94 



THE BEITISH ISLES. 



modern buildings the most striking is tlio Albert jMiiseum. In the beginning of 

 the sixteenth century Exeter was the centre of the English woollen industry, since 

 transferred to Yorkshire. CredifoH, 7 miles to the north-west, on the river Greedy, 

 a tributary of the Exe, lies in the centre of a prosperous agricultural district. The 

 parish of Sandford, near it, is said to be the most fertile in all Devonshire. 

 Tiverto)!, a place of some importance on the Upper Exe, engages in the lace trade 

 and net-making. 



Sidmoiith and Axmoutli are favourite watering-places to the east of the Exe. 

 Sidmouth, in a narrow glen formed by the river Sid, occupies a site of striking 

 beauty, red cliffs of Devonian sandstone presenting a charming contrast to the 

 white sand of the beach and the greenish floods of the English Channel. Axmouth, on 

 the other hand, has become fiimous through a landslip which occurred in December, 

 1839, and luis formed the subject of careful observation on the part of Sir Charles 



Fig. 52.— Exeter Cathedii.4.l. 



Lyell and other geologists. A mass of chalk and sandstone, resting upon a bed of 

 sand, had become thoroughly saturated with water. The sand being unable any 

 longer to support the superincumbent mass, the whole of it slid down upon the 

 beach, producing a rent 4,000 feet long, 250 feet wide, and 100 to 150 feet deep. 



Hon if on and Otienj St. Mary, both on the river Otter, and CoUjion, on the 

 river Axe, are the principal seats for the manufacture of pillow lace. Honiton is 

 noted for its cleanliness, Ottery St. Mary for its church, which is an imitation of 

 Exeter Cathedral on a reduced scale, and Colyton for its flint-built, slate-covered 

 houses. A.rmi)isfer, on a hill overlooking the Axe, has a famous old church, and 

 was formerly noted for its carpets, but their manufacture has been discontinued 

 since 1835. 



Barnstaple is the principal town in North Devonshire. It lies in a verdant 

 valley at the head of the estuary of the Taw, has ship-yards, potteries, and a few 



