View source for Devon

{{infobox English county
| official_name                = Devon
| other_name                   = 
| image_main                   = {{multiple images
                                 |border      = infobox
                                 |perrow      = 1 2
                                 |total_width = 250px
                                 |image1      = Combe Martin Panorama (7338286364).jpg
                                 |image2      = Relax-e-vous - geograph.org.uk - 1656557.jpg
                                 |image3      = Dartmoor ponies by the B3212 - geograph.org.uk - 4546147.jpg
                                 }}
| image_caption                = '''Clockwise from top''': the Devon coast at [[Combe Martin]]; [[Dartmoor ponies|ponies]] on [[Dartmoor]]; and [[Smeaton's Tower]], [[Plymouth Hoe]]
| motto                        = {{lang|la|Auxilio Divino}}
| locator_map                  = Devon UK locator map 2010.svg
| map_caption                  = Devon within England
| coordinates                  = {{Wikidatacoord|Q23156|region:GB-DEV_type:adm1st|display=inline,title}}
| region                       = [[South West England]]
| established_date             = [[Historic counties of England|Ancient]]
| established_by               = 
| preceded_by                  = 
| origin                       = 
| MPs                          = [[List of Parliamentary constituencies in Devon|List of MPs]]
| police                       = [[Devon and Cornwall Police]]
| fire                         = [[Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service]]
| largest_city                 = [[Plymouth]]
| county_town                  = [[Exeter]]
<!-- Ceremonial county fields -->
| lord_lieutenant_office       = Lord Lieutenant of Devon
| lord_lieutenant_name         = [[David Fursdon]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lord-lieutenant-for-devon-david-fursdon |title=Lord-Lieutenant for Devon: David Fursdon – Press releases |website=GOV.UK |date=26 March 2015 |access-date=13 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160308200245/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lord-lieutenant-for-devon-david-fursdon |archive-date=8 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| high_sheriff_office          = High Sheriff of Devon
| high_sheriff_name            = Caroline Harlow<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=64681|page=5010|date=14 March 2025}}</ref>
| ethnicity                    = 91.8% [[White British]] (2021)
<!-- Local government fields -->
| county_council               = [[Devon County Council]]
| unitary_council1             = [[Plymouth City Council]]
| unitary_council2             = [[Torbay Council]]
| admin_hq                     = [[Exeter]]
| iso_code                     = GB-DEV
| gss_code                     = E10000008
| nuts_code                    = UKK43
| website                      = {{url|devon.gov.uk}}
<!-- Districts map -->
| districts_map                = [[File:Devon numbered districts.svg|200px]]
| districts_key                = {{Colorsample|#FEFE77}} [[Unitary authorities of England|Unitary district]] {{Colorsample|#FEC1E9}} [[Non-metropolitan district]]
| districts_list               = {{collapsible list
                                 | title     = 
                                 | liststyle = list-style-type:decimal;
                                 | [[North Devon]]
                                 | [[Torridge District|Torridge]]
                                 | [[Mid Devon]]
                                 | [[East Devon]]
                                 | [[Exeter]]
                                 | [[West Devon]]
                                 | [[Teignbridge]]
                                 | [[Plymouth]]
                                 | [[South Hams]]
                                 | [[Torbay]]
                                 }}
}}
'''Devon''' is a [[county]] in [[South West England]] in the [[United Kingdom]]. It is sometimes called by its historical name ''Devonshire''. Devon is the fourth largest county in England by area, and has the longest road network of any county in England. Its capital city and [[county town]] is [[Exeter]], but the largest city is [[Plymouth]].
== History ==
After the last [[ice age]], Devon was one of the first places in England where people started to live. [[Archaeologist]]s have found many old places in Devon with [[ancient|ancient]] buildings. For example, many ruins of old buildings have been found in an area called "[[Dartmoor]]", which is now a [[National Park]].

Devon gets its name from the ''Dumnonii'', a name that the invading [[Roman Britain|Romans]] gave to the Celtic tribe in that area. The Romans invaded Devon about [[AD]] 50. The name ''Dumnonii'' means "a person who lives in a deep [[valley]]", and it comes from the [[hill]]s and valleys of the area. The Roman [[army]] stayed in Devon for about 350 years. Their [[military base|base]] was in the city of [[Exeter]].

It was a long time before anyone else invaded Devon. [[Saxons]] came to Devon in the [[7th century]], and the King of [[Wessex]] may have attacked in AD 614. There was a conflict between Devon and Wessex for 200 years. Some [[historian]]s think that Wessex won the war by about [[715]] but others think this did not happen until at least [[936]]. Eventually Wessex took control, but the Kings of Devon still had some power.

A person living at the time called William of Malmesbury said that in Exeter both Britons and Saxons were equal in [[927]] but that King Athelstan of Wessex then chased the Britons from Exeter. From place names and church dedications it seems that the British did not go far and later came back into Exeter because an area in the city was called "Britayne" until recently.

A large number of Devon placenames include (or are) the word "combe" (e.g. [[Ilfracombe]]). This word comes from the [[Brythonic]] (Celtic) language and is like the Welsh word "cwm". Another typical Devon word is "tor" which is also Brythonic, and like the Welsh word "twr".
Both of these words are often found in neighbouring counties, but Devon has the greatest number. Overall Devon has a number of other placenames that are Brythonic and others that come from [[Old English]], and a few that come from [[Norse]]. Devon's placenames are like those of western [[Somerset]] and eastern [[Cornwall]] which was also part of the old kingdom of "Dumnonia".

Starting in the [[9th century]], groups of [[Viking]] [[raider]]s tried to invade Devon. This continued until the [[Norman Conquest]]. The name of ''[[Lundy]] Island'' comes from the Viking [[language]], which was called [[Norse]]. The Vikings are remembered for moving the [[cathedral]] from [[Crediton]] to [[Exeter]].

Devon has been involved in most of the civil [[conflict]]s in England since [[1066]]:
* During the Norman Conquest of England, Exeter was surrounded by [[William the Conqueror]]'s army for 18 days.
* In [[1140]], the towns of Exeter and [[Plympton]] were both defended against [[Stephen of England|King Stephen]].
* There were small battles in Devon during the [[Wars of the Roses]].
* The army of [[Perkin Warbeck]] surrounded and attacked Exeter in [[1497]].
* The [[Prayer Book Rebellion]] of 1549: rebels from Cornwall and Devon marched towards London.
* The towns of Exeter and [[Dartmouth]] were both [[siege|besieged]] (surrounded by the enemy) during the [[English Civil War]].
* When [[William of Orange]] invaded Britain in [[1688]] (the ''[[Glorious Revolution]]''), he landed at [[Brixham]].

There are many [[celebrity|famous]] (well known) people from Devon, especially [[seaman|seamen]]. For example, Sir [[Francis Drake]], Sir [[Richard Grenville]] and Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] all come from Devon. Many other famous people were also born in Devon: for example, the author [[Agatha Christie]] was born in the town of [[Torquay]].
== Flag ==
Devon has its own [[flag]]. It is linked to [[St Petroc]], who is a local [[Canonization|saint]] with links to Devon and nearby counties. The flag was chosen after winning a [[competition]] on the [[BBC]] Devon [[website]] in [[2003]].

The flag uses the colour green because green has been used for a long time to represent Devon. In 1816, Lord Exmouth flew a green flag with white circles when he was fighting a [[Royal Navy|naval]] battle in Algeria.<ref name="TeignHeritage">{{cite web | title=Pellew | website=Teign Heritage | url=https://www.teignheritage.org.uk/index.php/pellew | access-date=2020-08-23 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Devon | website=British County Flags | date=2013-07-17 | url=https://britishcountyflags.com/2013/07/17/devon-flag/ | access-date=2020-08-23}}</ref>
== Economy ==
Devon has a strong economy but, like [[Cornwall]], it is less wealthy than some parts of England. This is because the traditional [[industry|industries]] of Devon, like [[fishing]], [[mining]] and [[farming]] are declining. The [[European Union]] helped some parts of Devon. For example, [[grant]]s of money were given to help new industries grow. [[Tourism]] has become more important recently as a part of the economy of Devon.

An [[epidemic]] of [[foot-and-mouth disease]] in [[2001]] led to many [[farmer]]s losing their [[cattle]], so they lost a lot of money. Other industries also lost a lot of [[income]] because of this.
== Politics ==
The main city of Devon is [[Plymouth, Devon|Plymouth]]. Exeter is where the county [[council]] is based. The county of Devon is split up into [[district]]s. Each district is run by a [[district council]]. Some things are the job of the county council and others are the job of the district council. There are also smaller [[town]] and [[parish]] councils inside the districts.

Plymouth and [[Torbay]] are not run by the county council, but have their own special councils. These councils do the jobs of both a county and a district council. These type of areas are called ''[[Unitary authority|unitary authorities]]''.
== Districts in Devon ==
[[File:Devon numbered districts.svg|200px|thumb|A map showing the districts of Devon]]
The numbers on the map are linked to the numbers below.

# [[North Devon]]
# [[Torridge]]
# [[Mid Devon]]
# [[East Devon]]
# [[Exeter]]
# [[West Devon]]
# [[Teignbridge]]
# [[Plymouth]] (Unitary)
# [[South Hams]]
# [[Torbay (district|Torbay]] (Unitary)
== Members of [[Parliament]] ==
* [[Ben Bradshaw]]
* [[Angela Browning]]
* [[Geoffrey Cox]]
* [[Oliver Colvile]]
* [[Linda Gilroy]]
* [[Nick Harvey]]
* [[Adrian Sanders]]
* [[Alison Seabeck]]
* [[Sarah Wollaston]]
* [[Gary Streeter]]
* [[Hugo Swire]]
* [[Richard Younger-Ross]]
== Cities towns and villages ==
[[File:Westwardho.beach.arp.750pix.jpg|right|thumb|260px|The [[beach]] at [[Westward Ho!]] in Devon]]
This is a list of the main [[towns]] and [[cities]] of Devon:
{|cellpadding=4 cellspacing=4 border=0
|-
||
* [[Axminster]]
* [[Barnstaple]]
* [[Beer (Devon)|Beer]]
* [[Bideford]]
* [[Brixham]]
* [[Dartmouth]]
* [[Dawlish]]
* [[Exeter]]
* [[Exmouth]]
* [[Honiton]]
* [[Ilfracombe]]
* [[Ivybridge]]
* [[Lynmouth]]
* [[Newton Abbot]]
||
* [[Okehampton]]
* [[Paignton]]
* [[Plymouth]]
* [[Plympton]]
* [[Princetown]]
* [[Salcombe]]
* [[Sidmouth]]
* [[Tavistock]]
* [[Teignmouth]]
* [[Tiverton]]
* [[Torquay]]
* [[Totnes]]
|}
== Interesting places ==
* [[Dartmoor]]
* [[Exmoor]]
* [[Jurassic Coast]] (a [[World Heritage Site]])
* [[Lundy]] Island
* [[Buckfast Abbey]]
* [[Castles in Devon]]
== Rivers ==
* [[River Avon (Devon)|River Avon]]
* [[River Axe]]
* [[River Dart]]
* [[River Erme]]
* [[River Exe]]
* [[River Otter]]
* [[River Tamar]] (the [[border]] between Devon and [[Cornwall]])
* [[River Tavy]]
* [[River Taw]]
* [[River Teign]]
* [[River Torridge]]

== Devon Media ==
<gallery widths='160px' heights='100%' mode='traditional' caption=''>
File:Drizzlecombe stones 6.JPG|[[Menhir]] at [[Drizzlecombe]]

File:Heath.jpg|[[Heath (habitat)|Heathland]] at [[Woodbury Common, Devon|Woodbury Common]] in south east Devon

File:Devon Cliffs.jpg|Devon cliffs in rain, view from Berry Head (2014)

File:Ilfracombe.jpg|[[Ilfracombe]], on the coast of [[North Devon]]

File:Geologic map Wales & SW England EN.svg|Geological map of Wales & Southwest England

File:Pnies5.jpg|Ponies grazing on Exmoor near [[Brendon, Devon|Brendon]], [[North Devon]]

File:Clock tower, County Hall, Exeter.jpg|County Hall, Exeter. Headquarters for Devon County Council.

File:devon.brixham.750pix.jpg|The inner harbour, [[Brixham]], south Devon, at low tide

File:Coat of Arms of Devon County Council.svg|The coat of arms of Devon County Council
</gallery>
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Other websites ==
{{Spoken article|Simple en Devon, oldid 211351.oga|2006-10-12}}
'''''Note:''' The links below are not in simple English.''
* [https://www.devon.gov.uk/ Devon County Council]
* [https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/ BBC Devon]

{{England counties}}
{{authority control}}
[[Category:Devon| ]]
[[Category:Ceremonial counties of England]]