Editing Totnes (section)

==History==

===Totnes in myth and legend===
[[File:BrutusStoneTotnes.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|The Brutus Stone in Fore Street]]
According to the {{lang|la|[[Historia Regum Britanniae]]}} written by [[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] in around 1136, "the coast of Totnes" was where [[Brutus of Troy]], the mythical founder of Britain, first came ashore on the island.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=Theo |title=The Trojans in Devon |journal=Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association |year=1955 |volume=87 |page=63 }}</ref> Set into the pavement of Fore Street is the '''Brutus Stone''', a small granite boulder<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-426496-brutus-stone-to-front-of-nos-51-53-totne |title=Brutus Stone to Front of Nos 51/53, Totnes |publisher=British Listed Buildings |access-date=20 October 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075004/http://www.britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/en-426496-brutus-stone-to-front-of-nos-51-53-totne |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Brutus Stone at the front of 51 Fore Street, Totnes |url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MDV9057&resourceID=104 |website=heritagegateway.org |publisher=Heritage Gateway |access-date=11 May 2023}}</ref> onto which, according to local legend, Brutus first stepped from his ship. As he did so, he was supposed to have declaimed:<ref name="TTID2">{{cite journal |last=Brown |first=Theo |title=The Trojans in Devon |journal=Report & Transactions of the Devonshire Association |year=1955 |volume=87 |pages=68–69 }}</ref><blockquote>Here I stand and here I rest. And this town shall be called Totnes.</blockquote>

The stone is far above the highest tides and the tradition is not likely to be of great antiquity, being first mentioned in [[John Prince (Totnes)|John Prince]]'s ''Worthies of Devon'' in 1697.<ref name="TTID2"/> It is possible that the stone was originally the one from which the [[town crier]], or ''bruiter'' called out his news; or it may be ''le Brodestone'', a boundary stone mentioned in several 15th century disputes: its last-known position in 1471 was below the East Gate.<ref name="TTID2"/>

The [[Middle English]] prose ''[[Brut Chronicle|Brut]]'' ({{circa|1419}}) places the fight between Brutus' general [[Corineus]], and the British giant [[Gogmagog (giant)|Gogmagog]] "at Totttenes",<ref>{{citation|editor-last=Brie|editor-first=Friedrich W. D.|title=The Brut or the Chronicles of England, edited from Ms. Raw. B171, Bodleian Library, &c.|series=Early English Text Society |volume=131 |id=(part 1) |place=London |publisher=Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner |date=1906–1908 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ULELAQAAIAAJ | chapter=Chapter 4 | pages=10–11 }}</ref> while [[Cornish people|Cornish]] [[antiquary]] [[Richard Carew (antiquary)|Richard Carew]] suggested that the fight may have begun near the town, but ended at [[Plymouth Hoe]].<ref name="Carew">{{cite book | first=Richard | last=Carew | author-link=Richard Carew (antiquary) | title=The Survey of Cornwall. And An Epistle concerning the Excellencies of the English Tongue | url=https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/9878/pg9878.html | year=1769 | origyear=1602 | publisher=E. Law and J. Hewett }}</ref> The ''Historia'' has several other landings at the Totness coast: the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] general [[Vespasian]], [[Constantine III (Western Roman emperor)|Constantine]] of [[Brittany]] at the port of Totnes, [[Ambrosius Aurelianus|Aurelius Ambrosius]] and his brother [[Uther Pendragon]] attempting to win back the throne of Britain from the usurper [[Vortigern]], the [[Saxons]] at war with [[King Arthur]], and in one version [[Cadwallon ap Cadfan|Cadwallo]] fighting against the [[Mercia]]ns.<ref>{{cite journal | first=John | last=Clark | title=Trojans at Totnes and Giants on the Hoe: Geoffrey of Monmouth, Historical Fiction and Geographical Reality | journal=Reports and Transactions of the Devonshire Association | date=June 2016 | volume=148 | page=92 | url=https://devonassoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Trojans-at-Totnes-Clark-TDA-2016.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://devonassoc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Trojans-at-Totnes-Clark-TDA-2016.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live }}</ref> The ''Historia'' also mentions the town in a prophecy of [[Merlin]]: "after [the dragon of Worcester] shall succeed the boar of Totness, and oppress the people with grievous tyranny. Gloucester shall send forth a lion, and shall disturb him in his cruelty, in several battles. He shall trample him under his feet, and terrify him with open jaws."<ref name="HRB 7">{{cite wikisource | author=[[Geoffrey of Monmouth]] | wslink=Six Old English Chronicles/Geoffrey's British History | chapter=Book 7 | plaintitle=[[Historia Regum Britanniae]] | at=Chapter 4 }}</ref>

===Ancient and medieval history===
The first authentic history of Totnes is in AD&nbsp;907, when it was fortified by King [[Edward the Elder]] as part of the defensive ring of [[burh]]s built around Devon, replacing one built a few years earlier at nearby Halwell.<ref name="HTDS"/> The site was chosen because it was on an ancient trackway which forded the river at low tide.<ref name="HTDS"/> Between the reigns of [[Edgar the Peaceful|Edgar]] and [[William II of England|William II]] (959–1100) Totnes intermittently [[mint (coin)|minted]] coins.<ref name=hosk>{{cite book |title=A New Survey of England: Devon |last=Hoskins |first=W. G. |author-link=W. G. Hoskins |year=1954 |pages=504–508 |publisher=Collins |location=London }}</ref> Some time between the [[Norman Conquest]] in 1066 and the compilation of the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086, [[William the Conqueror]] granted the burh to [[Juhel of Totnes]], who was probably responsible for the first construction of the castle. Juhel did not retain his lordship for long, however, as he was deprived of his lands in 1088 or 1089, for rebelling against William II.<ref name=hosk />

The name ''Totnes'' (first recorded in AD&nbsp;979) comes from the [[Old English]] personal name ''Totta'' and ''ness'' or headland.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-names |last=Ekwall |first=Eilert |author-link=Eilert Ekwall |publisher=OUP |location=Oxford |edition=4th |year=1960 |page=478 |isbn=0-19-869103-3 }}</ref> Before reclamation and development, the low-lying areas around this hill were largely marsh or tidal wetland, giving the hill much more the appearance of a "ness" than today.

By the 12th century, Totnes was already an important market town, due to its position on one of the main roads of the South West, in conjunction with its easy access to its [[hinterland]] and the easy navigation of the River Dart.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kowaleski |first=Maryanne |title=The New Maritime History of Devon; Volume 1: From early times to the late eighteenth century |chapter=The port towns of fourteenth-century Devon |editor=Duffy, Michael |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |year=1992 |page=63 |isbn=0-85177-611-6 |display-editors=etal}}</ref>

===Modern history===
[[File:Totnes Guildhall - geograph.org.uk - 922391.jpg|thumb|[[Totnes Guildhall]]]]
By 1523, according to a tax assessment, Totnes was the second-richest town in Devon, and the sixteenth-richest in England, ahead of [[Worcester, England|Worcester]], [[Gloucester]] and [[Lincoln, England|Lincoln]].<ref name="HTDS">{{Cite book
| last = Stansbury
| first = Don
| title = The Heart of Totnes
| chapter = 907–1523: The king's town
| editor = Bridge, Maureen
| publisher = AQ & DJ Publications
| location = Tavistock
| year = 1998
| pages = 123–131
| isbn = 0-904066-36-3
}}</ref>
In 1553, King [[Edward VI]] granted Totnes a charter allowing a former [[Benedictine]] [[priory]] building that had been founded in 1088 to be used as [[Totnes Guildhall]] and a school. In 1624, the Guildhall was converted to be a [[magistrates' court (England and Wales)|magistrates' court]]. Soldiers were billeted here during the [[English Civil War]] and [[Oliver Cromwell]] visited for discussions with the general and parliamentary commander-in-chief [[Thomas Fairfax]], 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron in 1646.<ref>[http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=113206 Totnes Guildhall] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722034809/http://www.whatsonwhen.com/sisp/index.htm?fx=event&event_id=113206 |date=22 July 2011 }}, [http://www.whatsonwhen.com/ Whatsonwhen] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821102610/http://www.whatsonwhen.com/ |date=21 August 2008 }}.</ref> Until 1887, the Guildhall was also used as the town [[prison]] with the addition of [[prison cell]]s.<ref>[http://search.visitbritain.com/en-EN/Details.aspx?ContentID=134399 Totnes Guildhall] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120714144520/http://search.visitbritain.com/en-EN/Details.aspx?ContentID=134399 |date=14 July 2012 }}, [[Visit Britain]], UK.</ref> It remained a magistrates' court until 1974. In 1990, a serious fire broke out on the High Street, resulting in the historic Eastgate structure being destroyed and an estimated £10 million in damage.<ref>{{cite news |title=MIDAS CONSTRUCTION WILL BE REFURBISHING TOTNES AFTER THE FIRE |url=https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/archive/05oct90-uk-midas-construction-will-be-refurbishing-totnes-after-the-fire-1-of-2-04-10-1990/ |access-date=19 February 2023 |work=Construction News |date=4 October 1990 |language=en}}</ref>
<!-- more history needed, ~1500-1900 -->

[[File:Totnes High Street.jpg|thumb|Eastgate in 1983, before the 1990 fire.]]
In 2006 Totnes become the first [[transition town]] of the transition initiative.<ref name=TodayTotnes>{{cite news|title=The Transition movement: Today Totnes... tomorrow the world|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-transition-movement-today-totnes-tomorrow-the-world-2364355.html|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=30 November 2017|archive-date=4 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204062003/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-transition-movement-today-totnes-tomorrow-the-world-2364355.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[Permaculture]] designer [[Rob Hopkins]] developed this idea with his students and later with Naresh Giangrande developed the transition model in his home town of Totnes, which has since featured in many articles and films showing this concept. Totnes has adopted an Energy Descent Plan, as a response in answer to the twin problems of [[greenhouse gas emissions]] and [[peak oil]]. As a result of a series of public gatherings with experts, and the organisation of a number of special interest groups, the community has come together with lecturers and trainers shared with [[Schumacher College]], through a process of participative strategic planning, to hone their skills in project development.{{promotion inline|date=April 2024}} As a result of the initiatives in Totnes, a large number of other communities have started "[[Transition Towns|Transition Town]]" projects, and there are now more than 400 around the world,<ref name="Transition Initiatives Directory">{{cite web|title=Transition Initiatives Directory|url=http://www.transitionnetwork.org/initiatives|access-date=30 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120105164933/http://www.transitionnetwork.org/initiatives|archive-date=5 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> ranging from small communities to whole cities (e.g. [[Berlin]]). Totnes hosts the Sea Change Festival<ref name="The Guardian">{{cite web|title=The Guardian: a swell of congregation in the new nowhere ★★★★★|website=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/26/sea-change-festival-review-a-swell-of-congregation-in-the-new-nowhere|access-date=26 April 2020}}</ref> that has been running in the town and neighbouring Dartington since 2016.