INSTOW, a village and a parish in Barnstaple district, Devon. The village stands adjacent to the Bideford Extension railway, at the confluence of the rivers Taw and Torridge, opposite Appledore, 3½ miles NNE of Bideford; is a pretty watering place, rising into popular favour; commands a view, over Barnstaple bar, to Lundy Island; and has a quay, a railway station, and a post office, designated Instow, North Devon. The parish comprises 1, 631 acres of land, and 285 of water. Real property, £2, 449; Pop., 614. Houses, 119. The property is divided among a few. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £150.* Patron, Mrs. Cleveland. The church is later English, in good condition; and has a tower. There are a Wesleyan chapel and a national school.

(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))