Barnstaple RFC of the sell-out crowd experienced against local rivals Bideford Rugby Football Club in the 2016 festive fixture between the two sides. Cecil Pritchard - capped 8 times by Wales in the 1920s. Played part of his career at Barnstaple and Torquay Athletic when he moved to the south-west from his home country. Died in 1966. Barnstaple RFC Barnstaple Rugby Football Club was established in 1877 and is a rugby union club based in Barnstaple, Devon. The club's first team play in South West Premier, the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following relegation from National League 2
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