Ivybridge Town Council

Ivybridge is the largest town in the South Hams district of South Devon, with a population approaching 14,000, and is widely promoted as the "Gateway to the Moor" for its position at the southern edge of Dartmoor National Park. The town takes its name from a narrow medieval packhorse bridge over the River Erme, first recorded as "Ivybrugge" in 1292, which for centuries was the only crossing point on the road between Exeter and Plymouth. Ivybridge grew significantly from the 18th century onward around paper-making and other water-powered mills along the Erme, and became a formally recognised town in 1977 after being a civil parish since 1894. It is the southern terminus of the Two Moors Way long-distance footpath, which runs north across Dartmoor and Exmoor, and is a popular base for walkers exploring the southern moor. Ivybridge Town Council is based at the Town Hall on Erme Court and, reflecting the town's size, runs a fuller range of services and community facilities than the smaller parish councils nearby. Cover photograph: photo by Tony Atkin, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.