TEIGNMOUTH

'Teignmouth' (IPA: ) is a town on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign in south Devon, England. The town grew from a fishing port to a fashionable resort of some note in Georgian times with further expansion after the opening of the South Devon Railway on 30 May 1846.

Contents

History

Transport

Port

Shaldon Bridge

Railway

Geography

Tourism

Sport

The Legend of the Parson and Clerk Rocks

Miscellany

References

Academic publications on the history of Teignmouth

Other local history books and reports

External links

History

The western half of the town was destroyed (apart from the Jolly Sailor public house) by fire during a brief invasion by the French in 1690, the last invasion of England (though not of Britain as the French invaded Carreg Gwastad, near Abergwaun (Fishguard), Pembrokeshire in 1797). French Street with its museum is named in memory of the occasion.

Transport

Port

The port, in existence since the 13th century, is still active, mostly handling clay, timber and grain, with many smaller pleasure craft mooring in the wide estuary. The granite for London Bridge was sent from here, having come down the unique granite tracked Haytor Granite Tramway from the quarries near Haytor and then down the Stover Canal and finally along the river Teign to the port at the New Quay, which had been built for the granite traffic in 1821 - 25 by George Templer of Stover House (now a school)(Ewans 1964).
The Old Quay was sold to George Hennet in 1850 and became the centre of his trading network. It had been connected to the South Devon Railway the previous year.

Shaldon Bridge

The original bridge was opened on the 8th june 1827 and had 34 wooden arches and was 1,671 feet long.
Shaldon or Teignmouth Bridge over the Teign estuary to Shaldon and Torquay was the longest wooden bridge in England when built, nearly a third of a mile long. After two partial collapses in 1838 and 1893 the bridge was completely rebuilt in 1931. Devon County Council bought the bridge from the Shaldon Bridge Company on the 28th October 1948 for £90,000 and tolls were abolished.
The bridge is of Roman Origin and when the present bridge was constructed some of the Roman wood was used to make a table which was kept at Lindridge House. Tragically it was destroyed in the fire that destroyed the house just as its conversion into a hotel was nearing completion in the 1960's.

Railway

Teignmouth railway station is close to the town centre and is served by trains to most stations in Devon was well as London and further afield.
The line built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel runs along a stone embankment between the sea and cliffs for several miles from Newton Abbot to the east towards Dawlish, ending at Exeter. A stretch of this line was originally both broad gauge (7ft.01/4Inch) and worked by the atmospheric system, 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.
The seawall between Teignmouth and Dawlish is the most expensive stretch of line to maintain of the whole British railway network. The Great Western Railway had surveyed a quadruple tracked inland deviation, but the advent of World War 2 brought the project to an end.

Geography

The town is linked with Shaldon, the village on the opposite bank, by a passenger ferry at the river mouth and by a road bridge further upstream.
In the harbour area is Salty, a small island created through dredging operations. Salmon nets are still employed by locals, especially near Shaldon Bridge.
The red sandstone feature called the ''Ness'' is the most recognisable symbol of the town from the seaward side.
Teignmouth is twinned with the French town Perros-Guirec.

Tourism

Although greatly reduced from its hey-day, Teignmouth still receives considerable numbers of holiday makers, most of whom visit the sea facing beach and the Pier with its amusement arcade and rides.

Sport

The town is the home of Teignmouth A.F.C. whose first team currently play in the South West Peninsula League and reserves play in the South Devon League division five.
The town is also the home of Teignmouth R.F.C. with the 1st XV playing in the Cornwall & Devon League.

The Legend of the Parson and Clerk Rocks

Along the coast towards Dawlish where the railway runs through the Parson's tunnel can be seen the twin stacks of the Parson and Clerk. Many versions of the story exist, however the 'Nummits and Crummits' version of 1900 relates that a certain bishop of Exeter fell ill and came to Dawlish to restore his health, however an ambitious local priest aimed to succeed to the See in the event of his superior's demise. The priest's guide was his clerk and they often made the journey to check on the condition of the bishop. One night, in a terrible storm, whilst crossing Haldon moor they lost their way and found themselves miles from the correct path. The priest in his frustration abused his clerk with the words ''I would rather have the Devil himself, than you, for a guide. '' At that moment a horseman rode by and volunteered to be their guide. After a few miles they came across a brilliantly-lighted mansion and were invited by their guide to enter and partake of his hospitality. They enjoyed a sumptious repast and in the midst of the merriment the news arrived that the bishop was dead. Eager to secure his chance for promotion the priest took his leave together with the clerk and the guide, however the horses refused to move. After liberal use of his whip and spurs the priest cried ''Devil take the brutes'', upon which the guide exclaimed ''Thank you, sir'' and shouted ''Gee up.'' The horses galloped over the cliff carrying the parson and the clerk with them. The Devil turned them both to stone, facing forever sea-ward, monuments to greed and disappointed ambition.

Miscellany

The poet John Keats spent a few weeks here and completed his epic poem 'Endymion'.
The members of Muse all attended school at Teignmouth Community College.
Charles Babbage (26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871), the English mathematician, analytical philosopher, mechanical engineer and (proto-) computer scientist, who originated the idea of a programmable computer, lived here for some years.
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.

Donald Crowhurst, competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, started his ill-fated attempt to sail round the world single-handed from Teignmouth on October 31, 1968. His boat was a trimaran named the ''Teignmouth Electron'' after the town and his electronics company.
Patrick Wolf has written a song called "Teignmouth", which can be found on his album ''Wind in the Wires''.
John Shore, 1st Baron Teignmouth (5 October 1751 - 14 February 1834) was a British politician who served as Governor-General of India from 1793 to 1797.

References

★ Ewans, M.C. (1964). ''The Haytor Granite Tramway & Stover Canal.'' Pub. David & Charles. P.43.

★ Hewett, Sarah (1900). ''Nummits and Crummits.'' Devonshire Customs, Characteristics and Folk-lore. Pub. Thomas Burleigh. P. 177 -179.

Academic publications on the history of Teignmouth

★ 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, 153-177

★ 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, 2697-2713

Other local history books and reports

★ Wilson V (2000) ''Teignmouth at War: 1939-1945'', Wilson Teignmouth.

★ Wilson V (2002) ''Teignmouth: Friths photographic town memories''. Frith Book Company, Teffont.

★ Griffiths G (2001) ''History of Teignmouth'' (4th ed) Bradford, ELSP

★ Adshead S D (1945) Report to the urban district council on improvement and development after the war. Teignmouth Urban District Council.

★ ''Through the Window. Number 1 - Paddington to Penzance'' (1924). Great Western Railway. Paddington station. Price 1s.

★ Spratt, Thomas (1856). ''An Investigation of the Movements of Teignmouth Bar''. Pub. London.

External links

★ Teignmouth Rotary Club

★ Teignmouth Community Choir

★ Teignmouth (DMOZ.org)

★ Teignmouth at Google Local UK (Beta)

★ Teignmouth Community College

★ Teignmouth Museum

★ Teignmouth Surf Life Saving Club

★ Teignmouth Lifeboat

★ Teignmouth Twinning Association

★ Teignmouth Rugby Football Club

★ Wikimapia Entry