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Martinhoe

Martinhoe is a hamlet and civil parish in North Devon district, Devon, England. In the 2011 census it was recorded as having a population of 159. The northern boundary of the parish is the coast of the Bristol Channel, along which goes the South West Coast Path. The neighbouring parishes are Lynton and Lynmouth to the east, Parracombe to the south, Kentisbury to the south west, and Combe Martin to the west. The parish church of St Martin dates in part from the 13th or 14th century and is Grade II* listed. It is in the Diocese of Exeter, and services are held once a month. There are 16 listed buildings in the parish, all at Grade II except the church. The Beacon roman fortlet, above the coast to the north west of the village, was occupied for a short time in the first century AD and was excavated in the 1960s. Woody Bay on the coast of the parish was the site of a failed development plan in the 1890s. The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway ran through the southern part of the parish, and Woody Bay railway station is in the parish; at 964 feet it is said to be the highest railway station in southern England. The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust operates narrow gauge trains over one mile of track between the station and Killington Lane. Hollow Brook Waterfall, which drops to the sea due north of the village, is claimed to be "the westcountry's highest coastal waterfall, and one of the highest in Britain", dropping 210 metres in a series of falls including two of 50 metres , over 400 metres horizontal distance.

Pilton railway station

Pilton Yard, in Barnstaple was, between 1898 and 1935, the main depot and operating centre of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway , a narrow gauge line that ran through Exmoor from Barnstaple to Lynton and Lynmouth in north Devon, England. Pilton station was served by regular passenger services advertised between 1898 and 1904 after which only goods facilities were provided. Passengers were catered for at the nearby LSWR station, Barnstaple Town, which provided connections with trains on the standard gauge branch line to Ilfracombe. The L&B's main offices were also based at Pilton, in a building formerly belonging to the Tannery which had earlier occupied the site, and which took over the site after the railway closed. Pilton was the site of the L&B's only turntable. Locomotives always travelled with their boilers facing "down" the line, i.e. towards Lynton (down as it was away from London by rail, although geologically, Lynton was higher, and geographically nearer to London). The turntable was used to turn rolling stock periodically to even-out bearing wear. After closure, the turntable was installed at the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway in Kent, but is now owned by the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway Trust and in storage for eventual restoration and reuse on the new L&B. The carriage sheds, locomotive shed and other remnants of the railway were destroyed in a fire in 1992. Much of the site is now a car park, although there are still signs of its former railway use.

Queen's Theatre

The Queens Theatre, Barnstaple assumed its current form in 1993, but the history of theatre in Barnstaple can be traced back to at least 1435, when Minstrels, Players, Jugglers and Buffoons were an established feature of Barnstaples annual fair. Documents indicate that in 1605 a touring troupe, the Kings Players visited, and it is believed that William Shakespeare was one of their members. John Gay, a renowned contributor in the theatre world, best known for the Beggars Opera was born in Barnstaple. Barnstaples first theatre was built in Honey Pot Lane in 1760. By 1832, it had become ruinous and was forced to close. A new theatre, The Grecian Hall, opened in 1834. Renamed The Theatre Royal around 1860, it regularly staged popular musicals and musical comedies. By 1880 this too had closed, although performances continued at a large room above the Corn Market which had served as a music hall since 1854. The Theatre Royal re-opened in 1893 and the music hall, now the Albert Hall, in 1897. The two venues operated successfully until just prior to World War I, when the Theatre Royal was demolished. The Albert Hall continued providing musical entertainment until 1941, when it was destroyed by fire, probably from a discarded cigarette. In 1952 the hall was rebuilt as The Queens Hall. Although with a plain and functional interior, it served the Barnstaple community, for a variety of purposes of live entertainment, antique markets, dog shows and similar functions for over forty years. In 1993 the local council decided to fully refurbish the building, reopening as The Queens Theatre. The first production in the new facilities the pantomime Snow White opened on Christmas Eve that year. In the summer of 2013 the theatre closed for major backstage refurbishment including a 23 line electric flying system and an electric orchestra pit. There were also minor improvements for access. The theatre reopened on the 14th of September. This theatre, along with The Landmark, Ilfracombe is managed by The North Devon Theatres Trust, a registered charity promoting the arts in North Devon.

Huntshaw Cross transmitting station

Huntshaw Cross transmitting station is a telecommunications facility serving North Devon including the towns of Barnstaple and South Molton. It broadcasts television, radio and mobile telephone services and is currently owned by Arqiva. It is located on the B3232 road at Huntshaw, Great Torrington. Grid reference SS527220. The mast is 164 metres high. The site was opened by the Independent Television Authority on 22 April 1968 carrying the ITV programmes of Westward Television using the now defunct 405 line VHF transmission system. In this context, the site was treated as an off-air relay of Stockland Hill. 625 line UHF colour TV transmissions commenced on 5 November 1973. The high power output of the UHF transmitter and its location allowed its signal to be received clearly in parts of south Wales. From 1985 and before Freeview it became a popular transmitter from which to receive Channel 4 which was not broadcast on Welsh transmitters (Channel 4 launched in 1982, but wasn't available from Huntshaw Cross until the summer of 1985). Evidence of this can easily be seen in Swansea (for instance) where many Group C/D TV aerials can be seen pointing south, across the water. The 405-line transmissions from Huntshaw Cross were discontinued in the 2nd quarter of 1983, somewhat before the final UK-wide shutdown of the VHF system in January 1985. Digital switchover began at the site in the early hours of 1 July 2009 when the BBC Two analogue service was switched off just after 01:20 BST. Switchover was completed in the early hours of 29 July 2009 with the analogue services disappearing one by one, starting with BBC One at a few seconds after 01:30. Viewers were required to perform another retune on 30 September 2009 as SDN, Arqiva A and Arqiva B reached their final frequency positions. Final post-DSO power levels were not reached by all multiplexes on this transmitter until March 2012. Freeview HD became available to viewers using this site from 24 September 2010. A local DAB multiplex for North Devon began transmitting on 2 February 2012 ahead of full launch on 6 February 2012, the local DAB service is an exact mirror of the DAB service for Exeter and Torbay.

Woody Bay

Three miles west of Lynton and eight east of Combe Martin on the North Devon coast of England, stoney-beached Woody Bay nestles among the steep cliffs of the rugged coast below the heights of Exmoor. Although now a relatively remote and unspoilt corner of Devon, at the edge of the Exmoor National Park and a waypoint on the South West Coast Path, there were once plans to develop the area to become a busy holiday resort to rival the nearby Victorian "Little Switzerland of England". In 1885 the Manor of Martinhoe, including the then-named Wooda Bay, was purchased by Colonel Benjamin Lake, a wealthy solicitor from Orpington in Kent. Perhaps in an effort to emulate Sir George Newnes efforts in the nearby twin towns of Lynton and Lynmouth, Col. Lake planned to develop the bay as an exclusive resort. He converted Martinhoe Manor House into an Hotel, and in 1894, opened a new golf course at Martinhoe common. Plots of land were sold off, and a number of villas started to appear on the wooded slopes overlooking the bay. A key to the success of Col. Lakes plans would be to bring in more visitors, by improving communications into the area. New roads were built and in 1895, construction of a pier was started, to provide access from coastal steamers. In 1898, The narrow-gauge Lynton Barnstaple Railway arrived, with a relatively substantial station built high above the bay, and plans for a branch line to run down towards the shore. In January 1897, with the pier almost completed, a major steamship company operating in the area announced that they would be sailing to Woody Bay instead of Lynmouth. This caused considerable alarm among the Lynton and Lynmouth residents, and eventually, the decision was reversed. The official opening of the Woody Bay pier took place on 15 April 1897. However, bad weather and low tides prevented the first ships from docking, and this set the scene for future visitors – the pier was not long enough to cater for landings at low tide. And although there was a regular service from Bristol, fewer steamers were calling than had been intended, and plans were drawn up to extend the pier further out into the bay. Again apeing Sir Georges development of the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway, a cliff railway was also mooted, to connect with the Lynton Barnstaple Railway, although neither plan ever came to fruition. On 12 January 1899, perhaps as an omen of what was to come, the pier was severely damaged by a storm, with another a year later. It was never repaired, and the remains were finally demolished for scrap in 1902, although some evidence of its existence can still be seen on the shoreline today. The Colonel continued pouring money into the area, in an effort to see his dream become reality. However, it wasnt all his money to spend, and in July 1900, he was forced into bankruptcy, with debts of over £170,000. He was sentenced to twelve years in prison, for using clients savings to fund the Woody Bay developments, and died in 1907 along with any prospect of further intensive developments around Martinhoe.

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