The North Devon Pipes and Drums were formed in the North Devon Seaside Town of Ilfracombe in 1987, practising in one of the rooms within Ilfracombe College. The band moved around the local area in the early 90's before settling in Fremington Army Training Centre. Upon closure of the Camp in 2011 the band moved practise to the Sea Cadet Hut in Barnstaple. In 1990 their tartan the "Devon Original" was accredited by the Council of the Scottish Tartan Society, and in 1991 the accreditation certificate, which is now displayed in Barnstaple Guildhall, was presented to the town mayor.


The Devon Tartan

The Devon Original and Devon Companion tartans owe their origin to the success of the Cornish St Piran Sett, which was woven by Coldharbour Mill in the early 1980's. Designed by Roy Sheard, the green reflects the beauty of the glorious Devon countryside, whilst the blue symbolises the county's two coastlines celebrating Devon's long & illustrious connection with the sea. 

Dark Green depicts Wild Exmoor's windswept heights, 
And upland flocks of sheep are shown in White
Light Green: lush meadows edged by sparkling stream,
Where graze producers of our Milk and Cream

Majestic Dartmoor, bleak and boulder strewn, 
Its grim grandeur by Grey on our cloth shown:
There, ancient monuments gaze up to older Tors, 
There, granite bound, the prison bars its doors   

Ruby Red cattle, deer and red soil too, 
These are all there in stripe of red-brown hue.
The Yellow thread speaks of the primrose fair, 
In high banked lanes, 'midst wealth of plant life there.
So, in the mind. Devon's beauty is retrieved, 
By contemplating Devon's tartan weave.

                                                                                   M.J.Miles.