tically histor ic quayside t n's nau own o v e D
DARTMOUTH by clare mccomb
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artmouth is a lively bustling port where locals mix happily with visitors at the seemingly constant music and food festivals, farmer and artisan markets, regattas and celebrations of all kinds throughout the year - there is always masses going on. However it's also a place full of historical secrets so keep your eyes sharply peeled for quirky details, wooden and stone carvings,  'wonkiness' of roof line and overhanging black and white houses - clues for things that happened long ago.
At the heart of Dartmouth's history and heritage is the sea. This secure and sheltered deep water port has offered trade and shipbuilding opportunities from the Norman Conquest onwards and the fine half-timbered merchants’ houses, cobbled streets and quaysides reflect centuries of voyages for exploration adventure and commerce, far beyond British waters. In effect the harbour created the town and Dartmouth men grew up with a tradition of seafaring and hard dealing with the
outside world. Some became navy tars, some merchants, some privateers, and some perhaps all three as the occasion demanded. Flexibility ensured survival: during the civil war the town was Parliamentarian, then occupied by Royalists before a long battle for freedom - newspapers in 1906 reported a whole cannonball had been found lodged in an old plaster ceiling from those times! However Charles II visited later on, so the Crown must have kept some friends in Dartmouth.
tically histor ic quayside t own n's nau o v e D
DARTMOUTH by clare mccomb
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Devonshire magazine visits Dartmouth
Most things connect to the water. From the very beginning Dartmouth has been an assembly point for ships gathering together before heading off for a naval battle, to cross uncharted oceans or invade the coast of Normandy in 1944. Boat building, rigging and mending are still carried on nearby at Old Mill Creek where traditional shipwright's skills are thriving. Huge cruise ships appear from time to time while the higher and lower ferries carry vehicles and passengers back and forth constantly - a feature of the town since medieval times: the first ferry records date to 1365 and modern passengers may not be aware that they are travelling on the South West Coastal Path as they cross and return, to and from Kingswear.
The Dart’s modern marinas bristle with craft of all ages and types; the Royal Dart Yacht Club, on the Kingswear side of the river, is a very friendly place which offers something for every kind of sailor: family-based courses for the youngsters, the “Ladies Afloat” group, and regular racing for almost every size of sailboat culminating in the world famous regatta every summer. Visit: w w w.t hev iew fromt heda r t mouthoffice.com to enjoy a continuous photographic record of everything happening on the river for the past 7 years: you will be astonished at the sheer variety of images, all taken from Andy Kyle’s garden, day by day.
Right - looking out from the fortification at Bayard's Cove which is a single storey Tudor artillery fort, built circa 1534. It was built to ensure that if invading ships made it past the Kingswear and Dartmouth castles, then there was further protection for this quay.
Dartmouth - the mouth of the Dart was certainly important in days gone by, a safe harbour from the rough seas, deep and navigable, you can see why it has occupied an important part of England's naval history for many centuries. In 1147 Dartmouth was chosen as the assembly point for 164 ships departing on the Second Crusade. Later on, it was also the starting point for Richard I on the Third Crusade which comprised of 37 ships in 1190. The earliest settlement in the Domesday Book was Townstal, high above the river bank. Later two fishing hamlets sprang up.
Dartmouth's old market building is just up the road from the quay. It's great to see that it's still a busy place today.
Fresh fish - you wouldn't expect anything less really. One of the many businesses that surround the old market building
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A view across the quay, with Kingswear in the distance. Dartmouth has great character and interest for the visitor.
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Devonshire magazine visits Dartmouth
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The Butterwalk, not to be missed on your visit, it's just off the quay and is a fine example of 17th century half timbered architecture. Within the Butterwalk, you'll also find the museum and a great tea room where you can enjoy the ceiling over a cup of tea and scones.
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tar of the show is the fa mou s ha l f-t i mbered Butterwalk whose official Grade 1 listing describes it as “one of the finest rows of merchants’ houses dating from the first half of the 17th Century anywhere in England” ; the actual arcade was
The Cherub Inn, one of Dartmouth's historic old inns 21
designed to provide shelter for market stalls, presumably selling butter and cheese; such structures were typical in market towns of the period and this one, with its granite columns supporting richly carved woodwork above, makes for a “stop-you-in-your-tracks”
sort of experience. The row was badly bomb damaged during WW2 but thankfully restored in the 1950s despite loud voices calling for speedy demolition. Inside is a small and remarkable museum, run by very friendly staff and volunteers, where you
The tearoom within the Butterwalk - enjoy a most refined, English tea!
Devonshire magazine visits Dartmouth
can learn about gurgle jugs from a long-defunct local pottery, use a microscope, and open many "drawers" to find curious things hidden inside. Watch out for the ghosts!
Dartmouth's full of quirky detail
The
Britannia Royal Naval College
Above the town the unmistakable landmark of the Britannia Royal Naval College stands proudly; naval officers have been trained in Dartmouth since 1863, including our own Princes Philip, Andrew and William. Before 1905, when the college was built, recruits lived in two wooden hulks moored on the river. This iconic building has survived many changes, including being bombed in the Second World War. Two hour guided tours of what is very much a working college are available once or twice a week in the season, with tickets available from the Tourist Information Centre. The views are stunning and the tours almost universally praised for
being a fascinating one-off experience.
Another well-loved excursion is a ferry ride to the National Trust
The
property at Greenway, Agatha Christie’s holiday home. After disembarking you have to climb a woodland hill path: less mobile visitors can take the Quay Car shuttle (which cannot transport children under 12). A vintage bus also brings visitors from around Torbay in the season, and the Steam Train runs from Paignton and Kingswear to
Greenway Halt from which a 30 minute walk leads to the house. To bring your own car you need to book a parking space on line: (ring 01803 842382 to check if making a last minute decision.) Whichever way you get there this beautiful Georgian house and garden makes for a memorable day out. Many people return year after year.
JESSE CEILING
This unique 'Tree' depicting the genealogy of Jesus, based on the prophecy of Isaiah, is believed to be the only ceiling of its kind in the World The beautiful ceiling in the Butterwalk, dating from the building’s inception in 1635, is reputedly unique plasterwork. It shows a “tree of Jesse”, in effect Jesus’ family tree, demonstrating how he was related through 12 Kings and 14 Patriarchs, to Jesse, father of King David, of Goliath fame. The image refers to an Old Testament prophesy (Isaiah II: I –I0) which foretold that the coming Messiah would be of that Royal lineage. The Butter walk ceiling is the jewel in the crown of Dartmouth museum. It marks
a high point in this traditional Devon decoration which was fashionable from the 16th
century onwards, demonstrating the wealth of merchant-builders who commissioned luxurious
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ornamental plaster patterns, created by skilled craftsmen. After a bombing raid in World War 2, the ceiling, with its traditional vine like structure, was nearly lost to the town, having survived through the centuries. Thankfully it was carefully packed away and has been painstakingly restored, although two of the figures are missing. As is common with Jesse trees, Joseph is absent from the ceiling although Mary is there. Can you guess who the other figures represent?
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Kingswear, with Dartmouth Castle on far right 23
Devonshire magazine visits Dartmouth
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The view across to Kingswear from the historic Bayards Cove quay
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artmouth has unique fortifications which have g ua rded t he narrow entrance to the River Dart for hundreds of years. Some say the castle defences were started in 1388 by Chaucer's Shipman' from
Lovely characterful streets everywhere in Dartmouth, it's a charming place 25
the Canterbury Tales, supposedly the feisty John Hawley, 14 times mayor of the town and elected MP on 4 occasions: Chaucer certainly visited Dartmouth and Hawley was a great character, so that may well be right.
It's a fair climb to the top of the battlements but the views on a bright day are superb. Long ago they used to stretch a chain across the river to deter marauding ships where now the hustle and bustle of peacetime commercial or naval
Great architectural detail can be seen throughout the town, much wealth has passed into this town through the centuries Devonshire magazine visits Dartmouth
craft and elegant yachts, strings of canoeists and the criss-crossing ferries go about their business. There is always something moving on the water and it is fascinating to watch.
The bar inside the ancient Cherub Inn. This building was first recorded in 1380 and has been a house, shop and is now an Inn
Above - the fort at Bayard's Cove. Dartmouth has row upon row of houses, perched up the side of the hill. There are many holiday homes, affording great views out across the busy estuary. Left - Dartmouth has a really great atmosphere, very cosmopolitan, locals mix easily with visitors. Here's a busy scene, with people enjoying a drink by the Baryard's Cove Inn. the temptation of busy taverns and boatyards close to the waterside - you can understand why they might have changed their minds about voyaging to America while anchored in such a beautiful spot! The famous 14th century inn at Bayard’s Cove is known for its friendliness to both dogs and humans, and excellent food. Once again, keep an eye
Pottering about, great fun!
Further up from Dartmouth, take a river cruise
In the summer you can take a boat trip back to town or wander by the cobbled quayside of Bayard's Cove to explore a smaller fort near where the Pilgrim Fathers stopped off to mend a leak in one of their ships in 1620; tradition has it that a lockdown was enforced to prevent anyone slipping away into
out for the ghosts, including an Elizabethan man who smokes a pipe. Sailors needed taverns so in Dartmouth there are many to choose from. The Cherub Inn claims to be the oldest building in the port, with records dating from 1380. Once a house, then a shop it is now a pub restaurant
boasting yet another ghost and her cat. The Seven Stars was described as the oldest pub in the town and the ghost breaks glasses at night; however the most regal phantom is said to be William of Orange's wife, Queen Mary to be, whose carriage wheels and horses’ hooves can be heard some nights from the Royal Castle Hotel; true or not these traditional hauntings offer a
owners at the time. People often say that that they always find something new even after years of visiting, which is why they keep coming back. Whether you like sailing or wandering medieval streets, sampling great food, ghost hunting, culture-vulturing or just sitting soaking up the sun, Dartmouth is
Great to see fishermen still plying their trade from Dartmouth good excuse for a spooky bar crawl to test the local ales. Above all, watch for original details as you walk. Dartmouth grew rich through trade and many of the merchants’ and sea captains’ houses remain, with carvings and architectural details displaying the wealth and individuality of their
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a wonderful place to visit or to stay all the year round. Many people come for the day and return to live by the banks of this vibrant river in a community with a lively heart and a wonderful tradition of maritime hospitality.
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The
newcomen steam engine
The Amazing Newcomen Steam Engine at the Tourist Information Office In 1921 a memorial was erected in Dartmouth to commemorate the town’s most famous son: local ironmonger, Thomas Newcomen (1663-1729) was the first to devise a method to pump water by the use of steam at a time when horses, or wind and water wheels, were the only sources of power. He has been
described as the “modern world’s first great mechanical engineer.” From the initial “Fire Engine” in 1712, his invention saved many a mine from flooding and soon provided power for growing industries across Europe, Russia and the Americas. The machines could work 24 hours a day,
pumping 120 gallons of water a minute, which meant much deeper mines could be dug and drained: as many were coal mines, the heavy consumption of fuel was no problem. Newcomen’s i nvent ion wa s an “atmospheric engine”, being driven by pressure of air: the steam was only used as an agent for producing a vacuum. Dartmouth’s Tourist Information Office’s amazing exhibit is allegedly the oldest preserved Steam Engine in the world, dating from around 1720. Newcomen’s machine looked something like a gigantic balance: at one end hung a heavy pump rod and at the other was the piston, which worked vertically in a cylinder full of steam. Cold water injected into the cylinder condensed the steam to form the necessary vacuum. Under the cylinder was a boiler where the various cocks were originally opened and closed by a boy, although an early modification soon enabled the engines to become self-acting. The engine was cheap to install and run, producing up to 5 ½ horse power which was better than any of the alternative power sources available at the time.
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Newcomen himself was born and baptised in Dartmouth. He does not seem to have made a great fortune from his invention, having
Devonshire magazine visits Dartmouth
Full scale working replica at the Black Country Musuem, Dudley been forced to go into business with Thomas Savery, who had existing patents for a similar but less efficient mechanism. However, such was his eventual fame that when subscriptions were sought for his memorial, one of the first to come forward was the then Prince of Wales. The fire grate where he first saw steam rising from a kettle, leading him to conceive the notion of using it to work a piston to create the “engine that changed the world”, was salvaged when his house was demolished in Victorian times. Alas, its whereabouts are now unknown.
So much for everyone in Dartmouth!
The steam train chuffing out of Kingswear
Paddle steamers chugging along the Dart estuary
Beautiful parks
Greenway - once home of Agatha Christie
Visiting Dartmouth? - help is at hand at Dartmouth's visitor information centre
DARTMOUTH TOURIST INFORMATION CENTRE for further information please call : 01803 834224
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www.dartmoutheverytime.co.uk www.facebook.com/dartmoutheverytime twitter.com/DartEveryTime
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Devonshire magazine visits Dartmouth
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Dartmouth Green Partnerships 2015 Royal Horticultural Society gold award winning Dartmouth Green Partnerships has an exciting summer ahead, planting displays to make Dartmouth look beautiful for local people and visitors. Our watchwords are horticultural excellence, community involvement and environmental sustainability.
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Take the Castle Ferry or follow signs on foot or by car to Dartmouth Castle. We are licensed. Open Daily 31
Devonshire magazine visits Dartmouth
We are a group of volunteers funded through council and other grants and by sponsors, who create floral displays in baskets, tubs containers and even unwanted boats wherever we can in Dartmouth – not just for the summer, but all year round.
A most interesting cafe here - Alf Resco - many businesses in Dartmouth do go the extra mile to bring you added value. Great ambiance and visually stimulating - this creative input is vital for our small businesses.
Flags, flags and more flags - certainly makes a cheerful display. Dartmouth has streets worth exploring with great shops, galleries and eateries.
Dartmouth Chandlery 01803 839292 www.chandlery.co.uk
Three Crowns Inn High Street, Chagford, Devon TQ13 8AJ 01647 433444 www.threecrowns-chagford.co.uk What's On? southdevonhub .co.uk
The Dolphin's another one of Dartmouth's lovely pubs, Also, it's just off a main shopping drag, so if either partner (I'm not going to say husband!) wants to relax with a drink, whilst the other partner is shopping, then all to the good. The sign in the photo says it all. 32