Devonshire, a maritime county, in the south-west peninsula of England, between the Bristol and the English Channel. Its greatest length is 70 miles; its greatest breadth, 65; and it contains 2586 sq. m., of which about three-fourths are under cultivation. The coast-line approaches 150 miles. The north coast is the boldest, with several hills over 1000 feet. Its chief indentation is Bideford Bay, 18 miles broad and 8 deep, into which fall the Taw and the Torridge. The south coast is also lined with cliffs, chief among them being the bold promontorial district of the Bolt Head and Start Point, the western horn of the great bay of which Portland is the eastern. Tor Bay is 3 by miles. Plymouth Sound, the combined estuary of the Tamar and Plym, is one of the finest harbours in the kingdom, the anchorage ground extending 7 miles inland from the breakwater (see PLYMOUTH) by which the outer roadstead is protected. Devonshire is hilly, the most elevated parts being the table-lands of Dartmoor in the south-west, Exmoor in the north-west, running into Somerset, and Blackdown in the east. These are mainly open moorlands. Dartmoor (q.v.) is very rocky; the lower hills grassy. High Willhayse, on Dartmoor (2039 feet), is the highest point. Devonian and Carboniferous strata occupy the greater part of the county; next in importance are the granitic boss of Dartmoor, and the Triassic rocks in the eastern quarter. There are also archæan rocks, probably Silurian, with greensand, chalk, a Miocene deposit at Bovey Tracey, and many exposures of igneous rocks, intrusive and interbedded. Copper, tin, lead, iron, and manganese occur in commercial quantities, with ores of several other metals; china, terracotta, potter's, and pipe clays; granites, marbles, anthracite, lignite, gypsum, and other earthy minerals. The rivers of Devonshire are numerous. The Tamar, 59 miles, is the longest, and divides Devon from Cornwall; the Exe, 54 miles, which comes next, rises in Somerset. The other leading rivers—the Dart, Teign, Taw, Torridge, and Plym, all from Dartmoor, have estuaries of commercial importance, as have also the Exe and Tamar. The red deer still run wild on Exmoor, and are hunted.
The climate of Devon, especially in the south, is mild and humid, and not liable to great extremes. Hence, several of the towns on the southern and eastern coasts have become famous as health-resorts—notably Torquay; and, on the north coast, Ilfracombe. Myrtles and aloes commonly flourish in the open air; and in specially favoured spots oranges and lemons, with a little protection, will thrive and fruit. The rainfall on Dartmoor is much greater than elsewhere in Devon, and the winters colder and more bracing. The climate is so invigorating, however, that the Moor is rapidly growing into repute as a summer sanatorium, and that the convict prison is regarded as a health-station. The county is most fertile, especially in the South Hams, and on the 'red land' of the Vale of Exeter. The pastures are very rich, and dairy-farming and cattle-breeding are prominent in its agriculture. The red Devon cattle are one of the leading breeds; and the sheep and ponies of Dartmoor and Exmoor have more than a local reputation. 'Clotted cream,' produced by scalding, is a special product almost confined to Devon and Cornwall. There are extensive orchards, from which great quantities of cider are made; and various fruits are largely cultivated in special localities and sent to London and the Midlands by rail. The fisheries are extensive and valuable, the chief centres being Plymouth and Brixham. Though in the main agricultural, Devon has a varied industrial character. Mining and quarrying and clay-working are of considerable importance; and the manufactures include serges, lace, gloves; extensive potteries; manure, chemical, and soap works; paper-mills, breweries, and distilleries. The chief towns are the city of Exeter, Plymouth, Devonport, Torquay, Tiverton, Barnstaple, Stonehouse, Tavistock, Teignmouth, Newton, Dartmouth, and Brixham. Pop. (1801) 340,308; (1881) 604,397; (1891) 631,767. Under the Reform Act of 1885 Exeter returns one member, Plymouth and Devonport two each, and the rest of the county is divided into eight single-member constituencies.
Devon adds to singular landscape charms, anti-quarian attractions of a most comprehensive and varied character, prehistoric and medieval. The Romans had little to do with it beyond Exeter, which was an important station; the Saxons did not conquer it until the reign of Cynewulf; the Danes ravaged it in the 9th and 10th centuries, though they were at first repulsed with heavy loss; it was the scene of the western rebellion for the restoration of Roman Catholicism in 1549; Plymouth was the headquarters of the fleet which defeated the Armada in 1588, and the chief mainstay of the parliament in the west of England in the conflict with Charles I.; Brixham was the landing-place in 1688 of William of Orange. No county save Middlesex has given birth to so many eminent men—Raleigh, Drake, Hawkins, Marlborough, Monk, Coleridge, Hooker, Sir Joshua Reynolds, John Davis, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Richard Grenville, Bishop Jewell, Gay, St Boniface, Newcomen, Wolcott, Kingsley, John Ford, among them.