Bideford

Bideford is situated on the banks of the River Torridge in North Devon only a few miles from the Atlantic coast. In the 16th century Bideford was once one of Britain's largest sea ports. The Town also prospered with its trade in silk and cotton dealing a lot with Spain and Newfoundland. During the war, Bideford known also for ship building within its seaport played a significant role with the launching of several frigates. Although a new bridge was built to bypass the town of Bideford and take away some of the through traffic via the A39, the old 24 arch stone bridge built originally in 1535 can still be crossed by following the old road.