Ashburton is a small town on the south-southeastern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England, adjacent to the A38. The town is 20 miles northeast of Plymouth and 17 miles southwest of Exeter. It was formerly important as a stannary town, and remains the largest town within the National Park, with a population of around 3,800, increasing to 4,170 in 2011. Ashburton has five pubs within the centre of town and five restaurants/cafés. The town is also part of the electoral ward named Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, the population of which at the 2011 census was 7,718.
History
The name is recorded in the Domesday Book as Essebretone. Ashburton was then the main town of the Parish of Ashburton, in Teignbridge Hundred. During the English Civil War, Ashburton was a temporary refuge for Royalist troops fleeing after their defeat by General Fairfax at nearby Bovey Tracey. The town was the terminus of the Buckfastleigh, Totnes and South Devon Railway that opened on 1 May 1872. Ashburton railway station closed to passengers in November 1958 although goods traffic on the line continued until 7 September 1962. Ashburton used to be famous for a beverage known as Ashburton Pop, possibly a type of champagne, the recipe of which was lost with the brewer in 1765. Ashburton Carnival is one of the oldest, possibly the oldest, surviving in Devon. Written records date it back to 1891, but it is believed to have been started in the mid-1880s to raise funds for a new hospital. Ashburton Golf Club was founded in 1910. The club continued into the 1920s. Ashmoor Hockey Club was formed in 2003 and plays at South Dartmoor Community College.
The parish church of St Andrew is a fine building of the 15th century with a tall tower and two aisles. The 15th century church tower includes sculptures by Herbert Read, who also carved the oak reredos. One window has stained glass designed by C. E. Kempe. The porch is partly Norman. St Lawrence Chapel is a Grade ll* Listed Building in St Lawrence Lane in the centre of the town. Originally a chantry chapel and then a grammar school for over 600 years, St Lawrence Chapel is now an important heritage, cultural and community centre, managed by the Guild of St Lawrence. The town's old Methodist Church at 15 West St was built in 1835. In 2015 the Methodist congregation moved to the nearby St Andrew's Church Hall. The building was sold by public auction on 19 July 2017, when it was bought by Ashburton Arts Ltd using funds donated or loaned by members of the community. The building now houses Ashburton Arts Centre. Saint Gudula Well and Cross in Old Totnes Road is probably named after St Gulval, also honoured at Gulval in Cornwall. The Rippon Tor Rifle Range lies within five miles of Ashburton.
