Situated on the famous Roman Fosse Way, a road that starts in Exeter and leads to Lincoln, via Cirencester, Honiton began its modern life with a mention in the Domesday Book. It is down as Huna’s Tun which is another way of saying farmstead. It is now a much larger site of human population. The reason it has grown to such a large scale is it’s famous lace making which, for a time, was considered some of the best in the world. This starts in the Elizabethan era with the coming of Flemish immigrants to the area. It reaches its peak when Queen Victoria requests that her wedding dress be made from it.
You can still see in the Shops in Honiton high street many examples of it. Just go to https://www.devonlife.co.uk/home/visitor-s-guide-to-honiton-1-4785858 to have a look at what is on offer. Sadly none of the older town architecture exists to any great extent. The town was gutted twice by fire. As a result the town is mainly made up of Georgian buildings that were built to replace the ones lost in the fire.
The town has a strange, slightly cruel, custom known as the “Hot Pennies” Ceremony. In the past the rich would throw heated coins out of their windows for the poor to catch. As this was done in high summer their hands would be burnt but, with no money, they had little choice.