NORTH Devon's respected historian and author Dr Alison Grant has died at the age of 81.

A history graduate of Kings College in London, she came to North Devon in 1965 as deputy head of Barnstaple Grammar School which later became Park School.

She had previously taught at a grammar school in Edgware, north London, for 15 years.

While at Park School she started a folk dancing society. In the late 1970s she took a sabbatical to attend Exeter University to get her PhD in North Devon pottery after which she became a research fellow in history at the university.

Her work as a local historian and author brought her wider recognition.

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columnist Peter Christie, with whom she worked on The Book of Bideford, described her as the "pre-eminent historian in North Devon."

He said: "She was a really nice lady but she did not suffer fools gladly. She was very much an academic historian and she was scrupulous over detail.

"She was very aware of the need for accuracy in historical publications and writing books with her was an education in itself in how to do it properly."

He said she was always willing to share her knowledge with others.

Dr Grant wrote 12 local history books, several with co-authors.

One of them Instow — A History was a community collaboration which won the Devon Book of the Year Award from the Devon History Society in 2000. She also contributed to the i but, arguably, her most renowned publication was North Devon Pottery: The Seventeenth Century which she updated a few years ago.

She was president of the North Devon Museum Trust which runs the North Devon Maritime Museum and a member of the Devon History Society.

She had been involved with the museum trust since it was founded in the 1970s.

She taught seamanship to local Sea Rangers and used to sail with the North Devon Yacht Club.

She was also a musician, playing the lute, piano and concertina.

Jen Colenso, a friend, said: "She was a music lover and until very recently she would go with friends to the music club at Bideford. She had a wicked sense of humour and was very strong willed."

An example of her strong character was the way in which she battled to overcome two severe strokes. She lost the use of her right side with the first stroke and taught herself to write with her left hand.

She loved dogs and leaves behind a rescue dog called Lily, which has been adopted by a friend.

Dr Grant had lived in Instow since the 1970s. She died peacefully at her home on Sunday, March 28. Her funeral will be at the North Devon Crematorium on April 30 at 11am. Her ashes will then be scattered in the sea.

Her only remaining family are cousins who live in Ontario.