South Molton is a small
town in
Devon,
England. It is part of the
North Devon local government district. The town is on the
River Mole. According to the 2001 census the
civil parish of South Molton had a population of 4,093, increasing to 5,108 at the
2011 Census. The town also has an
electoral ward with the same name. The population of this ward at the same census was 4,875 We have therefore the unusual situation where the town is larger than the ward. The town was one of the boroughs reformed by the
Municipal Reform Act 1835. It retained this status as a
municipal borough until 1967, when it became a rural borough in the South Molton Rural District.