 ashburton is a small town on the south-southeastern edge of dartmoor in devon, adjacent to the a38. it was formerly important as a stannary town (a centre for the administration of tin-mining), and remains the largest town within the national park, with a population of around 3,800. ashburton has five pubs within the centre of town, and two restaurants. == history == the name is recorded in the domesday book (1086) as essebretone. ashburton was then the main town of the parish of ashburton, in teignbridge hundred. during the english civil war, ashburton was a temporary refuge for royalist troops fleeing after their defeat by general fairfax at nearby bovey tracey. the town was the terminus of the buckfastleigh, totnes and south devon railway that opened on 1 may 1872. ashburton railway station closed to passengers in november 1958 although goods traffic on the line continued until 7 september 1962. ashburton used to be famous for a beverage known as ashburton pop, possibly a type of champagne, the recipe of which was lost with the brewer in 1765."the noted john cooke of exeter", the every-day book and table book; or, everlasting calendar of popular amusements, sports, pastimes, ceremonies, manners, customs, and events, each of the three hundred and sixty-five days, in past and present times; forming a complete history of the year, months, and seasons, and a perpetual key to the almanac, including accounts of the weather, rules for health and conduct, remarkable and important anecdotes, facts, and notices, in chronology, antiquities, topography, biography, natural history, art, science, and general literature; derived from the most authentic sources, and valuable original communication, with poetical elucidations, for daily use and diversion. vol iii., ed. william hone, (london: 1838) p 356. retrieved on 2008-11-21"ashburton pop corks", notes and queries 1937 172: 50 ashburton carnival is one of the oldest, possibly the oldest, surviving in devon. written records date it back to 1891, but it is believed to have been started in the mid-1880s to raise funds for a new hospital. ashburton go
Dartmoor Market_towns_in_Devon Towns_in_Devon