Axminster is a small market town in the east of Devon on the river Axe. It lies on the junction of 2 Roman roads, the Fosse way from Lincoln to Seaton and the Dorchester to Exeter road. Although the Romans had a fort there, Axminster is one of the earliest Saxon settlements in Devon. It was registered in the Domesday book and the market dates back to the 12th Century.
Axminster is now synonymous with carpets. Thomas Witty began this reputation in 1755 when he first utilised the local wool resources to hand make carpets. The process was so time consuming that the church rang its bells when a carpet was completed. Although the original factory failed, the building can still be seen, as in the picture.
Today carpets are still manufactured in Axminster, but the style of carpet weave that they developed has been adopted throughout the world. The busy market town has a triangular shaped square called Trinity Square and there is a town museum as housed in Old Police House in Church Street.
Nearby is Shute Barton Manor, maintained by the National Trust that dates from 1380 owned by the Carew Pole family since 16th Century.