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Shaldon photos (20 available)

Old photo of Shaldon

Shaldon maps (2 available)

Old map of Shaldon

Shaldon books (8 available)

Shaldon memories

Wedding celebrations in Shaldon

Shaldon, from Torquay Road 1895


Thursday 14th August 2008 was a sunny summer day for the wedding of a lovely Japanese girl, Nakki, to Ra - the son of one of the Heather and Gorse Clog Morris dancers - Jane.

Following the ceremony in Paignton, there was a barbeque party at Platway House which is an old mansion up the hillside above Shaldon with amazing views across the river just like the view shown here.

As both Nakki, the bride, and Jane, the groom's mother are dancers, there was plenty of entertainment in the Platway House garden from Heather and Gorse Clog Morris plus their merry band of musicians. We had a large tent but it was scarcely needed as not ...read more here
Contributed by John Howard Norfolk

Shaldon Regatta

Shaldon, the Beach 1918


This view is a photograph just in front of the Ferryboat Inn at Shaldon - a popular haunt for the sailors and oarsmen taking part in the annual Shaldon Regatta. As part of the week long programme of entertainments there was an evening of morris dancing and mumming by the Ferryboat Inn.

It was a warn and dry August evening and crowds filled the tables on the beach in front of the Inn waiting for the entertainments to begin. First up were Heather and Gorse Clog Morris looking really smart in their blue skirts, coloured ribbons, white blouses and black waistcoats. Their shiny clogs stamped out the rhythm of the jigs and polkas played by the band, ...read more here
Contributed by John Howard Norfolk

Sydney Curnow VOSPER

Shaldon, Teign House Hotel 1928

From internet research, it would appear that the Victorian artist Sydney Curnow Vosper, who was born in 1866 at Stonehouse in Plymouth, died at this hotel in Shaldon 10th July 1942.

He painted what became a very famous painting entited 'Salem'. The painting shows the congregation inside a small Baptist chapel in Cefncymerau, Llanbedr, near Harlech, North Wales. The chapel was built in 1850. It would appear that Curnow Vosper often visited the chapel when he holidayed in the area. Because of this painting, Salem is perhaps the most famous place of worship in Wales. The painting has become a Welsh icon.  

See
www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever/collections/salem.asp
Contributed by Colin Vosper

The most beautiful place to grow up

Shaldon, Ness House c1955

I just ‘stumbled’ across this site whilst looking for information about Shaldon. How lovely to recall childhood memories. Viewing the photographs, the shot of the Ness House c1955. I grew up there; we lived at the Ness House throughout the 1950’s, I attended Shaldon Primary, was a choir boy at St Peter’s Church and a cub with the 1st Shaldon pack. I imaging one of the car parked outside the Ness House is my father’s, there weren’t that many about at that time.
I return to the Ness regularly, it still is the most beautiful place.  
Contributed by Anthony Brinsley

Extracts From Shaldon & Devon books

Exmouth, the Esplanade 1898

This view was taken from the building at the very end of Morton Crescent. To the immediate left is the Imperial Hotel, seen in its original architectural design, changed now after the fire in the 1970s.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".

Exmouth, the Esplanade c1955

By the middle of the 20th century we see something resembling the modern scene. There is the more familiar red telephone box on the traffic island, a modern post box, and Belisha beacons to aid pedestrians wishing to cross the road. In the centre of the photograph is the white tower of the Pavilion Theatre. Much of the street furniture was removed by the start of the 21st century, leaving a more traffic-dominated Esplanade.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".

Exmouth, from the Pier 1906

The construction of a substantial sea wall, seen here in section to the right, led to Exmouth’s prosperity as a seaside resort. Before the wall was built, much of the sea front was marshland and sand dunes, and subjected to constant flooding. The first section of the wall was completed in 1842, paid for by the local landowner John Rolle. It was 1,900 feet long and constructed from Devon limestone. The designer was John Smeaton, a veteran engineer and the designer of London Bridge.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".

Exmouth, from the Beacon 1922

This fine view looks across the clock tower and Morton Crescent to the estuary of the River Exe, with Starcross and the Haldon Hills in the distance.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".

Exmouth, the Esplanade c1955

The wall was designed to deflect the waves that so often come up the English Channel from the south-west on stormy days. This scene has changed little in fifty years, though now a shelter from the wind stands on the position of the nearest bench in the photograph. It was donated by local resident William Frederick Stokes in 1964.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".