South Molton is a small town in Devon, on the River Mole and is a small well built market town trading mostly in sheep and cattle.

On 14 March 1655 Sir John Penruddock was captured after a three-hour street fight in South Molton by soldiers of the New Model Army under the command of Captain Unton Crook. With his capture the Penruddock uprising came to an end and so did the 1655 plans of the Sealed Knot to restore King Charles II to the throne of England.