BIDEFORD

small port, Torridge district, administrative and historic county of Devon, England, located at the lowest bridging point of the River Torridge estuary, which empties into Bideford, or Barnstaple, Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The medieval community grew mainly as a result of the wool trade; Bideford received its market charter in 1573 and was incorporated soon after. The coming of the railway (1856) increased Bideford's importance as a resort. Boatbuilding and the manufacturing of concrete products and leather goods are the main industries. The town and the surrounding district were used by Charles Kingsley as locations in his novel Westward Ho! (1855). Pop. (1991) 14,326.