Dartmouth History Research Group

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Dartmouth History Research Group

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Exploring the rich and fascinating history and heritage of Dartmouth, Devon and surrounding villages.

29/10/2026

All welcome at our meeting on Monday 2 November 10am-12noon, Baptist Church Hall Carey Road Townstal

14/10/2026

Go full steam ahead to find out about local history! Call in and see us on Friday 16 October at Dartmouth Library, Flavel Centre, 10am-12noon, at our free “History Help” drop-in session.
Use the Library’s local history collections to find out more about Dartmouth’s rich and varies history, or get help with researching your family or house history. Always happy to help with a history question! 🚂📖📖📖📖📖📖📖

05/10/2026

All the King’s Men: The Fall of Dartmouth

In September 1643, during the First English Civil War, Dartmouth came under siege.

Expecting to find Dartmouth an easy conquest, Prince Maurice, the King’s nephew, leading a Royalist army south to besiege Plymouth, called for the town’s surrender. But, loyal to Parliament, Dartmouth stubbornly held out.

Around 1500 troops camped on the surrounding hills. The weather was terrible and disease was rife. Prince Maurice himself, staying at Milton Farm, in Townstal, became so ill his worried brother Prince Rupert sent him his own doctors.

Finally the siege broke on 30 September. In the fight twelve townspeople died, and five soldiers from the Royalist side, all buried at St Saviours. After a brief artillery bombardment the town fell on 4 October.

The capture of Dartmouth gave Charles I a vital harbour. With Parliament in control of the Navy, the Royalists seized many ships and issued privateering commissions to form a rival fleet. Dartmouth remained under Royalist control for more than two years.

To find out more about Dartmouth’s history. Head to the Dartmouth History Research Group’s website!

19/09/2026

On 18 September 1942, at 11.31am, six FW190 aircraft from Luftwaffe squadron 10/JG2, specially trained in fast low-level bombing, attacked Dartmouth harbour. One of many “tip and run” raids on the south coast, it followed raids that month on Paignton, Torquay, and Salcombe.

Bombs hit the Royal Naval College, the harbour, and Philip & Son’s Noss shipyard. The College buildings were badly damaged causing some injuries; PO Ellen Whittall, WRNS, was killed. The College was evacuated to Cheshire soon afterwards.

In the river the collier SS Fernwood and a floating crane were hit and sank. Five people died, several were injured. Survivors were rescued by two young Wrens in their small boat.

Damage at Noss was severe: twenty people died and at least forty were injured, many very severely. But despite the destruction the resilience of the community shone through, the yard reopened within 48 hours. Full production resumed early in 1943.

Today we honour the memory of the men and women who died and pay tribute to the strength of the community in recovering from the attack 🫶

To learn more about Dartmouth’s history, check out the Dartmouth History Research Group via the link: https://dartmouth-history.org.uk

17/09/2026

Come and see us at the Dartmouth Book Festival on Saturday and help us with a new project!

Around Dartmouth and Kingswear there are several "blue plaques" (not all blue!) commemorating a wide variety of people across seven centuries, some nationally important, some locally, some both.

But who else deserves recognition? Come and hear about some other people who've made a significant contribution to our local community, and tell us who you think should be commemorated.

07/09/2026

On 7 September 1592*, Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roebuck and Queen Elizabeth’s ship Foresight escorted the captured Portuguese “carrack” Madre de Dios (“Mother of God”) into Dartmouth. An ocean-going cargo ship, about 1600 tons, she was then the biggest ship ever seen in England.

Inside were “riches beyond the dreams of avarice” – exotic spices, silks, damasks, porcelain, ivory, pearls, jewels galore. Better still, there were charts with vital information about trading routes to India, China and Japan.

News had already spread; Dartmouth was filled to bursting with traders and looters. The authorities lost control, the ship was mobbed and the crews of the prize and her escorts, their pockets overflowing, went wild.

Raleigh was in prison due to his secret marriage to Bess Throckmorton, the Queen’s lady in waiting. Due to the chaos, the Queen released him, sending him to Dartmouth to restore order and secure her profit.

Eventually the prize was valued at £150K (in today’s money, over £50M!). The Queen took about half. But it also galvanised English trading ambitions to the East. As some historians note, the British Empire began here.

If you are interested in finding out more about Dartmouth’s history, be sure to check out the Dartmouth History Research Group website: https://dartmouth-history.org.uk

*old style date

“Unknown artist’s impression of the Madre de Dios arriving in Dartmouth, 19thC”
Picture credit, wikimedia

20/08/2026

When Christopher Robin was not so Young 🐻📚

August was an important month for Christopher Milne. He was born on 21 August 1920 and with his wife Lesley, opened The Harbour Bookshop at 12 Fairfax Place, Dartmouth, on 25 August 1951 (it’s now Whistlefish).

They knew almost nothing about bookselling and had very little money. Wood was still rationed, so they didn’t know how they’d make enough bookshelves.

But you could see the river from the shop and watch the boats bobbing in the harbour. And it was a success. As he put it: “we had the good luck to be not wholly the wrong people opening the right shop in the right time in the right town”.

In a small attic room above the Bookshop, he wrote his autobiography, “The Enchanted Places”, finally coming to terms with his alter ego: Christopher Robin, the boy with the bear.

And as he wrote in the sequel, “The Path Through the Trees”, he was gripped by the magic and charm of Dartmouth.

If you’re exploring Dartmouth this August, let the magic grip you too! ✨📚

And to find out more about Dartmouth’s history, make sure to check out the Dartmouth History Research Group website!

05/08/2026

1588: Crisis Summer ⛵️

1 August 1588. People watch from the clifftops as the massive Spanish Armada comes into view off Dartmouth, moving up the English Channel.

Tension’s been rising for months. Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roebuck, and Robert Holland’s Diamond of Dartmouth, have been on duty since December, in Sir Francis Drake’s squadron, keeping watch on the western approaches.

In April the order for more ships went out. Dartmouth and Totnes equipped the Crescent (70 men) and the Hart (30 men).

They’ve been ready for weeks, with their falcons, minions, muskets and calivers: the latest artillery and handweapons. Two nights ago, as the English fleet emerged from Plymouth to fight, the little Hart was in the vanguard.

Now local militia are defending potential landing sites, and local gentry, like the Gilberts of Greenway and the Champernownes of Dartington, are sending their ships from Dartmouth to swell the fleet.

At a moment of national crisis, Dartmouth is doing its best! ⚓️⚔️

📸: US Library of Congress, Sir Francis Drake Collection

22/07/2026

History’s hidden heroines: Hannah Newcomen

Dartmouth is justly proud of Thomas Newcomen and his atmospheric steam engine. The invention that sparked the Industrial Revolution. But let’s not forget the woman who kept the home fires burning: his wife Hannah.

Hannah Waymouth married Thomas Newcomen in South Huish, Devon, in 1705. A farmer’s daughter, she understood hard work. While her husband worked in secret with his friend John Calley on the great invention, and later travelled the country setting up his engines,
Hannah anchored family life.

She managed his Dartmouth business and his finances while he was away, raised their three children, and shared Thomas’ deeply held Baptist faith. And she carried on doing so after he died in London in 1729, until their son Elias could take over.

Behind every great scientific and engineering breakthrough is a mountain of everyday labour. Next time you boil a kettle, remember Hannah Newcomen, one of history’s many unsung heroines.

📸: Dartmouth Museum

16/07/2026

Looking for shade and refreshment in the hot weather? Come and see us tomorrow at our free "History Help" drop-in session at Dartmouth Library, at The Flavel, Friday 17 July 10am-12noon.
Use the Library's local history collections to find out more about Dartmouth's rich history, or get help with researching your family or house history. Or just come and have a history chat!😎📖

Address

Dartmouth

Website

http://www.dartmouth-history.org.uk/

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