With a population that barely tops out at over ten thousand, Honiton is easy to overlook amid the other more prominent towns in the county of Devon. Overlooking the town would be a mistake, though, because Honiton is positively filled to the brim with interesting features and rich, historical wonders throughout.
Honiton is far older than many people give it credit for and, like many towns in the area, it originated during the days of the Roman Empire. The Fosse Way was an ancient Roman road that was of the utmost importance in those days and many of England's most beloved cities were first populated right alongside this old pathway. It is in fact the only remaining Roman road that still retains its original name and this is largely because of the massive influence that it had and still does have. Honiton was just one of the towns that arose on the side of the Fosse Way and it was one of the most important stopping points along the road. It didn't become a decidedly British town until another few hundred years passed and by that time England was firmly entrenched in the Elizabethan era and Honiton became famous for its production of the perfect fabric for its time: Lace.
Honiton was considered the place to go to if you wanted to get topnotch lace and the aristocrats of the time worried about nothing as much as they worried about having the best of everything. By the 1800s even Queen Victoria was a fan of Honiton lace and had her entire wedding gown made out of the material. Not long before that, though, a horrid fire ravaged Honiton and rent it asunder. Fires were rather common in those early years because many people carried on the tradition of building houses in the medieval style. This style was commonly associated with wooden walls and thicket roofs and naturally a fire would spread quickly in such an environment. The terrible fire of the 1700s actually had a positive effect on the town, though the owners of the ashes certainly wouldn't appreciate that fact at the time. Eventually, when the rebuilding was done, nearly all of the homes in Honiton would be built in the Georgian style that was popular at the time. Many of these homes still stand to this day and it makes Honiton one of the best places in England to see classic, antique Georgian homes made in the fashion of the day. This is a great boon to architecture buffs as well as historians and Honiton is thus very popular with fans of either pursuit.
Honiton is of course a very modern town as well with a state of the art railway and several sports teams that are well-funded and very popular with the locals. The scenic beauty of the town meshes well with the friendly inhabitants and most visitors say that a trip to Honiton only results in a desire to return to the town as soon as possible. If you have yet to visit the beautiful time capsule located along the Fosse Way it is advised that you do so as soon as possible before another fire comes along.
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