Totnes in Devon, England, United Kingdom — Northwestern Europe (the British Isles)

Ann Ball

Photographed by Ray Gurganus, April 6, 2025

1. Ann Ball Marker

Inscription. Here lived Ann Ball who on 19 July 1586 was married to Sir Thomas Bodley founder of the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Women. A significant historical date for this entry is July 19, 1586.

Location. 50° 25.891′ N, 3° 41.277′ W. Marker is in Totnes, England, in Devon. It is on High Street, on the left. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 16 High Street, Totnes, England TQ9 5RY, United Kingdom. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in South West England.

Globally, it is on the Atlantic Ocean,

in the North Atlantic Region,

in Europe,

in Atlantic Europe,

on one of the British Isles,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Roman Empire.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Welcome to The Market Square (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); The Shady Garden (about 150 meters away); The Medieval Town of Totnes (about 210 meters away); The Shell Keep (about 210 meters away); The Castle Bailey

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(approx. 0.3 kilometers away); Totnes Town Mill (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); The Posts of the Town Marsh Gate (approx. 0.4 kilometers away); Paignton: Episcopal Manor, Town and Palace (approx. 8.4 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Totnes.

Also see . . . …Oxford lands a prize catch… (Independent, Nov. 19, 1998). Full title: Education Word Of mouth: Oxford lands a prize catch in the trawl for knowledge. Excerpt:

DID YOU know … that Oxford's ancient Bodleian Library exists solely because of a catch of pilchards? Sir Thomas Bodley, an Exeter-born diplomat and graduate of Merton College, clearly wanted to do something for his alma mater, but hadn't the wherewithal. Not, that is, until he clapped his eyes on lovely Ann Ball, a very rich widow, whom he married in 1586.

Her late old man, Nicholas Ball, mayor of Totnes in Devon, had been a merchant who made his fortune from netting shoals and shoals of pilchards off Bantham, a major fishing port in the days of Elizabeth I. He sold them to the French before they invented haute cuisine. Once wed, the astute Bodley took control of the lucrative pilchards
Photographed by Ray Gurganus, April 6, 2025

2. Ann Ball House and Marker
industry and used the money to fund Oxford's University Library. In return, they named it after him.

(Submitted on May 28, 2025.)

Credits. This page was last revised on May 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 25, 2025, by Ray Gurganus of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 140 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 25, 2025, by Ray Gurganus of Washington, District of Columbia. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.