Dartmouth

I was born in Dartmouth, Massachusetts so, naturally, I was looking forward to visiting Dartmouth, Devon. I had visited about 35 years ago and retained the memory of a charming small town. I was hoping that it hadn't gone the way of Chester, a once thriving market town and tourist spot in the north that has fallen on hard times and is now quite down at the heel. I needn't have worried because, although it has changed, it's still delightful.

As you leave the car park you pass the tourist information center which has an adjoining building that houses the Newcomen engine, the first practical and successful steam engine. It was was designed and installed in 1712 by Thomas Newcomen who hailed from Dartmouth and was used initially for pumping water out of tin mines. There's an interesting little film that tells the story of how the engine came to be (two men tinkering in a workshop, etc.) and for £1 you can watch the machine operate, though the demo engine is powered by electricity, not steam. Not the height of excitement to be sure, but should anyone ever ask if I've seen the Newcomen engine, I can say yes.

The city center has retained its charming character with lots of lovely little alleyways and old buildings, some dating to Tudor times.

We walked along the seafront to Bayard's Cove Fort, built in the 16th century to protect the town from enemy ships, trading rivals, and pirates. It once held heavy guns and was the last line of defense for the town.

From Bayard's Fort there's a lovely coastal walk

that sends you up winding streets

and leads to Dartmouth Castle. Before we entered the Castle, we walked up the hill behind it and enjoyed glorious views of the river.

Dartmouth Castle isn't your usual castle. It's not about a great family, lord. lady or knight and it wasn't the center of a great estate. It was, however, vitally important to the defense of the town. Dartmouth had become rich through trade, especially in wine and cloth. Its merchants were also adventurers, often in the service of the King, fighting the French and anyone supplying them. King Richard II urged Dartmouth's mayor to fortify the town, so in 1388, building started on a fortalice where the River Dart met the sea.

Almost a century later, the townspeople strengthened the defenses with a new tower containing guns and one end of a giant iron chain laid across the river. The chain would be raised to block ships from sailing into Dartmouth harbor.

By 1502 another gun tower and bulwark had been built across the river in Kingswear on the edge of Dartmouth town. Sadly, all these defenses proved insufficient during the English Civil War in 1646 when the castle held for King Charles I, but later fell to the Parliamentarians. In modern times it was used as a defense during WWII.

You can tour the area where the guns face the river with an accompanying sound track of a battle.

Because of work being done on the castle, the Tower could only be accessed by going around St. Petrox church. As long as we were there, it seemed silly not to visit it. The site of the church is said to have been a place of worship since St. Petrox came here in the 6th century. The original Norman church was built in the 12th century, the current structure dates to 1641.

On to the tower which displays guns inside and out.

From the roof you get a breathtaking view of the River Dart.

On the way back, we chose to take the little ferry that runs from near the castle back into town. As you leave the dock, you can see the statue of Miranda, the Mermaid of Dartmouth.

It's a lovely ride into the harbor.

We walked along the seafront and found a tiny sandwich shop that sells crabmeat sandwiches - so delicious! Bruce went to find pubs and I explored the town. I stumbled upon St. Savior's church

which was built in the middle ages when the town began to develop on the river and parishioners no longer wished to struggle up the hill to reach the parish church of St Clement. That is the best (and most hilarious) reason for building a church I've ever heard. It has a beautiful interior.

with an intricate ceiling

dramatic pulpit,

alter,

choir stalls,

and wonderful stained glass windows.

Leaving the church, I followed the little walkway around the churchyard wall and found an area of little shops and restaurants.

The shop with the fish protruding from the window is the Simon Drew gallery, and in addition to his original art, they sell prints, greeting cards, and lots of other products like coasters, towels and the like. For some reason, this caught my eye.

I headed for the Dartmouth museum but discovered that it closes at 3:00pm. As I walked back to the car park, I passed the Royal Avenue Gardens,

saw this sign and learned a new word. Who knew I was a Dartmothian?

One visit to Dartmouth wasn't enough, so a few days later we returned and this time we went to the Dartmouth Museum first.

The women at the admission desk were most welcoming and excited to hear that I was from Dartmouth, MA. The museum has several rooms, each of which is devoted to a different area of interest. One room was devoted to Dartmouth's maritime heritage and featured models of famous ships as well as a collection of ships-in-bottles, among other things.

The building which houses the museum was the home of William Cumming Henley, his sister and her friend, Ida. They were a fascinating trio with many interests, but it is William who is considered a Hero of Dartmouth. He was a self-educated scientist, artist, poet and collector who was born, lived, and died in Dartmouth.

The Holdsworth Room tells the history of Dartmouth, and there is a room devoted to Dartmouth at war. There is a room full of miniature steam engines (like the Newcomen engine) built by a man named David Hulse. The amazing part of this is that each item used in these displays was made by Mr. Hulse, right down to the little bricks in the walls, and the machine used to form those bricks. (It's more impressive than it sounds.)

A very large gallery is dedicated to the Mayflower which originally set sail from Southampton along with its sister ship, the Speedwell. The Speedwell started to leak so they put into Dartmouth. Repairs were made and they set off again but, once again, the Speedwell started to leak so they put into Plymouth. Finally, the Mayflower set sail on a solo voyage. Plymouth gets all the credit as the starting point of the journey and it seems to me that Dartmouth isn't well pleased with that. The Dartmouth Museum commissioned a model of the Mayflower for the 400th anniversary of its sailing but that was 2020 and, well, you know.

The photo above is of the model and its builder, Captain Ian Kirkwood, courtesy of The Dartmouth Chronicle. Devon. We left the museum, Bruce headed for a pub and I walked the official Mayflower Heritage Trail.

After one last pass along the seafront, we bade farewell to Dartmouth. I look forward to returning.