. The North Devon coast. red—with a very elaborate chimney-piece inhigh relief, bearing a central medallion represent-ing the Nativity, bordered by typical Renaissancescroll-work and flanked with two armour-cladfigures, minus a limb or two each. The GoldenLion inn, however, has the finest display, towhich, indeed, it has every right, the buildinghaving formerly been the town-house of the Bour-chiers, Earls of Bath. It is a fine old house, dating from early in theseventeenth century, with many oak-panelledrooms and passages, and several with ceilingsintricately decorated in plaster reliefs. The
. The North Devon coast. red—with a very elaborate chimney-piece inhigh relief, bearing a central medallion represent-ing the Nativity, bordered by typical Renaissancescroll-work and flanked with two armour-cladfigures, minus a limb or two each. The GoldenLion inn, however, has the finest display, towhich, indeed, it has every right, the buildinghaving formerly been the town-house of the Bour-chiers, Earls of Bath. It is a fine old house, dating from early in theseventeenth century, with many oak-panelledrooms and passages, and several with ceilingsintricately decorated in plaster reliefs. The largeupstairs sitting-room is the gem of the house, dis- HISTORY, COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE 167 playing, as it does, a coved ceiling dated 1625,with pendants and the arms of the Bourchiers,together with scenes representing Adam and Eve,the Annunciation, the Nativity, and the Sacrificeof Esau, disposed at intervals amid a large mixedassemblage of horses, pheasants, and most significant of all amid these signs of. OLD ROOM IN THE TREVELYAN ARMS. Barnstaples prosperous old days, when all goodswere sea-borne, and when its importance as capitalof North Devon was impossible to be questionedby undue ease of communication with distantcities, is the curious old loggia, or covered way,known as Queen Annes Walk. Not QueenAnne, but the Barnstaple merchants, walked here,and it was really built in the reign of Charles the i68 THE NORTH DEVON COAST vSecond. It was the merchants Exchange, theirRialto, where all news was discussed, bargainsmade, and debts paid. All those uses are pastand done with, but the curious flat-topped pedestalremains in front, on which those old traders paidtheir debts. Exactly such things are still to beseen, for example, outside the Exchange at they are called nails ; and from themand this own brother to them derived the expres-sion of paying for anything * on the nail. Now-
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectdevonen, bookyear1908
