South Molton is located within North Devon local authority area. Historically it formed part of South Molton Hundred. It falls within South Molton Deanery for ecclesiastical purposes. The Deaneries are used to arrange the typescript Church Notes of B.F.Cresswell which are held in the Westcountry Studies Library. The population was 2753 in 1801 2892 in 1901 . Figures for other years are available on the local studies website. In the valuation of 1334 it was assessed at £06/05/05. The lay subsidy of 1524 valued the community at £45/05/04. In 1641/2 608 adult males signed the Protestation returns. It is recorded as a borough from 1170 and was incorporated in 1590. It had parliamentary representation from 13--. A turnpike was established in 1759. The community had a grammar school from 1686. A market is recorded from 14c.-1985.

A parish history file is held in South Molton Library. You can look for other material on the community by using the place search on the main local studies database. Further historical information is also available on the Genuki website.

Maps: The image below is of the South Molton area on Donn's one inch to the mile survey of 1765.

On the County Series Ordnance Survey mapping the area is to be found on 1:2,500 sheet 22/5 Six inch (1:10560) sheet 22NW
The National Grid reference for the centre of the area is SS714259. On the post 1945 National Grid Ordnance Survey mapping the sheets are: 1:10,000 (six inch to a mile: sheet SS72NW, 1:25,000 mapping: sheet Explorer 127, Landranger (1:50,000) mapping: sheet 180. Geological sheet 293 also covers the area.

Illustrations: The image below is of South Molton as included in the Library's Etched on Devon's memory website. Other images can be searched for on the local studies catalogue.

Extract from Devon by W.G.Hoskins (1954), included by kind permission of the copyright holder:

MOLTON SOUTH is a cheerful little market town on the main road from Barnstaple to Taunton. Broad Street is an unspoilt group of building set off by the excellent facade of the Town Hall, which is carried on a series of arches over the pavement. This building was begun in 1740, finished in 1743, (Records of the Borough of South Molton, ed. Cock (1893), 54-5.) and carries a bust of Hugh Squier (1625-1710), "our great benefactor." He built and endowed a grammar school in 1686, afterwards known as Hugh Squier's school, which was amalgamated in 1877 with the Blue Coat Schools (1711) and the National Schools (1833) to form the South Molton United Schools.