This is what our area looked like, more than a hundred years ago! Milber is a fairly new development on the edge of the historic Devon town of Newton Abbot. It's a town which has always been prosperous, down through the centuries - as early as 1269 a Royal Charter established an important market there, and it's said that as many as thirty butchers might sell their meat in the streets on market day. On important days, buyers would come from as far away as Dorset and Somerset. The town's name comes from the fact that in the reign of Henry III a wealthy man called William Brewer founded Torre Abbey and gave the town to the abbot. The New Town of the Abbot remained in the hands of the abbey all the way through to the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII. Newton Abbot isn't a seaside town, but it used to have a thriving trade with Newfoundland, and so many sailors used to be found in the streets - there used to be a pub named The Jolly Sailor Inn. Wool, leather, pottery, fish - the produce of Newton Abbot travelled all over the world. In the nineteenth century the town became famous for something else: railways. Newton Abbot became an important railway centre, with a bustling station, but also a large locomotive shed, engine repair depot and carriage wagon works. Today it's still a lively, interesting and industrious town, set in beautiful countryside, and a great place to live. Click here for some interesting Newton Abbot links you can explore...