Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust The Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Trust (The Trust) is an educational charity supporting the rebuilding and operation of the railway by the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Company, in North Devon, England. Working closely with its subsidiary the "Lynton & Barnstaple Railway Company" and other sister organisations, the Trusts charitable objectives are: (1) To acquire preserve and restore for the public benefit items of historical, architectural, engineering or scientific value in connection with railways; and (2) To advance the education of the public in the history sociology and technology of narrow-gauge railways and railways in general
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