Through the Middle Ages the wool industry grew and thrived but by the 18th century was overtaken by glove making as the town’s main employment. The next two hundred years saw the growth of factory-based work, a canal to transport heavy goods, a railway, the largest dairy in Europe, an abattoir and the continuation of dairy farming in the surrounding countryside. Great Torrington’s heritage remains accessible through existing homes, civic buildings, disused factories, monuments, infrastructure and landscape. Like most towns it has been home to people who are of historical interest such as Lady Margaret Beaufort, the grandmother of Henry VIII; Thomas Fowler, inventor of central heating and a wooden computer; William Keble Martin, botanist and illustrator; and, of course, Tarka the Otter.