Editing Barnstaple (section)

==Toponymy==
The name is first recorded in the 10th century and is thought to derive from the Early English ''bearde'', meaning "battle-axe", and ''stapol'', meaning "pillar", i.e. a post or pillar to mark a religious or administrative meeting place. The derivation from ''staple'' meaning "market", indicating a market from its foundation, is likely to be incorrect, as the use of ''staple'' in that sense first appears in 1423.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Cambridge Dictionary of English Place-names |last=Watts |first=Victor |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |edition=1st paperback |year=2010 |pages=37–38 |isbn=978-0-521-16855-7}}</ref>

Barnstaple was formerly referred to as "Barum", as a contraction of the Latin form of the name ''ad Barnastapolitum'' in Latin documents such as the episcopal registers of the [[Diocese of Exeter]].<ref>[[Francis Charles Hingeston-Randolph|Hingeston-Randolph, F. C.]], ed. ''Episcopal Registers: Diocese of Exeter''. 10 vols. London: George Bell, 1886–1915 (for the period 1257–1455).</ref> The spelling '''Barnstable''' was also used for the town but is now obsolete, although that spelling is retained in America by a [[Barnstable, Massachusetts|town in Massachusetts]] and its [[Barnstable County, Massachusetts|county]], which were named after Barnstaple.

Barum is a historical name, which was revived in the [[Victorian era]] in several novels. It remains in the names of a football team, a brewery and several businesses, and on numerous milestones. The former [[Brannam Pottery]] in Litchdon Street was known for its trademark "Barum" etched on the base of its products.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}