6th century. In
1680 the lace industry was already flourishing at Colyton and Ottery St
Mary, and flax, hemp and malt were largely produced in the 17th and 18th
centuries.

Devonshire returned two members to parliament in 1290, and in 1295
Barnstaple, Exeter, Plympton, Tavistock, Torrington and Totnes were also
represented. In 1831 the county with its boroughs returned a total of
twenty-six members, but under the Reform Act of 1832 it returned four
members in two divisions, and with ten boroughs was represented by a
total of eighteen members. Under the act of 1868 the county returned six
members in three divisions, and four of the boroughs were disfranchised,
making a total of seventeen members.

_Antiquities._--In primeval antiquities Devonshire is not so rich as
Cornwall; but Dartmoor abounds in remains of the highest interest, the
most peculiar of which are the long parallel alignments of upright
stones, which, on a small scale, resemble those of Carnac in Brittany.
On Dartmoor the lines are invariably straight, and are found in direct
connexion with cairns, and with circles which are probably sepulchral.
These stone avenues are very numerous. Of the so-called sacred circles
the best examples are the "Longstones" on Scorhill Down, and the "Grey
Wethers" under Sittaford Tor. By far the finest cromlech is the
"Spinster's Rock" at Drewsteignton, a three-pillared cromlech which may
well be compared with those of Cornwall. There are numerous menhirs or
single upright stones; a large dolmen or holed stone lies in the bed of
the Teign, near the Scorhill circle; and rock basins occur on the summit
of nearly every tor on Dartmoor (the largest are on Kestor, and on
Heltor, above the Teign). It is, however, tolerably evident that these
have been produced by the gradual disintegration of the granite, and
that the dolmen in the Teign is due to the action of the river. Clusters
of hut foundations, circular, and formed of rude granite blocks, are
frequent; the best example of such a primitive village is at Batworthy,
near Chagford; the type resembles that of East Cornwall. Walled
enclosures, or pounds, occur in many places; Grimspound is the most
remarkable. Boundary lines, also called trackways, run across Dartmoor
in many directions; and the rude bridges, formed of great slabs of
granite, deserve notice. All these remains are on Dartmoor. Scattered
over the county are numerous large hill castles and camps,--all
earthworks, and