SO many books on Devon are replete with beautiful photographs of its many jewels. But to delve into the heart of the county and its development, one needs to look at the work of a master.

The social and economic historian Professor William Hoskins first completed a detailed study of Devon in 1954 ? John Betjeman described it as ?undoubtedly the standard book on Devon? and A L Rowse as ?a masterpiece?.

This valuable work details the history of the county and gives some fascinating insights. Now, it has been reprinted by Phillimore and Co Ltd.

Hoskins shows that people did not just fit into Devon?s landscape, they helped shape it by their industry.

Devonshire cream making can be dated back to the early 14th century ? records show that Tavistock Abbey estates had no churns for butter making but raised the famous clotted cream by scalding the milk. When the cream was cold it was stirred and butter was produced in that way.

At that time, Tavistock had fewer than 1,000 inhabitants and was noted as a centre of the cloth industry, while Lydford was home to 200 people.

The Black Death epidemics hit the county hard and inland towns such as Okehampton decayed. But the 16th century saw an ?astonishing rebirth? for most of the towns, said Hoskins.

The early 20th century saw many parts of the county lobbying for railways to be built ? inhabitants of Okehampton wanted to connect the town with Bideford, and even in Winkleigh ?a large and enthusiastic meeting? was held in support of the proposed railway ? elsewhere in England larger towns were trying to keep the railways out.

Hoskins also details the social revolution that swept rural England. The biggest change was wrought by war. Particularly, that fateful day in July when the Battle of the Somme saw thousands of men slaughtered. In the tiny village of Upton Pyne near Exeter, 16 young men were killed, a colossal blow to a tiny community.

Almost half the book is made up of a fascinating gazeteer of town and village. And Hoskins delivers brickbats as well as bouquets.

North Tawton, which suffered greatly from extensive fires, he called ?mostly a rather drab collection of mid and late 19th century houses, coated with a grey roughcast?, but added that there are a number of interesting houses in the parish, such as Ashridge and Cottle?s Barton.

South Tawton on the other hand ?abounds in interesting houses, the ?mansions? of moorland gentry. The Church House (c1500) is one of the best examples of its kind?.

Tavistock, Hoskins called ?the most delightful town in West Devon, and perhaps the most attractive of all the inland towns of the county?.

But poor old Holsworthy. It is, he wrote in 1954, ?the dullest town in Devon to look at, having scarcely a single building of the slightest architectural merit?.

I could name worse.

If you want to learn about the real Devon then immerse yourself in this classic.

l Devon by W G Hoskins is published by Phillimore and Co Ltd, price £18.99.

COLIN BRENT