Barnstaple Castle Barnstaple Castle Barnstaple Castle stood near what is now the centre of the town of Barnstaple, Devon (). When it was built, it was on the western side of the fortified town and commanded a good view of both the town and its important river crossings. A wooden castle was built by Geoffrey de Mowbray, Bishop of Coutances in the 11th century, clearing houses to make room for it. Juhel of Totnes (Judhael) later lived in the castle and established a priory just outside its walls. The castle's first stone buildings were probably erected by Henry de Tracey, a strong
Barnstaple Bay. The name is first recorded in the 10th century and is believed to derive from the Old English "bearde", meaning "battle-axe", and "stapol", meaning "pillar", referring to a post or pillar set up to mark a religious or administrative meeting place. The belief that the name derives from "staple" meaning "market", indicating that there was a market here from the foundation of the settlement, is incorrect, because the use of "staple" in that sense is not recorded in England before 1423. Barnstaple was formerly referred to as "Barum", from a contraction of the Latin form of the name (ad