Pilton is a suburb of the town of Barnstaple, it is located about quarter of a mile north of the town centre, in the civil parish of Barnstaple, in the North Devon district, in the county of Devon, England.

Chief Baron of the Exchequer[6] built Pilton Causeway which links the town of Barnstaple and village of Pilton, which were then separated by the treacherous marshy ground in which flowed the tidal meanders of the small River Yeo.

Situated on an easily defended hill at the head of the Taw estuary and close to where the river narrows enough to be fordable, Pilton was an important Saxon settlement.

According to the Burghal Hidage, an early 10th Century document setting out the details of all burhs then functioning, Pilton's wall was 1485 feet long and the nominated garrison consisted of 360 men drawn from the surrounding district in the event of an invasion.

The 13th century parish Church of St Mary the Virgin is a Grade I listed building.

The manor of Pilton belonged to a Benedictine Priory, which was founded here as a cell to Malmsbury Abbey, and was valued at £56.

John Whyte, Esq., owns the site of the priory, and Westaway estate, and has a handsome mansion here, called Pilton House; but a great part of the parish belongs to the Trustees of the late Lord Rolle, J. R. Griffiths, Esq., Capt.

May, and several other freeholders.Morris and Co.'s Commercial Directory and Gazetteer (published 1870) expanded this with:- In the census of 1861, 1863 inhabitants, and 1861 acres ; in the deanery and archdeaconry of Barnstaple, diocese of Exeter, hundred of Braunton, North Devonshire, a portion of it being included in the borough of Barnstaple, from which it is separated by the river Yeo, which is here crossed by a bridge.

The church is an ancient Gothic edifice, dedicated to St. Mary, formerly part of a priory of the Benedictines, established here as a cell to Malmesbury Abbey: it has an embattled tower and a peal of eight bells.

In the church is a stone pulpit, handsomely carved, with an arm attached to it holding an hour glass.

There are some considerable charitable bequests for the benefit of the poor, which are under the management of charity trustees, and also several almshouses.

Pilton Community College is a coeducational secondary school serving an age range 11–16 and is also an academy.

Robert Brett (d.1540) was lord of the manor of Pilland and the last steward of Pilton Priory before the dissolution of the monasteries[14] In 1536 following its dissolution, Robert Brett purchased the Prior's House (now called "Bull House") next to Pilton Church.

[15] Robert's daughter Joan Brett married three times, all to prominent members of the Devonshire gentry, firstly to John I Courtenay (1466–1509),[16] lord of the manor of Molland and secondly (after 1510), as his second wife, Sir John Chichester (died 1537)[17] lord of the manor of Raleigh in the parish of Pilton, and from her were descended the cadet branch of the Chichester family of Arlington.

[24] He was the younger of the two sons of Lewis III Incledon (1636–1699) of Buckland House, Braunton, about 5 miles to the north-west of Pilton.

Since it was revived in 1982, the Pilton Festival is normally held on the third weekend of July and incorporates Green Man Day.