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Books > Devon A Century Ago Photographic Memoiries
Ansteys Cove, 1896 (ref. 38610) | Anstey's Cove, with Redgate Beach hidden on the left, was a favourite bathing spot for Agatha Christie, who was born in Torquay in 1890. The rocky platform with the flagpole is Long Quarry Point, source of the huge quantities of Devonian limestone which were used to build Torquay. The prominent pinnacle partly collapsed in the 1980s, and is now only half the height seen here. |  Add your own Memory
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Ashburton, Grammar School 1907 (ref. 58537) | Originally a religious foundation which was dissolved by Henry VIII in 1545, Ashburton Grammar School was refounded in 1593. The lofty ideals of its founders were not being fulfilled in the 19th century, however: in 1868 a Parliamentary Schools Enquiry Commission was less than complimentary about this and other schools in the area. | Add your own Memory
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Axminster, South Street 1902 (ref. 48454) | Although synonymous with carpets, for 100 years Axminster did not make so much as a rug. In 1835 Whitty's factory closed, and its machines were sold to a weaver in Wilton. It was not until 1937 that a new carpet factory opened in the town. | Add your own Memory
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Axminster, George Hotel 1902 (ref. 48458) | The oldest hotel in Axminster, the George was built in the 18th century, and has an assembly room designed by Robert Adam. It has long been the meeting place for the local hunt, the Cotley Harriers, and in the Victorian and Edwardian eras it had its own omnibus to connect with the railway. | Add your own Memory
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Axminster, 1902 (ref. 48449) | On Midsummer Day 1755 local weaver Thomas Whitty started weaving the first Axminster carpet, helped by his five daughters. So well-known did his carpets become, that every time a new one was completed the bells of St Mary's would ring and the townsfolk would come and inspect the product. | Add your own Memory
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Axmouth, the Village 1898 (ref. 42442) | Before railways and metalled roads, there were only two main routes into Devon. One was the gap between the Blackdown and Brendon Hills, and the other was the coastal route, which used the old ford at Axmouth; this was part of the Roman Fosse Way, which ran all the way to Lincoln. | Add your own Memory
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Axmouth, 1895 (ref. 36093) | In 1803 Squire Hallet built a pier and warehouses at the mouth of the Axe downstream from here. Two schooners plied a busy trade with London in the middle of the century, but by 1870 competition from the railway had killed off the fledgling port. | Add your own Memory
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Babbacombe, the Beach 1889 (ref. 21492) | The thatched house (now demolished) is The Glen, the scene in 1884 of the murder of Emma Keyse by her handyman John Lee. 'Babbacombe' Lee was sentenced to hang, but on the appointed day, 23 February 1885, the trapdoor on the scaffold jammed three times: Lee's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. He was released in 1907. | Add your own Memory
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Barnstaple, Haymaking 1890 (ref. 24878) | This fine view shows the River Taw meandering down to the Long Bridge (just left of centre), and behind the bridge the dark wooded mound of the castle, built in the 10th century. Over the hills in the distance lie Ilfracombe and the Bristol Channel. | Add your own Memory
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Barnstaple, from Rock Park 1890 (ref. 24859) | This area was once known as South Walk. It was bought in 1879 by William Rock, a son of the town who had made his fortune in London before returning home. He gave the site to the town, and the park was named after him. The area was also known as River Row, after the rowing boats that could be hired here. | Add your own Memory
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Barnstaple, Bridge and Terrace 1890 (ref. 24867) | The first bridge here was built in the 13th century by Henry de Tracy. In 1547 the mayor referred to the river as 'a great hugy mighty perilous and dreadful water', and the present bridge was built. Its 16 arches vary in size, a fact that is traditionally attributed to the varying lengths of the timber used as scaffolding during its construction. It has been widened several times. | Add your own Memory
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Barnstaple, the Station 1894 (ref. 33414) | The iron bridge (demolished in 1978) brought the line from Exeter, and did not run parallel to the road bridge. On the other shore of the river, the railway continued west to Bideford, which it reached in 1855; from there it was extended south to Torrington (1872) and west to Westward Ho! (1901) and Appledore (1908). Today the railway terminates at Barnstaple. | Add your own Memory
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Barnstaple, Queen Anne's Statue and Station 1890 (ref. 24869) | On the left is Quay Station, built in 1874 for the Ilfracombe branch; it was demolished in 1922 when Town Station was built on the other side of the Taw. In the background on the right is the wooded mound of the castle. | Add your own Memory
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Barnstaple, the Pannier Market 1903 (ref. 49622) | Originally called the Vegetable Market, this was built in 1855 by R G Gould. He received a lot of opposition to the building from the locals: as well as fearing they might end up with a white elephant on their hands, they were understandably concerned that construction would involve the knocking down of a lot of their houses. | Add your own Memory
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Barnstaple, Queen Anne's Walk 1894 (ref. 33419) | This was once known as Merchants' Walk or Quay Walk. Queen Anne's Walk was built in 1709 by Richard Rolle, scion of one of the great landowning families of Devon. On the right is the headquarters of the 4th Volunteer Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment; it was one of the great county regiments, often known by its nickname of the Bloody Eleventh. | Add your own Memory
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Barnstaple, St Peter's Church and St Anne's Chapel 1890 (ref. 24873) | St Peter's was dedicated in 1318 by Bishop Stapledon; by 1860 it had fallen into a ruinous state, with bulging walls and sinking roofs. It was restored by Sir George Gilbert Scott in 1866-82. St Anne's Chapel (right) was also built in the early 14th century. | Add your own Memory
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Bere Alston, Street 1898 (ref. 42263) | A notable Victorian inhabitant of Bere Alston was Percival Johnson, who lived at Ward House from 1846-55. An enlightened man by the standards of most mine-owners of the time, he gave his name to the Johnson Shaft, which was set at 25 degrees to ease the hauling of ore and to make life easier for miners leaving the mine after a long shift. | Add your own Memory
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Bere Ferrers, River Tavy 1898 (ref. 42259) | Tamar barges, such as the one moored here at the quay, were once a common sight on the Tamar and the Tavy. The two estuaries and the peninsula between them were cultivated for fruit and vegetables, which were taken to Plymouth by barge. The last barge, the 'Shamrock', is now berthed at Cotehele House on the bank of the Tamar. | Add your own Memory
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Berry Pomeroy, Castle 1899 (ref. 44573) | It was in a dungeon below one of these towers that Lady Margaret de Pomeroy starved to death after being imprisoned by her elder sister Eleanor as the result of a dispute over a suitor. Lady Margaret's ghost apparently still haunts the ruins, the harbinger of death for anyone who sees her, or for their relatives. | Add your own Memory
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Bideford, Victoria Park 1906 (ref. 55939) | It is a pleasant summer's day out in the park, which was created in 1890 to mark the Queen's jubilee. The girls here look too young to be mothers; perhaps they are elder sisters lumbered with their siblings for the afternoon. | Add your own Memory
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