Teignmouth And Dawlish And Exeter Roads Act 1825
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Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of
Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
. The town had a population of 14,749 at the last census in 2011. From the 1800s onwards, the town rapidly grew in size from a fishing port associated with the Newfoundland cod industry to a fashionable resort of some note in
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
times, with further expansion after the opening of the South Devon Railway in 1846. Today, its port still operates and the town remains a popular seaside and day trip holiday location.


History


To 1700

The first record of Teignmouth, ''Tengemuða'', meaning ''mouth of the stream'', was in 1044. Nonetheless, settlements very close by are attested earlier, with the banks of the Teign estuary having been in Saxon hands since at least 682, a battle between the Ancient Britons and Saxons being recorded on Haldon in 927, and Danish raids having occurred on the Teign estuary in 1001. There were originally two villages, East and West Teignmouth, separated by a stream called the Tame, which emptied into the Teign through marshland by the current fish quay. Neither village is mentioned in the Domesday Book, but East Teignmouth was granted a market by
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
in 1253 and one for West Teignmouth followed a few years later. The Tame now runs under the town in culverts and is only visible higher up the town as Brimley Brook, joined by smaller streams such as the Winterbourne (an intermittent stream, which flows only in winter or after heavy rain). Documents indicate that Teignmouth was a significant port by the early 14th century, second in Devon only to
Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to: Places * Dartmouth, Devon, England ** Dartmouth Harbour * Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States * Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada * Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia Institutions * Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...
. It was attacked by the French in 1340 and sent seven ships and 120 men to the expedition against Calais in 1347. Its relative importance waned during the 15th century, and it did not figure in an official record of 1577. This may have been due to silting up of the harbour caused by tin mining on Dartmoor. During the 17th century, in common with other Channel ports, Teignmouth ships suffered from raids from Dunkirkers, who were privateers from Flemish ports. It is possible that
smuggling Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...
was the town's most significant trade at this time, though cod fishing in Newfoundland was also of great importance. In July 1690, after the French Admiral Anne Hilarion de Tourville defeated an Anglo-Dutch fleet at the Battle of Beachy Head, the French fleet was anchored in Torbay and some of the galley fleet travelled the short distance up the coast and attacked Teignmouth. A petition to the
Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
from the inhabitants described the incident: After examining 'creditable persons' the Justices of the Peace concluded that: As a result, the Crown issued a church brief that authorised the collection of £11,000 for the aid of the town. Churches from as far afield as Yorkshire contributed, and the collections enabled the further development of the port.Trump 1986, pp.5–6 This was the last invasion of England, and French Street with its museum is named in memory of the occasion. In the 1600s and 1700s there are records of a windmill on the Den – an area that was then a large sand dune, and is now a grassy public open space near the seafront. By 1759 this windmill was demolished.


1700 to present

In the late 18th century, privateering was common in Teignmouth, as it was in other west country ports. In 1779 the French ship ''L'Emulation'' with a cargo of sugar, coffee and cotton was offered for sale at "Rendle's Great Sale Room" in the town. Teignmouth people fitted out two privateers: ''Dragon'' with 16 guns and 70 men; and ''Bellona'', described as carrying "16 guns, 4
cohorn A Coehorn (also spelled ''cohorn'') is a lightweight mortar originally designed by Dutch military engineer Menno van Coehoorn. Concept and design Van Coehoorn came to prominence during the 1688–97 Nine Years War, whose tactics have been sum ...
s and 8 swivels". ''Bellona'' set sail on her first voyage in September 1779, and was "oversett in a violent Gust of Wind" off
Dawlish Dawlish is an English seaside resort town and civil parish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon, from the county town of Exeter and from the larger resort of Torquay. Its 2011 population of 11,312 was estimated at 13,355 in 2019. It is t ...
with the loss of 25 crew members. The Newfoundland fisheries continued to provide the main employment into the early 19th century (e.g. Job Brothers & Co., Limited). With the men in Newfoundland for most of the year, the women did the local fishing and rowed the ferries across the estuary. Early tourists, such as Fanny Burney, referred to the women as the "Amazonians" of Shaldon and Teignmouth, and wrote of their strength, health and tendency to wear trousers or hitch their skirts up to their knees to fish. As the fisheries declined tourism increased. A tea house was built on the Den in 1787 amongst the local fishermen's drying nets. By 1803 Teignmouth was called a "fashionable watering place", and the resort continued to develop during the 19th century. Its two churches were rebuilt soon after 1815 and in the 1820s the first bridge across the estuary to Shaldon was built; George Templer's New Quay opened at the port; and the esplanade, Den Crescent and the central Assembly Rooms (later the cinema) were laid out. The railway arrived in 1846 and the pier was built 1865–7. A version of the
legend of the Parson and Clerk The legend of the Parson and Clerk is a story from Devon folklore. The tale revolves around a clergyman, his clerk and their encounter with the Devil, with the setting being near a natural arch located in proximity to the towns of Teignmouth and D ...
dating to 1900 tells the tale of the
Bishop of Exeter The Bishop of Exeter is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Exeter in the Province of Canterbury. Since 30 April 2014 the ordinary has been Robert Atwell.
visiting Teignmouth and whilst being guided by a local priest, the devil turns them both to stone, which is seen in the form of two stacks. The First World War had a disruptive effect on Teignmouth: over 175 men from the town lost their lives and many businesses did not survive. In the 1920s as the economy started to recover, a golf course opened on Little Haldon; the Morgan Giles shipbuilding business was established, and
charabanc A charabanc or "char-à-banc" (often pronounced "sharra-bang" in colloquial British English) is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early motor coach, usually open-topped, common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It has "ben ...
s took employees and their families for annual outings to Dartmoor and elsewhere. By the 1930s the town was again thriving, and with the
Haldon Aerodrome Haldon Aerodrome was the first airfield in Devon. Established in the 1920s as a private flying field, it developed into an airport with scheduled airline service, and was used by the Navy during World War II. The airport has also been known as Te ...
and School of Flying nearby, Teignmouth was advertised as the only south coast resort offering complete aviation facilities. During the Second World War Teignmouth suffered badly from "tip and run" air raids. (Text available online at th
Devon Libraries Local Studies Service.
)
It was bombed 21 times between July 1940 and February 1944 and 79 people were killed, 151 wounded, 228 houses were destroyed and over 2,000 damaged in the raids. Teignmouth's hospital was bombed during a raid on 8 May 1941, killing three nurses and seven patients. It was rebuilt and reopened in September 1954, making it the first complete general hospital in the country to be built after the formation of the National Health Service. A US Navy plan existed which proposed to dam the harbour and set up a seaplane base, but it was abandoned as the war turned in favour of the allies.


Port

The port of Teignmouth, in existence since the 13th century, remains active, mostly handling clay, timber and grain. The Old Quay was built in the mid-18th century on land leased from Lord Clifford. The opening of the
Stover Canal The Stover Canal is a canal located in Devon, England. It was opened in 1792 and served the ball clay industry until it closed in the early 1940s. Today it is derelict, but the Stover Canal Society is aiming to restore it and reopen it to naviga ...
by James Templer in 1792 provided a boost to the port due to the ease with which ball clay could be transported from the mines north of Newton Abbot. After travelling along the canal the barges continued down the estuary to the port. By 1820 this trade was supplemented by granite from the quarries near Haytor on Dartmoor carried via the unique granite-tracked Haytor Granite Tramway which was linked to the Stover Canal. The granite to build the
new London Bridge Several bridges named London Bridge have spanned the River Thames between the City of London and Southwark, in central London. The current crossing, which opened to traffic in 1973, is a box girder bridge built from concrete and steel. It rep ...
came via this route and was sent from the New Quay, which had been built for this traffic in 1821–25 by George Templer, James's son. The Old Quay was sold to George Hennet in 1850 and became the centre of his trading network. It was connected to the South Devon Railway the previous year. Until 1852 Teignmouth was legally part of the Port of Exeter. In September of that year, after many years of campaigning (latterly under the leadership of George Hennet), the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury agreed that Teignmouth should be independent which was the cause of much celebration. Teignmouth has a tradition of shipbuilding from the 17th century. By the turn of the 19th century there were three shipyards in Teignmouth, and three in Shaldon and Ringmore on the opposite side of the estuary. The industry declined in the early 20th century, but in 1921 Morgan Giles bought the last derelict shipbuilding yard and gave the industry a new stimulus. His shipyard became a major employer, building pleasure craft in peacetime and small craft such as torpedo boats during World War II. The business failed in 1968 not long after
Donald Crowhurst Donald Charles Alfred Crowhurst (1932 – July 1969) was a British businessman and amateur sailor who disappeared while competing in the ''Sunday Times'' Golden Globe Race, a single-handed, round-the-world yacht race. Soon after he started th ...
's attempt to sail around the world. The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society sent a lifeboat to Teignmouth in 1851 and kept it in a
boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...
on the beach near the Custom House. In 1854 the society transferred its lifeboats to the
Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
(RNLI). A new boathouse was provided on The Den with doors facing the harbour which was used until 1940. After a gap of fifty years, on 3 November 1990, the RNLI reopened
Teignmouth Lifeboat Station Teignmouth Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations at Teignmouth, Devon in England. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1851 but the station was closed from 1940 until ...
with an inshore lifeboat. Teignmouth's lighthouse was erected in 1845 to guide ships into the harbour.


Shaldon Bridge

The original bridge was owned by the Teignmouth and Shaldon Bridge Company and opened on 8 June 1827. It had 34 wooden arches and was 1,671 feet long, which made it the longest wooden bridge in England when built. It had abutment walls of a considerable length at either end, and a swing bridge at the Teignmouth end to allow sailing ships to pass up the estuary. It cost around £19,000 to build, but the overall expenditure was about £26,000 due to the costs of the necessary Act of Parliament and the purchase of the old ferry-rights. Toll houses were built at each end of the bridge, and the one on the Teignmouth side survives.Griffiths 1989, p.91 After eleven years, on 27 June 1838 the centre arches of the bridge collapsed, the timbers had been eaten through by shipworms. It was rebuilt in wood and reopened in 1840, but it partially collapsed again in 1893. The bridge was completely rebuilt between 1927 and 1931, using steel for the piers and main girders and concrete for most of the deck, except for the opening span which used timber.Hawkins 1988, p.78 On 28 October 1948 Devon County Council bought the bridge from the Shaldon Bridge Company for £92,020 and tolls were abolished. The original paintwork was inadequate to deal with the environment, and repairs were required in 1960 and in 1980. In 1998 it was discovered that the bridge had severe structural defects and work to correct this continued until 2002, the bridge remaining open throughout. After this work was completed, residents nearby noticed that in certain wind conditions the bridge "whistles". the problem had not been solved. In February 2016 Devon County Council announced that the moveable, lifting section of the bridge will be raised later in 2016, for the first time since 2002. This is in order to satisfy a condition in the Act that permitted construction, that the opening section be maintained.


Transport


Railway

Teignmouth railway station Teignmouth railway station is on the Exeter to Plymouth line and serves the town of Teignmouth in Devon, England. It is from via Bristol. It is operated by Great Western Railway and is the second-busiest station on the Riviera Line after . H ...
, which opened in 1846, is located close to the town centre. It lies between the stations of
Dawlish Dawlish is an English seaside resort town and civil parish in Teignbridge on the south coast of Devon, from the county town of Exeter and from the larger resort of Torquay. Its 2011 population of 11,312 was estimated at 13,355 in 2019. It is t ...
and Newton Abbot on the
Great Western Main Line The Great Western Main Line (GWML) is a main line railway in England that runs westwards from London Paddington to . It connects to other main lines such as those from Reading to Penzance and Swindon to Swansea. Opened in 1841, it was the or ...
between
London Paddington Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, Central London railway terminus and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services pro ...
and
Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...
in Cornwall. In 2010–11, it recorded 505,000 passengers, making it the second busiest station on the Riviera Line after Newton Abbot. The line built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel runs along the South Devon Railway sea wall, which is a stone embankment between the sea and cliffs that runs for several miles between Teignmouth and Dawlish Warren. This line was originally both
broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...
and worked by the
atmospheric system An atmospheric railway uses differential air pressure to provide power for propulsion of a railway vehicle. A static power source can transmit motive power to the vehicle in this way, avoiding the necessity of carrying mobile power generating eq ...
, with steam pump houses at regular intervals to create the vacuum. It was not successful for a host of reasons and was converted to normal steam locomotive working. Redundant sections of the atmospheric railway pipes were used as drains all over Teignmouth; one was set in the roadside in Woodway Lane, near Woodway House. In December 1852, a large landslip from the cliffs east of the town caused the railway to close for four days; and, in 1855 and 1859, the sea broke through the line at Teignmouth. There have been many more closures since, caused both by landslips from the cliffs and breaches by the sea, especially in winter. In 2010, the sea walls and adjoining estuaries were costing Network Rail around £500,000 per year to maintain. In 1936, the Great Western Railway surveyed an inland deviation between Exminster and Bishopsteignton and a shorter route starting near Dawlish Warren; however, the advent of World War 2 brought these projects to an end.


Geography

The town is located on the north bank of the mouth of the estuary of the River Teign, at the junction of the
A379 The A379 is a road in the English county of Devon. It links points on the edges of that county's two principal cities, Exeter and Plymouth, by an indirect and largely coastal route. The A38 provides a faster and more direct inland route bet ...
coast road, the
A381 road A381 may refer to: * The A381 road in Devon, England * The Autovía A-381, a motorway in Andalucia, Spain * The RMAS ''Cricklade'' (A381), a fleet tender to the United Kingdom's Royal Navy {{Letter-NumberCombDisambig ...
to Newton Abbot, and the
B3192 B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme The Great Britain road numbering scheme is a numbering scheme used to classify and identify all roads in Gr ...
which climbs up to the
A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...
on Haldon and hence on to the M5 12 miles away. Teignmouth is linked to Shaldon, the village on the opposite bank, by a passenger
ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...
at the river mouth and by a road bridge further upstream. The red sandstone headland on the Shaldon side called "The Ness" is the most recognisable symbol of the town from the seaward side. In the harbour area was the Salty, a small flat island created through dredging operations but levelled, supposedly to improve natural scouring of the main channel for shipping, in recent years to leave a large tidal sand bank frequented by seabirds and cockle-collectors. Salmon nets are still employed by locals, especially near Shaldon Bridge. The estuary seems disproportionately large for the size of the river flowing through it, this being especially apparent at low tide, because it is a drowned valley caused by a relative rise in sea level following the last Ice Age.


Climate

Teignmouth is situated on the coast of Devon, a
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
of South West England. It has a mild maritime climate. Prevailing winds across the south-west of England are from the west. Teignmouth lies to the east of Dartmoor, in a
lee Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
/ rainshadow, with mean temperatures 3 °C (5 °F) higher and less than 43% of the rainfall of Princetown, which is located on Dartmoor. It receives less precipitate per year than nearby
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
, which is located on the south-west coast of Devon. Owing to its proximity to the sea, Teignmouth has warmer winters with less frost and snow, as well as slightly cooler summers compared with inland areas of southern England. January is usually the coldest month in Britain; however, sea temperatures usually reach their minimum temperature in late February, which affects Teignmouth's climate, making February its coldest month. The first
frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
in Teignmouth usually occurs in late November or early December, whereas midland areas of England sometimes have frosts as early as September. Snow is rare during the start of the winter season in December. Late autumn and early winter is the wettest time of the year, because sea temperatures are still relatively high and deep Atlantic depressions bring moist air across the South West. On average, July is the driest month, but summer thunderstorms can occasionally deposit more than the month's mean rainfall in one day. Teignmouth has average daily sunshine totals of over 7 hours in summer and around 2 hours in winter. Sunshine totals reflect the hours of daylight and the fluctuations of the
Azores High The Azores High also known as North Atlantic (Subtropical) High/Anticyclone or the Bermuda-Azores High, is a large subtropical semi-permanent centre of high atmospheric pressure typically found south of the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean, at the Hor ...
, which is most powerful in summer. The climate patterns also implicate a less pronounced cooler Mediterranean climate (''csa/ csb'') influence which is due to the decrease in precipitation centred over the summer period and surplus rainfall during the winter. Teignmouth weather station is situated in a part of the town exposed to sea breezes and is therefore subject to lower temperature extremes than more sheltered parts of the town and local area. Temperatures at the station have warmed in every month in between the 1981–2010 and 1991–2020 climate periods, especially in spring and autumn, but also with a small overall increase in rainfall over this period.


Buildings

Den Crescent and its central Assembly Rooms, laid out in 1826 by Andrew Patey of Exeter, still survive relatively unchanged today. The Assembly Rooms were the hub of the town's social life in the 19th century and lavish balls took place in the long ballroom. In 1871, the building was taken over by the East Devon and Teignmouth Club which had an exclusive membership taken from the gentry and professional middle class. Over the years, the building was used as a theatre, a dance hall, a conference centre and a billiards hall. In 1934 it was converted into the Riviera Cinema, in which guise it continued until 2000; part of the building has now been converted into flats. In 2016 the lease for the historic auditorium was taken over by the Mars Hill Church with the intention of restoring it as both a cinema and a music and arts facility. The town's parish church, dedicated to St. James is unusual, being octagonal in shape. A story from Cornwall suggests why these churches are rounded, for the villagers of Veryan built several circular houses so that the Devil had no corners in which to lie in wait for unsuspecting occupants and these buildings were therefore 'Devil-proof.' The church of St Michael the Archangel is in the east of the town. St. Scholastica's Abbey (now converted to flats), on the road to Dawlish, built in 1864 by Henry Woodyer is a notable
Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
building, and the Roman Catholic Church, on the same road, is a late work by
Joseph Hansom Joseph Aloysius Hansom (26 October 1803 – 29 June 1882) was a British architect working principally in the Gothic Revival style. He invented the Hansom cab and founded the eminent architectural journal, ''The Builder'', in 1843. Career Ha ...
, the inventor of the hansom cab. In 1894, there were 26 public houses in Teignmouth. Pubs today include the Blue Anchor Inn on Teign Street and the Devon Arms on Northumberland Place. The River Beach is home to a varied selection of seasonal and permanent beach huts, one of which (now removed to the town's museum) was a Georgian bathing machine, minus wheels. These huts have enjoyed the boom in popularity of such properties in recent years and now change hands for figures approaching £100,000. Teignmouth and Shaldon museum was completed in 2011. It comprises an architecturally iconic extension of the existing 18th century museum building, with new roof terrace looking over the town, glass tower and community facility. Some of the exhibits include a restored bathing machine; artefacts from the Church Rock wreck, such as cannons; exhibits from the nearby Haldon aerodrome, plus film footage including the Beatles' visit to the town and the 2009 homecoming concerts by Muse. The new build cost almost £1.1m and was enabled by a major community fund-raising effort, in combination with Lottery and UK government funding and other sources such as local grant funders and Devon County Council. The Church Rock wreck was found when a Zuanne Alberghetti cannon was located on the site of a 16th-century wreck, followed by further discoveries. The town's newest public building is the Pavilions Teignmouth, a community arts and enterprise centre on the Den, opened in April 2016.


21st century

On 27 July 2005, Teignmouth received status as Devon's first Fairtrade Town. Also in 2005, the volunteer Teignmouth Regeneration Project in association with the town, district and county councils published a strategic plan that identified issues to be dealt with by 2015. Among the issues listed are to develop quality tourism, alleviate the danger of flooding to the town and provide affordable housing. In May 2010, Teignbridge District Council put forward for consultation ''A Vision for Teignmouth''. This was a plan consisting of 21 regeneration projects for the town. A skatepark was opened on the seafront in July 2010 and flood defences at the Fish Quay were completed in October 2012. Two films, ''The Mercy'' starring Colin Firth with Rachel Weisz and ''Press for Time'' starring Norman Wisdom, have extensive sequences shot in Teignmouth.


Tourism

Although reduced from its heyday, Teignmouth still receives considerable numbers of holiday makers, in particular day-trippers. It is twinned with the French town Perros-Guirec. Apart from its sea beach and Teignmouth Pier with
amusement arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as cl ...
and rides, the beach wraps around the spit at the head of the river Teign providing a river beach, commonly known as the Back Beach (dogs are allowed all year on this part of the beach), on the estuary side which overlooks the harbour with its moorings for many pleasure craft, and has views up the estuary to Dartmoor. An long waymarked route known as the Templer Way has been created between Haytor on Dartmoor and Shaldon. It closely follows the route of George Templer's granite tramway, his father James's
Stover Canal The Stover Canal is a canal located in Devon, England. It was opened in 1792 and served the ball clay industry until it closed in the early 1940s. Today it is derelict, but the Stover Canal Society is aiming to restore it and reopen it to naviga ...
and finally the estuary to Teignmouth. Teignmouth Carnival is held during the last week of July with the procession on the last Thursday, and since 1999 the town has hosted a summer folk festival. In 2005 Fergus O'Byrne and Jim Payne from
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
were the 'headline' artists at that year's festival which celebrated the town's links with that region. In 2014, Teignmouth and Dawlish Community Interest Group commissioned a website to promote the town to tourists visiting. Since 2018 Teignmouth has hosted the annual Teign Shanty Festival, a folk music festival with a focus on sea shanties, with over 40 groups performing in 2021.


Schools

Teignmouth Community School Teignmouth Community School is coeducational primary and secondary school located over two sites in Teignmouth in the English county of Devon. History Primary department The primary department of the school is located on Mill Lane in Teignmo ...
(formerly Teignmouth High School, then Teignmouth Community College), a local secondary school including a sixth form, was formed as a merger in 1979 of Teignmouth Grammar School and Teignmouth Secondary Modern School. More recently this has merged further with Inverteign Community Nursery and Primary School to create Teignmouth Community School (TCS). Other secondary schools include Trinity School (independent, with a preparatory department and boarding facilities), formerly known as The Convent of Notre dame. Primary schools include Hazeldown which is non-denominational, and the Catholic school of Our Lady and St Patrick.


Sport

The town is the home of
Teignmouth A.F.C. Teignmouth Association Football Club is a football club based in Teignmouth, England. They are currently members of the and play at Coombe Valley, Teignmouth. History Teignmouth were formed in 1946. In 1982, the club joined the South Western Lea ...
, whose first team currently play in the South West Peninsula League and reserves play in the
South Devon League The South Devon Football League, known under a sponsorship arrangement as the TCSSDFL, is a football competition based in England. Its top division, the ''Premier Division'', sits at level 12 of the English football league system. This league is ...
division two. The town is also the home of
Teignmouth R.F.C. Teignmouth Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Teignmouth, Devon, England. The club runs two senior men's sides, a women's senior team, a colts team and a junior section for both girls and boys. The men's 1st XV currently play in ...
with the 1st XV playing in the South West 1 league. The Den Bowling Club situated on the sea front is the home of the Teignmouth Open Bowls Tournament. Teignmouth Shotokan Karate Club was established in 1984 and trains twice weekly at the Teign Heritage Centre and Pavilions Teignmouth. The seafront benefits from
Teignmouth Lido Teignmouth Lido is an open-air heated public lido at Eastcliff Walk, Teignmouth, Devon, England. It is located directly behind the town's seaside promenade. Opened in 1976, Teignmouth Lido has a heated pool measuring x . It is open to the publ ...
, a public open-air heated swimming pool. This is one of four outdoor pools operated by Teignbridge District Council. The others are at Buckfastleigh, Ashburton and Buckland. Teignmouth is home to the River Teign Rowing club, the largest rowing club in the UK with almost 400 members, the club competes internationally in Cornish Pilot Gig rowing, Locally racing Seine boats and Nationally in Sea Skiffs and Sculls. Members have competed recently as far afield as Russia. Teign Corinthian Yacht Club was founded in 1886, and organises racing and training for sailing dinghies, yachts and powerboats. It has two centres: a clubhouse on Teignmouth seafront built in 1995 and a dinghy park on the River Teign estuary at Coombe Cellars, with a new clubhouse being built there in 2020.


Notable people

Fanny Burney, the diarist and novelist, visited Teignmouth several times in the late 18th century. She took her first dip in the sea here in 1773, as she recorded in her journal.
Elias Parish Alvars Elias Parish Alvars (surname sometimes given as Parish-Alvars), (28 February 1808 – 25 January 1849) was an English harpist and composer. He was born as Eli Parish in Teignmouth, Devon; his father was a local organist. His baptismal record at ...
, the harpist, was born in East Teignmouth in 1808, and three years later
Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt (11 May 181112 March 1888) was an English vice-admiral, hydrographer, and geologist. Life Thomas Spratt was born at Woodway House, East Teignmouth, the eldest son of Commander James Spratt, RN, who was a hero of ...
, vice-admiral, hydrographer and geologist, was born at Woodway House. In spring 1818 the poet
John Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...
spent several weeks in Teignmouth and completed his epic poem ''Endymion'' here. His arrival coincided with a period of wet weather and he wrote to a friend of "the abominable Devonshire Weather ... the truth is, it is a splashy, rainy, misty, snowy, foggy, haily, floody, muddy, slipshod county."
George O. May George Oliver May (May 22, 1875 – May 25, 1961) was a British American accountant. He led a joint study by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York Stock Exchange that was impetus for the stock exchange requiring ...
(born 1875), who made significant contributions to the field of accounting, and rose to senior partner of Price Waterhouse's American firm in the early 20th century, was born and raised in Teignmouth. From 1812 until his death in 1833, Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth had his home at Bitton House, which was then called West Cliff House. Meanwhile, Thomas Luny, the painter of seascapes, lived in the town for thirty years until his death in 1837 and executed over 2,200 paintings while living here. Shortly afterwards George Hennet, the railway engineer and contractor who was closely involved with Brunel's railway, moved to the town and took a close interest in local affairs. He died here in 1857.
Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...
(1791–1871), the mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, who originated the idea of a programmable computer, also lived here for some years and was married in St Michael's church in the town. Sir John Smyth, (1893–1983) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross and was made 1st Baronet of Teignmouth in 1956. The Belgium footballer
Charles Vanden Wouwer Charles ''Chaly'' Joseph vanden Wouwer or van den Wouwer (7 September 1916 - 1 June 1989) was a Belgian footballer who was born in Teignmouth (England). Biography He played at inside right for Beerschot in the 1930s and 1940s, winning the ...
was born in Teignmouth in 1916, while his parents were staying there as World War I refugees. The Canadian Second World War pilot
Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner (3 June 1916 – 18 July 1944) was a Canadian Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm naval aviator and wing leader during the Second World War, who attained the rank of Lieutenant commander. He was a veteran of the evacuation of Dunk ...
settled in the Teignmouth area in 1930, his brother and sister studying in Teignmough whilst he was a cadet at the
Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...
. He went on to be one of the few naval pilots of the Battle of Britain, was a test pilot and given the freedom of Teignmouth and Exeter after leading the audacious attack on the German battleship
Tirpitz Tirpitz may refer to: * Alfred von Tirpitz (1849–1930), German admiral * German battleship ''Tirpitz'', a World War II-era Bismarck-class battleship named after the admiral * Tirpitz (pig), a pig rescued from the sinking of SMS ''Dresden'' and ...
. He was lost in July 1944 and remembered on the Shaldon War Memorial and at the Teign Heritage - Teignmouth & Shaldon Museum. The businessman and musician Danny Thompson was born in the town in 1939, and the writer and environmentalist John Bainbridge (born 1953) spent his teens and early adulthood here and was educated at West Lawn School. The Norman Wisdom film, '' Press for Time'', in which Norman becomes a reporter at the seaside town of "Tinmouth", was shot largely on location in Teignmouth in 1966. A bus and bicycle chase shows many scenes of the town centre and sea front as it was at the time. The next year, on 31 October 1968,
Donald Crowhurst Donald Charles Alfred Crowhurst (1932 – July 1969) was a British businessman and amateur sailor who disappeared while competing in the ''Sunday Times'' Golden Globe Race, a single-handed, round-the-world yacht race. Soon after he started th ...
, competing in the
Sunday Times Golden Globe Race The ''Sunday Times'' Golden Globe Race was a non-stop, single-handed sailing, single-handed, circumnavigation, round-the-world yacht racing, yacht race, held in 1968–1969, and was the first round-the-world yacht race. The race was controversi ...
, started his ill-fated attempt to sail round the world single-handed from the town. His boat was a trimaran named the ''
Teignmouth Electron The ''Teignmouth Electron'' was a 41-foot trimaran sailing vessel designed explicitly for Donald Crowhurst’s ill-fated attempt to sail around the world in the Golden Globe Race of 1968. She became a ghost ship after Crowhurst reported false pos ...
'' after the town and his electronics company. The town featured in the film of this tragic event ''
The Mercy ''The Mercy'' is a 2017 British biographical drama film, directed by James Marsh and written by Scott Z. Burns. It is based on the true story of the disastrous attempt by the amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst to complete the ''Sunday Times'' G ...
'' released in 2018, starring
Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...
and Rachel Weisz. The three members of rock band Muse ( Matt Bellamy,
Chris Wolstenholme Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born 2 December 1978) is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the rock band Muse. Early life Chris Wolstenholme grew up in the English town of Rotherham before moving to Teignmouth, D ...
and Dominic Howard) attended
Teignmouth Community College Teignmouth Community School is coeducational primary and secondary school located over two sites in Teignmouth in the English county of Devon. History Primary department The primary department of the school is located on Mill Lane in Teignmo ...
in the early 1990s. They started the band in the town and based their song "Falling Down" on their teenage years living there. The band performed two homecoming concerts entitled
A Seaside Rendezvous A Seaside Rendezvous was a 2009 pair of concerts by English alternative rock band Muse. Held at The Den in Teignmouth, Devon, the town in which the band's members spent their childhoods and began their musical careers, the homecoming concerts w ...
there in September 2009. Singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf wrote a song called "Teignmouth" for his 2005 album
Wind in the Wires ''Wind in the Wires'' is the second studio album by English singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf. Wolf cites Buffy Sainte-Marie as an influence on the album on his official Tumblr. Critical reception ''Wind in the Wires'' received general acclaim. ...
, which focuses primarily on the view of the town and the River Teign when taking a train along the coastline. England rugby union and Exeter Chiefs player Sam Simmonds lives in Teignmouth, as does his brother and fellow Exeter Chiefs first team player Joe Simmonds. Sam helped the Chiefs win the
Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...
in 2017. He has currently scored two tries for England and has one Man of the Match award. The triple jump world record holder
Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards may refer to: Musicians *Jonathan and Darlene Edwards, pseudonym of bandleader Paul Weston and his wife, singer Jo Stafford *Jonathan Edwards (musician) (born 1946), American musician ** ''Jonathan Edwards'' (album), debut album ...
lived in Teignmouth in his early years. He went to school at the Inverteign Juniors site (now Mill Lane). His world record has stood since 1995.


In Art and Literature

Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poetical illustration ''A Legend of Teignmouth'', in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1834, accompanies an engraving of a view of Teignmouth from the Ness by Thomas Allom.


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * *


Further reading

*Adshead, S. D. (1945) ''Report to the Urban District Council on Improvement and Development after the War''. Teignmouth Urban District Council. *Andrews, G. J. & Kearns, R. A. (2005) "Everyday Health Histories and the Making of Place: the case of an English coastal town". ''Social Science and Medicine''; 60, pp. 2697–2713 *Andrews G. J., Kearns, R. A., Kontos, P., Wilson, V. (2006) "'Their finest hour': older people, oral histories and the historical geography of social life". ''Social and Cultural Geography''; 7, 2, pp. 153–177 *Andrews, G. J. (2017). "The relational making of people and place: the case of the Teignmouth World War II homefront". ''Ageing & Society''; 37(4), pp. 725–752. *Andrews, G. J. & Wilson, V (2019) "Sensing health and wellbeing through oral histories: the 'tip and run' air attacks on a British coastal town 1939-44". In: Atkinson, Sarah & Hunt, Rachel, eds. ''Geohumanities and Health''. Cham: Springer * Spratt, Thomas (1856). ''An Investigation of the Movements of Teignmouth Bar''. London: John Weal
online copy by Hathi Trust
*''Through the Window. Number 1 – Paddington to Penzance'' (1924). London: Great Western Railway. Paddington station. Price 1s. *Wilson, V (2000) ''Teignmouth at War: 1939–1945'', Teignmouth: Wilson. *Wilson, V (2002) ''Teignmouth: Frith's photographic town memories''. Teffont: Frith Book Company.


External links

* Teignmouth Town Council * * {{authority control Ports and harbours of the English Channel Ports and harbours of Devon Seaside resorts in England Towns in Devon Beaches of Devon Invasions of England