Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The ward's total population at the 2011 census was 1,501. There is a small river beach and sand dunes, that home some rare species of orchid including the pyramid orchid. The Tarka Trail passes through Instow, providing an easy means for people to arrive on foot or by bike. This section of the Trail is also part of the South West Coast Path, offering longer walks along the coast. The village is served by the Church of St John the Baptist, which has 13th/14th century origins and is a Grade I listed building. A chapel of ease, All Saints, was built in 1936 and is now also used as a community centre. History Instow is mentioned in the Domesday Book as having two ploughlands and of meadow, pasture and woodland. The name of Instow derives from Anglo-Saxon of St John's Holy Place, which would have been Johnstow, or Jonestow. The suffix Stow, denotes a holy place in the Anglo-Saxon language, and the name is found in many places across Devon which had a church (Churchstow, Christow, Virginstow). The original settlement was on the high ground opposite the more modern site of the village low against the riverside. This is where the 14th century Church of St John the Baptist is located, near to the Instow Community Primary School. The parish was formerly in the hundred of Fremington, some north-east of Bideford, and west of Barnstaple. In 1889, a directory described the village as being from London, and on "the high road from Bideford to Barnstaple." Before the arrival of the railway in 1855, the village was quite small consisting of two sets of cottages, one by Lane End, and the other set next to the quay. The quay was built , and is a grade II listed structure. The village hall, which was built in 1911, was formerly known as Rifle Hall, as it was used to train soldiers on rifle drills for the First World War. Military training in the Second World War included practise D-Day landings with walls built into the dunes near to Instow. These were removed quite quickly after the war had ended.