A Trip to Totnes

From the collection of

The Box
Established in 1992, the South West Film & Television Archive collection spans from 1893 to the present day containing more than 250,000 items. Formed from a variety of depositors, including broadcast news and programmes material from the Westward and TSW archive. In 2018 the archive collection transferred to The Box in Plymouth.

A Trip to Totnes


The unique town of Totnes is described for viewers

TV reporter Clive Gunnell visits Totnes to look at the houses, the castle, the church and historic remains such as the water troughs. Today the town has a large New Age community and bohemian atmosphere with a reputation as a centre for learning, the arts and alternative lifestyles. A sign into the town used to read Twinned with Narnia, the fictional land described in C.S. Lewis' novels.

The name Totnes derives from old English tot to mean lookout or hill and ness for marshland. The first history surrounding Totnes is linked to its castle built in 907 by King Edward the Elder. A market town near the River Dart, by 1523 Totnes was the richest town in Devon and ranked 16th in importance in England.


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