Mayor of Barnstaple Mayor of Barnstaple The Mayor of Barnstaple together with the Corporation long governed the historic Borough of Barnstaple, in North Devon, England. 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 August) by a jury of twelve. However Barnstaple was a mesne borough and was held by the Mayor and Corporation in chief not from the king but from the feudal baron of Barnstaple, later known as the lord of the "Castle Manor" or "Castle Court". The Corporation tried
Barnstaple the town lies on the eastern bank of the estuary, connected to the western side by the ancient Barnstaple Long Bridge which has 16 arches. The early medieval layout of the town is still apparent from the street plan and street names, with Boutport Street ("About the Port") following the curved line of the ditch outside the town walls. The area of medieval shipbuilding and repair is still called The Strand, the Old English word for shore. Barnstaple has cool, wet winters and mild, wet summers. Temperatures range from 9 C (48 F) in January to 21 C (70 F)