ut whether this were so or not, the inhabitants
certainly received a charter from Henry I, and further privileges were
added by King John. The barony of Barnstaple, first granted to Judhael
de Totnes, passed to the Tracys, then by marriage to the Lords Martin,
and again by an heiress to the Lords Audley. The son of this heiress was
the 'heroical' Lord Audley who so greatly distinguished himself at the
Battle of Poitiers.

Barnstaple sent three ships to join the fleet that met the Armada.
Risdon calls it 'the chief town of merchandise next the river's mouth,'
and says that the people 'through traffic have much enriched
themselves,' although their haven is so shallow 'that it hardly beareth
small vessels.' Yet spring-tides sometimes flood the marshes all round,
and on one occasion some of the people 'to save their lives were
constrained from their upper rooms to take boat and be gone.' Westcote
speaks of it as trading especially with 'Spain and the islands,' and
till the latter half of the eighteenth century wool for the serge-makers
from Ireland and America was brought to this port; but its trade has now
almost dwindled away.

Barnstaple Fair is a great institution, and, though not quite the event
that it used to be, still keeps up many traditional ceremonies. On the
first morning a large stuffed glove is put out on the end of a pole from
a window of the Guildhall, and is supposed to be the symbol of welcome
to all comers. This sign was adopted long ago, and in the accounts in
1615 and 1622 are two entries: 'Paid for a glove put out at the fair,
4d.,' and 'Paid for a paire of gloves at the faire, 4d.'

In the Guildhall, toast and spiced ale are handed round in loving-cups
to all comers, and after two or three speeches the Mayor and Corporation
proceed to the High Cross and other places in the borough, and the Town
Clerk reads the Proclamation of the Fair. A 'Fair Ball' is still given,
but the custom of a stag-hunt on the second day has been dropped.

Barnstaple was a sort of shuttle-cock during the Civil War. Here, as
elsewhere, the citizens were not all of one mind; though the merchants
and the majority were for the Parliament, and it was taken possession
of first by one side and then by the other.

In August, 1643, Barnstaple and Bideford sent a combined force against
the royal troops under Colonel Digby at Torrington, but being completely
routed, their courage was shaken, and a few days later Barnstaple was
surre