Ilfracombe
| Ilfracombe | |
|---|---|
 Ilfracombe seen from Hillsborough |
|
 Ilfracombe
|
|
| Ilfracombe shown within Devon | |
| Population | 11,184 (2011 parish census) |
| OS grid reference | SS516474 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ILFRACOMBE |
| Postcode district | EX34 |
| Dialling code | 01271 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Devon and Somerset |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | http://www.theilfracombecentre.co.uk |
St. Nicholas's Chapel
|
|
| Location | Lantern Hill, Ilfracombe |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°12′40″N 4°06′47″W / 51.211135°N 4.113009°W |
| Year first constructed | 1650 (first) |
| Year first lit | 1819 (current) |
| Construction | stone chaple |
| Markings / pattern | white lantern on the top |
| Height | 11 metres (36 ft) |
| Focal height | 39 metres (128 ft) |
| Light source | mains power |
| Characteristic | Fl G 2.5s. |
| Admiralty number | A5594 |
| NGA number | 6220 |
| ARLHS number | ENG-059 |
| Managing agent | North Devon District Council |
| Heritage | Grade I listed |
Ilfracombe /ˈɪlfrəkum/ is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs.
The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 4 miles along the Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west. The resort is hilly and the highest point within the parish boundary is at 'Hore Down Gate', 2 miles inland and 860 feet (270 m) above sea level.
The landmark of Hillsborough Hill dominates the harbour and is the site of an Iron Age fortified settlement. In the built environment, the architectural-award-winning Landmark Theatre is either loved or hated for its unusual double-conical design. The 13th century parish church, Trinity, and the St Nicholas's Chapel (a lighthouse) on Lantern Hill, have been joined by the Damien Hirst owned statue, Verity, as points of interest.
Ilfracombe has been settled since the Iron Age, when the Dumnonii (the Roman name for the inhabitants of the South-West) established a hill fort on the dominant hill, Hillsborough (formerly Hele's Barrow). The origin of the town's name has two possible sources. The first is that it is a derivative of the Anglo-Saxon Alfreinscoma - by which name it was noted in the Liber Exoniensis of 1086. The translation of this name (from Walter William Skeat of the department of Anglo Saxon at Cambridge University) means the "Valley of the sons of Alfred". The second origin is that the name Ilfracombe was derived from Norse illf (bad), Anglo-Saxon yfel (evil ford) and Anglo-Saxon cumb (valley) perhaps from a Celtic source (compare Welsh ), thus 'The valley with the bad ford'.
...
Wikipedia