Ilfracombe

Ilfracombe, a watering-place of England, is finely situated on the picturesque rocky coast of North Devon, on a cove or inlet of the Bristol Channel, 11 miles NNW. of Barnstaple (15 by a branch-line). Its air 'combines the soft warmth of South Devon with the bracing freshness of the Welsh mountains' (Charles Kingsley). This and its fine coast-scenery and its admirable sea-bathing annually attract large numbers of visitors. On the north side of the (good) harbour there is a light-house, the light, 127 feet above high-water, being visible for 10 miles. Although having now nothing more than a little coasting trade and fishing, Ilfracombe was in the 14th century a port of some consequence, and contributed six vessels to the English fleet for the siege of Calais. A destructive fire occurred in July 1896. Pop. (1851) 2919; (1881) 6255; (1891) 7692.