Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(EH; 01803-864406;
www.english-heritage.org.uk
; Castle St; adult/child £3.60/2.20; 10am-6pm Apr-Sep, to
5pm Oct)
The outer keep of Totnes' Norman motte-and-bailey fortress crowns a hill at the
top of town, providing engrossing views over higgledy-piggledy rooftops and the river
valley. Hunt out the medieval loo, too.
Historic Buildings
Totnes has one of the best collections of Tudor architecture in Devon, with impressive
buildings lining its steep, central High and Fore Sts. Towards the top, where Castle St
meets the High St, look out for Poultry Walk. This wonky row of Tudor jettied buildings,
propped up by an array of columns, was where the town's poultry market was held.
Downhill, on the left, the 16th-century Butterwalk used to shelter dairy markets. Many of
the houses have elaborate Tudor plasterwork ceilings; two of the best preserved are at
Bogan House, in the Totnes Fashion and Textile Museum. Church Close cuts sharply left
off the High St, leading beside the red Devon sandstone of the 15th-century St Mary's
Church. Hidden in behind is the ancient Guildhall. Ramparts Walk curves around the
church, tracing the line of the original Saxon town boundary. At the bottom of Fore St,
Bank Lane features an ornate, lemon-yellow 18th-century house built in a style known as
Strawberry Hill Gothic.
ARCHITECTURE
Guildhall
( 01803-862147; Ramparts Walk; adult/child £1.25/30p; 10.30am-4pm Mon-Fri Apr-Oct)
Parts of this at-
mospheric structure were the kitchens of the town's Norman priory; inside look out for
cells, ceremonial robes and an elaborate council chamber.
HISTORIC BUILDING
Elizabethan Garden
(Fore St; 9am-5pm)
Signs in this tiny walled garden cast a light on 16th-century
medical thinking, outlining which herb cured which ailment - soapwort for syphilis, woad
to staunch bleeding, bay for bee stings. It's accessed via an easy-to-miss gate and cobbled
alley at the side of the Totnes Elizabethan Museum.
GARDEN
Totnes Fashion & Textile Museum
(43 High St; adult/child £2/80p; 11am-5pm Tue-Fri May-Sep)
Beautifully displayed 18th- to 20th-
century garments, set in one of Totnes' finest Tudor Merchant's houses.
MUSEUM
Activities
