1835. Between the 1930s and the 1950s the town swallowed the villages of Pilton, Newport, and Roundswell through ribbon development. The historic Borough of Barnstaple was long governed by the Mayor of Barnstaple and the Corporation. The seat of government was the Barnstaple Guildhall. The mayor served a term of one year and was elected annually on the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin (15