ILFRACOMB, a town of Devonshire, seated on the Severn sea, almost opposite to Swansea in Glamorganshire, 186 miles from London. It is a populous, rich, trading sea-port, especially with herrings in the Bristol-channel; noted for maintaining constant lights to direct the sailors; for its convenience of building and repairing ships; and for the safe shelter ships from Ireland find here, when it is extremely dangerous for them to run into the mouth of the Taw, which they call Barnstaple-water; and this is one reason why the Barnstaple merchants do so much of their business at this port. The harbour, with its quay, warp-house, light-house, pilot-boats, and tow-boats, were formerly maintained at the expense of the ancestors of the lord of the manor; and then it had a quay or pier 850 feet long; but by time and the violence of the sea all went to decay; to remedy which, the parliament passed an act in 1731, for both repairing and enlarging the piers, harbour, &c. It is governed by a mayor, bailiffs, &c. and consists chiefly of one street of scattered houses almost a mile long. The parish is large, containing several tythings and manors.