Devon (archaically known as Devonshire) is a county in South West England, reaching from the Bristol Channel to the English Channel. It is divided informally into North Devon and South Devon. In a narrower sense "South Devon" is used to refer to the part of Devon south of Exeter and Dartmoor, including Plymouth, Torbay and the districts of South Hams, West Devon and Teignbridge. Its name derives from Dumnonia, the homeland of the Dumnonii Celts. The Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain resulted in the partial assimilation of Dumnonia into the Kingdom of Wessex during the 8th and 9th centuries. The border with Cornwall was set by King Æthelstan on the east bank of the River Tamar in 936 AD. The county town is Exeter, in antiquity the most south-westerly Roman fortified settlement in Britain.
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