Barnstaple RFC period they also became one of the top club sides in Devon winning five county cups in this period, including four in a row between 1998 to 2002. This period of success came to an end when Barnstaple suffered consecutive relegation's to fall to the lowest level in the clubs history so far, dropping to Western Counties West (tier 7) by 2005. Thankfully, the club quickly righted itself and three seasons (and two promotions) later found themselves back in South West 1. This climb back up the leagues also conceded with repeated Devon Cup success, with four titles wn in
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