St Peter's Church, Barnstaple Devon Athenaeum in 1888 and from there in 1957 on permanent loan to Exeter University Library. In the north transept is the ceremonial pew of the Mayor of Barnstaple, in the form of a large wooden armchair with heraldic beasts to each side. The organ, one of the largest in Devon, was made by John Crang in 1764 and was donated by Sir George Amyand, 1st Baronet (1720–1766), MP for Barnstaple 1754-1766. It is decorated with his armorials: "Vert, a chevron between three garbs or" with an inescutcheon of unidentified arms, overall the Red Hand of Ulster. Inside the church
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