Newton Abbot, on the River Teign
Newton Abbot is a market town and civil parish on the River Teign, in the Teignbridge district of Devon. Its built-up area had 29,650 residents at the 2021 census.
Three tiers of local government cover the town. These are Newton Abbot Town Council, Teignbridge District Council and Devon County Council. The parish also takes in Highweek to the north-west and Wolborough to the south.
A market town for over 750 years
The town has held a market for more than 750 years, since the first charter in 1220. For centuries there were two towns side by side, Newton Abbot and Newton Bushel. Their markets finally merged in 1633.
Wool and leather kept the town busy for around 600 years. In 1724, for example, Daniel Defoe wrote of a thriving serge trade here. Men from the town also sailed each year to work the cod fisheries off Newfoundland.
Just north-west of the town lie the ball clay workings of the Bovey Basin. The main pits are at Kingsteignton, which can claim to be the centre of Britain’s ball clay industry. In 1792 James Templer built the Stover Canal to carry that clay towards Teignmouth.
The railway town
The South Devon Railway reached Newton Abbot in 1846. Consequently, the town changed from a market town into an industrial base. The railway works grew into a major engine shed, and the Brunel Industrial Estate now stands on the site.
The population rose from 1,623 in 1801 to 12,518 by 1901. Terraced streets went up to house the workers, while wealthier families built villas around the town. The present station dates from 1927.
Growth has carried on into this century. Hele Park to the west and Whitehill to the north are already built. Additionally, plans at Houghton Barton and Wolborough Barton form part of a wider aim to add almost 5,000 homes.
What an installation here tends to involve
With Victorian terraces near the centre and new estates on the edges, the housing here varies a lot. As a result, the installer will check the wall type before pricing. A solid wall usually means pipework clipped along an outside face.
A cavity wall, by contrast, often lets the pipe pass more directly between the two units. On a tight terrace, the installer will also think about noise near a boundary. A quiet rear wall, away from bedroom windows, often works well. It also helps to think about picking the right season to install, before demand rises for summer.
Refrigerant work must be done by an F-Gas certified engineer, because UK law requires it. You can ask to see the certificate before work starts. Our air conditioning installation page explains the general steps. See how much fitting air conditioning costs in our cost guide.
Coverage from Exeter
Newton Abbot is about 15.7 miles from Exeter by road, around 25 minutes’ drive. In a straight line, the gap is about 12.7 miles. Nearby pages cover installing a system in Kingsteignton and home cooling installs around Teignmouth on the coast.
Getting matched in Newton Abbot
Send one enquiry and we match your address with one pre-qualified installer who works here. It costs nothing and commits you to nothing.
Send your details through the contact form, or read more about how installation works first.