Honiton

Honiton, a market-town and municipal borough (1846) of Devonshire, near the left bank of the Otter, 17 miles by rail ENE. of Exeter. Four times devastated by fire between 1747 and 1797, it is a modern well-built place; but its old parish church, on a hill, contains a fine oak-screen, erected in 1482 by Bishop Courtenay of Exeter. The famous Honiton pillow-lace, a manufacture introduced here by Flemish refugees in the middle of the 16th century, is still a specialty of the district (see LACE). The beautiful vale of Honiton is famous for its butter. Honiton was disfranchised in 1868. Pop. (1851) 3427; (1891) 3216.