additional research notes around 1690
devastation of Teignmouth

After examining ‘creditable persons’ the Justices of the Peace concluded that: by the late horrid invasion there were within the space of 12 houres burnt downe and consumed 116 dwelling houses … and also 172 dwelling houses were rifled and plundered and two parish churches much ruined, plundred and defaced, besides the burning of ten saile of shipps with the furniture thereof, and the goods and merchandise therein …

Wikipedia entry begins

There were originally two villages, East and West Teignmouth, separated by a stream called the Tame, which emptied into the river Teign through marshland by fish quay.  Neither village is mentioned in the Domesday Book, but East Teignmouth was granted a market by charter in 1253 and   West Teignmouth was granted one a few years later.

Documents indicate that Teignmouth was a significant port by the early 14th century, second in Devon only to Dartmouth.

AJP Note Teignmouth  had two impressive, &  expensive , watch towers. St James, on the slope above the town built in C 13th  it had a small chapel attached , which still stands, .  The other was St Michael's at sea level by East Cliff , a Saxon or possibly early Norman tower to which a small chapel  was later attached but was lost to Victorian 'improvements' .

Medieval & Tudor shipping records show that there were merchant ships to & from and through Teignmouth recorded from 1401 onwards

The town was attacked by the French in 1340  & a few years later in 1337 sent seven ships & 120 men to the expedition against Calais.

Teignmouth's relative importance waned during the 15th century, and it did not figure in an official record of 1577. In 1601 Sir Walter Ralegh, given a commission  by Elizabeth I to inspect the south coast defence,  reported that the ' town was much decayed and the estuary  silted up '  due to effluent from tin mining on Dartmoor. 

In 1690 the villages were attacked and burned by the French , all that remained standing was the Ferryboat Inn which was a known Catholic supporter

More below about 1690

During the 17th century, Teignmouth in common with other Channel ports, suffered from raids from Dunkirkers, who were privateers from Flemish ports.

Smuggling may have been the town's most significant trade at this time, though local men of all backgrounds went off each spring to Newfoundland to fish for cod  returning in the autumn. The Newfoundland cod fishery became of great importance. 

Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 17, 1699 and Addenda 1621-1698. Originally published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1908.

Sept 1690

..... trading to Newfoundland. Five or six small ships, which could carry about forty men, were fitted out and ready to sail on the 10th October 1690 with provisions for the poor people in Newfoundland. They as well as the whole trade would be lost unless some relief was sent to them. 

'We beg, therefore, that no embargo may be laid on ships for Newfoundland before the 10th or 20th of October next. ½ p. [Colonial Papers, Vol. LXVI., No. 6.]

 A grant of a market and a fair for East Teignmouth, where is a commodious markethouse, was obtained in the reign of Henry III., by the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, the East town belonged to the Earl of Devon, Courtenay of Powderham Castle and Forde House

 The market is on Saturday, principally for provisions; and fairs are held on the third Tuesday in January, the last Tuesday in February, and the last Tuesday in September.

 The government of West Teignmouth was vested in a portreeve, who was annually elected by a jury of twelve, at a court leet and baron held by Lord Clifford, lord of the manor; at which court also a town clerk, four constables, two bailiffs, and other officers are appointed. In East Teignmouth, a reeve and two constables are elected by the court there, and two constables by the parish. 

 BUILDING MATERIALS

COB.

https://archive.org/details/ReportTransactionsOfTheDevonshireAssociationVol521920/page/n363/mode/2up?q=Teignmouth

Page n205

The walls of cob houses were usually plastered on the outside about twelve months after completion, and were then whitened or coloured. But not unfrequently in the case of cottages, and almost invariably in the case of outbuildings and garden walls, the cob surface was left unplastered, and was not always even whitened. There is indeed no need to plaster a cob wall, provided the stone foundation is sound and the roof water-tight, according to the old saying : "A cob wall with a, good hat and a good pair of shoes will last for ever." The cob in its finished state naturally retains more or less the colour of the earth of which it is composed. Thus in districts where the soil is of a rich red or reddish-brown hue, e.g. around Exeter, Teignmouth, Dawlish, etc., the unplastered and unwhitened coft-walled cottages and buildings lend a particularly pleasing and picturesque effect to the general scene

  PARLIAMENT makes no mention at all because it was Prorogued

Calendar of State Papers

The 2nd Parliament of William and Mary was prorogued  and remained so until 5 years later

Summoned 6 Feb. 1690 Assembled 20 Mar. 1690 Dissolved 

The 3rd Parliament of William & Mary was summoned in 1695

During the next session, 1690-91, a ‘country opposition’ consisting of prominent men of both parties began making its presence felt.  On the Whig side it was headed by Paul Foley I and Robert Harley, and on the Tory side by Sir Thomas Clarges and Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th Bt.   Together they secured legislation establishing a commission of accounts, consisting of themselves and several other non-ministerial MPs, to examine all aspects of public expenditure.   The evidence gathered enabled the commissioners to lead an effective opposition to the ministry.   Not only did they demand cuts in estimates, but they also tabled their own proposals for raising funds which, they maintained, would exceed the effectiveness of schemes advocated by the courtiers.  Many of these proposals were successfully embodied in a whole series of supply measures during 1691-4, including Paul Foley’s innovative ‘Million Fund’ scheme approved early in 1693.  This introduced the practice of ‘deficit financing’ and an institutionalised ‘National Debt’, which allowed much larger sums to be raised for the annual supplies.

THE WEATHER - in  a mini ice age 

https://premium.weatherweb.net/weather-in-history-1650-to-1699-ad/

The 'Little Ice Age' lived up to its name. The final few years( of C17th weren't as bad, but harvests were still ruined generally as wet weather took over from the cold. The 1600s were generally a period of harsh severe winters, & cool/wet springs/summers.

6 out of 10 of these winters defined as 'severe' in the CET series. That is, CET mean temperature value for the months December, January and February, below 3.0 degC.

Although that series applies strictly to a closely-defined area of central & southern England, it is clear from accounts of the time that 'harsh' weather occurred elsewhere within this period: for example, in NE Scotland, much outward migration of farming folk occurred after a series of bad harvests - with tales of mills falling into disuse. With such a recurring depth / persistence of cold in these winters, it is not surprising that the subsequent spring and summer seasons were also largely cold; only in the summers of 1691 & 1699 did the overall mean reach or slightly exceed the long-term average: all the others were below with two summers (1694 & 1695) notably cold.

> The mean value of the CET for these 10 years is around 8.1degC (low-resolution to the series at this time), which is at least 2C below the modern-day average value & is the coldest decade in that series [starts 1659]. There were four years with a mean CET below 8degC: 1692(7.7), 1694(7.7), 1695(7.3) & 1698(7.6). These years are respectively the 6th, 5th, 2nd & 4th coldest years in the entire series.

Although the figures above are strictly applicable only to an area of lowland 'middle' England, the CET series is a reasonable proxy for other parts of Britain, and certainly contemporary reports relating to harvest failures, food shortages & extreme hardship right across these islands attest to probable sustained severe / inclement weather elsewhere - certainly for central and southern Scotland & much of Wales.

As well as the depressed temperatures, there is strong evidence from various sources that, at least across northern Britain, there was a succession of wet spring & summer seasons, again compounding the problem of low temperature / poor growth of cereal and other crops. In Scotland in particular, the oat harvest is said to have failed on seven out of eight years. CET

 1690 January & Winter 1689/90)  January 11th (OSP) - England - gale / storm - of wind / snow / rain for 3 hours. Many killed. The storm is recorded by Evelyn (presumably reliable) as occurring overnight 11th / 12th (OSP), beginning circa 2 am and easing around 5 am - there are several reports relating to its effects, ranging from losses of shipping in the Tees estuary to significant losses in the waters off Kent and into the Thames Estuary.

The storm also caused major losses to shipping interests on the French side of the Channel. In addition to these maritime losses, Evelyn noted damage to houses and caused loss of woodland & there is a note of flooding at Oxford during this month (i.e. January). 

[ John Evelyn the noted Diarist of the time  recorded  that the winter had, up to that point, been extremely wet, warm & windy - the mildness would be unusual in the winters following

1690/91 (Winter /early Spring)  In Fife in Scotland was  'knee-deep' in snow from January until the beginning of April; there was 'great distress' by reason of sickness.
1691  Dry year. Hot / dry during late summer & autumn - dry winter. (London/South - but probably applies to wider area of England at least).
July & August of 1691 were noted as being often 'hot' but with notable thunderstorms, violent rain etc.)

This small town of distressed and or displaced people was without means to rebuild  having lost everything, including the means of making a livelihood, were facing a harsh winter without a roof over their heads . ( around 118 + households +172 homes ransacked - if the average  household was  5 people. ( some with more, some with fewer ) that amounts to around 800 people,  not  including the men who were absent in Newfoundland ( about 50% of the adult male population ) who would return home in mid to late September  to devastation, a freezing winter & tents or lean-to's

1690

William of Orange & his wife Mary,  the daughter of  James II  were, from 1688, the new Protestant King & Queen of England. He had been invited by Protestant English Peers to replace the Catholic James II.brother of Charles II

In 1690 on 1st July William won the Battle of the Boyne  in Ireland against the deposed Catholic king James II ( The French king , according to John Evelyn , was told that William had died in the battle and had a party to celebrate )

The Anglo Dutch fleet had only 56 English and Dutch ships of the line, with 4,153 guns, against the French fleetwith 75 ships of the line with 4,600  guns and 23 fireships  

On the 30th of June ,  news of a sea battle was spreading,  local people on Essex coast began gathering on the cliffs at Beachy Head near Eastbourne.. They were there to witness a battle between the three great fleets. The Dutch fleet led by Cornelis Evertsen their allies in the English fleet under Admiral Herbert, Earl of Torrington,  against French fleet under the Comte de Tourville  .

It took several days for the fleets to assemble , each keeping out of range of the other until on the 10th of July  1690 they were arrayed in battle order.

An eight hour sea battle ensued  and the French had won. The greatest French naval victory over the Anglo English alliance.
The Dutch lost nine ships of the line , three of them expendable fire ships; the English lost one ship of the line. The French did not lose a single vessel.

The English Channel then temporarily fell under French control.

“On the 13 of July the French fleet was seen riding at anchor in Torbay, and very quickly all the forces of Devon were drawn up to oppose their landing.”

Presumably it was the presence of English militia  and possibly the defensive walls and gatehouse of Torre Abbey that dissuaded the French from landing.

åInstead, “several of their galleys drew off from the fleet and made towards a weak, unfortified place, called Teignmouth, about seven miles to the eastward of Torbay. Coming very near, and having played the cannon of their galleys upon the towns, shooting nearly two hundred cannon balls to drive away the poor inhabitants, they landed about seven hundred of their men. Then they began to set  fire and plunder the towns of East and West Teignmouth, which consist of about three hundred houses.”

The French ransacked the town for twelve hours and destroyed 11 ships, also, “killing very many cattle and pigs which they left dead in the streets”. Reinforcing the fact that this was also a religious conflict, they, “entered both churches, tore Bibles and Common Prayer Books in pieces, broke down the pulpits, and overthrew the communion tables"

Source here

Other sources- In a petition to the Lord Lieutenant, it was declared,

“On the 26th day of this instant July 1690 by four of the clock in the morning, your poor petitioners were invaded (by the French) to the number of 1,000 or thereabouts, who in the space of three hours time, burnt down to the ground the dwelling houses of 240 persons of our parish and upwards, plundered and carried away all our goods, defaced our churches, burnt ten of our ships in the harbour, besides fishing boats, nets and other fishing craft”.

A report afterwards claimed that, as the French fleet weighed anchor and sailed west, while rounding Berry Head, “two slaves leaped from one of the galleys into the sea – one was recaptured; the second a Turk, after a desperate struggle for liberty, swam on shore, and was secured by the people who had witnessed the incident.”

The Justices of the Peace investigated the damage and found that,

“By the late horrid invasion there were within the space of 12 hours burnt down and consumed 116 dwelling houses and also 172 dwelling houses were rifled and plundered and two parish churches much ruined, plundered and defaced, besides the burning of ten sail of ships with the furniture thereof, and the goods and merchandise therein”.

The Battle at Beachy Head was a 8 hour battle.

There are discrepancies in the dates used for various reports however this is probably because the Julian Calendar was replaced by the Gregorian Calendar, when the beginning of the legal new year was changed from March 25 to January 1.

Other European countries did this earlier than UK

1582 Spain,  Portugal,  France,  Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,  Italy, Catholic Low Countries,  Luxembourg

1700 Protestant Low Countries,  Norway,  Denmark, some Protestant  Swiss cantons

1752 Great Britain, Ireland,

It is reported that the galley slaves of the French were Protestants !

The strength of feeling produced by these events is demonstrated by the publication of a popular song of some 18 verses celebrating

‘The Devonshire Boy’s Courage’ and lambasting the French. It begins by applauding the rapid response to the invasion:

“Brave Devonshire Boys made haste away

When News did come from Tinmouth-bay,

The French were Landed in that Town,

And Treacherously had burnt it down.

It ends with the promise of an appropriate response next time:

“Then let proud French-men all bewail,

That e’re they did to England Sail,

Not words but blows shall make it out,

When we with them have ‘tother bout.”

Part of a PDF. o n The militia assessments for South Devon, 1715: commentary and context by Paul Luscombe

Conflicting dates  - The French used the new Gregorian calendar the English were still using the old  Julian calendar

Link to document index at the Friends of Devon’s Archives website

Less than two years after William III’s accession and just two weeks after his victory over the exiled James II at the Battle of the Boyne, the Devon militia was raised and responded quickly to what was perceived to be a French invasion and part of a plan for a Jacobite rising. The defeat of the English fleet at Beachy Head at the end of June 1690 left the French in command of the Channel and, in England, anxiety in government and in much of the country. Orders were given for the arrest of papists and Jacobites. The Queen (William was in Ireland) was apprehensive about the security of Exeter and Plymouth. On 10 July, Mary, through her Secretary of State, the Earl of Nottingham, instructed Lord Lansdowne (Lord Lieutenant of both Devon and Cornwall and Lord Warden of the Stannaries) to ensure the safety of naval and merchant ships at Plymouth – “and for that purpose she would have you draw the militia of Devonshire to that place, that they may be in readiness for the defence of it”. Worries about a possible French attack on Portsmouth prompted sending two regiments of the Hampshire militia there and raising the Wiltshire militia on 12 July, followed three days later by orders “for the militia of all England.... to be in arms”.

On 23 July,1690 a correspondent writing to the Attorney-General from Exeter reported that the French fleet had been sighted off Exmouth on Sunday 20 July: “...consisting of 115 sail of great and small ships.... and doe still remain there, except 14 galleys, who are gone into Torbay. These drew the last night very close to the shoar, but retired on seeing some beacons on fire. All the militia of the county of Devon is raised, and warrants issued out this day for the posse [comitatus], all directing their course to Torbay. Never was there known more unanimity and resolution than appears in the people… to hinder their landing...

” The same correspondent writes again: “July 28. Exeter. On Saturday last [26 July], the French galleys approached Tingmouth, and fired many great shot towards the shore, which frighted all the people in and about the place, and made them fly into the country. Their small boats then landed about 300 men without any opposition, who burnt two small fishing towns, East and West Teignmouth, and all the ships and boats in the harbour, one or two only excepted..... They rifled the houses before they set them on fire. They broke down all the seats of the Church, tore in parts the Bible and Book of Common Prayer, carrying away the Chalice... This done they retired to their small boats which carryed them off to their galleys, and they to the fleet lying before Torbay.... Our militia is in arms, and the posse raised...

The London Gazette recounted the movements of the militia, particularly the troops of horse: “From the Camp at Torbay, July 27.

The Lord Lansdown having given the necessary Orders at Plimouth, came hither on the 25th with the Stannary Troop under the command of Sir John Fowell, where he found Sir Bowchier Wrey with his Regiment of Horse, Sir William Drake the Sheriff, and Major Rolle, with several other Deputy-Lieutenants of Devon. The next morning, upon Information that the French Galleys were gone towards Tingmouth.... he immediately marched thither with all the Horse, but being come to Newton, within 5 miles of Tingmouth, understood that the French Galleys.... had early that morning landed there some Men, who set the Town on fire, and some Vessels in the Port, and after that returned about Noon to their Galleys; which afterwards fired some Guns upon a little Town called Torquay. Whereupon the Lord Lansdowne went back with the Forces to Torbay. At their return thither in the Evening, they saw the whole French Fleet under sail standing to the Westward, the Wind at S.E. But the Wind coming Westerly, they returned this morning into Torbay, where they still continue. And the Militia remains here to observe them

LINKS http://www.foda.org.uk/militia/documentindex.htm

 NEWFOUNDLAND

Cupids, established in 1610, is the oldest continuously inhabited English settlement in Canada. John Guy established the first-year round settlement at the heart of what was then known as Cuper's Cove.

1634 Charles I of England granted the First Western Charter. This said that the captain of the first fishing vessel to arrive in a Newfoundland harbour each spring would be the fishing admiral for that season & ruler for that year. At this time, British fishing captains tried to stop settlers from staying in Newfoundland & the government in Britain allowed this.

Houses are burned and people are put out of their homes.

1660s The French set up a colony at Placentia. The first hospital in Newfoundland is built in Placentia at this time. For the next 40 years, control of Newfoundland will pass back and forth between the French and the English.

1696-1697 Carbonear is the only English settlement in Newfoundland that is not ruined by French attacks.

1699 King William III of England gives permission for people to make settlements. The powers of the fishing admirals are limited.

Wikipedia -  King William's War also known as the Second Indian War, was the North American theatre of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg.

It was the first of six colonial wars (see the four French and Indian Wars, Father Rale's War and Father Le Loutre's War) fought between New France and New England along with their respective Native allies before France ceded its remaining mainland territories in North America east of the Mississippi River in 1763.

For King William's War, neither England nor France thought of weakening their position in Europe to support the war effort in North America.[6] New France and the Wabanaki Confederacy were able to thwart New England expansion into Acadia, whose border New France defined as the Kennebec River in southern Maine.[7]: 27 [8][9] 

According to the terms of the 1697 Peace of Ryswick that ended the Nine Years' War, the boundaries and outposts of New France, New England, and New York remained substantially unchanged.

The war was largely caused by the fact that the treaties and agreements that were reached at the end of King Philip's War (1675–1678) were not adhered to.[10] In addition, the English were alarmed that the Indians were receiving French or maybe Dutch aid. The Indians preyed on the English and their fears, by making it look as though they were with the French. The French were fooled as well, as they thought the Indians were working with the English. These occurrences, in addition to the fact that the English perceived the Indians as their subjects, despite the Indians' unwillingness to submit, eventually led to two conflicts, one of which was King William's War.[10]

Wikipedia 

Dutch ships were especially active during the time between 1620–1660 in what was called the "sack trade." A ship of 250 tons could earn 14% profit on the Newfoundland to Spain leg, and about the same on goods it then took from Spain to England. The journey across the Atlantic was stormy and risky; the risk was spread mostly by selling shares.[12]

Before 1700 the "admiral" system provided the government.[13] 

The first captain arriving in a particular bay was in charge of allocating suitable shoreline sites for curing fish. The system faded away after 1700. Fishing-boat captains competed to arrive first from Europe in an attempt to become the admiral; soon merchants left crewmen behind at the prime shoreline locations to lay claim to the sites. This led to "bye-boat" fishing: local, small-boat crews fished certain areas in the summer, claimed a strip of land as their own, and sold their catches to the migratory fishermen. Bye-boat fishing thus became dominant, giving the island a semi-permanent population, and proved more profitable than migratory fishing.[14]

The fishing admirals system ended in 1729 when the Royal Navy sent in its officers to govern during the fishing season.

What happened in Teignmouth in 1690 was almost carbon copy to what was happening in Newfoundland.

William Phips, the Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, led an assault on Port Royal.

The New Englanders, led by Sir William Phips, retaliated by attacking Port Royal, the capital of Acadia. The Battle of Port Royal began on May 9, 1690.[23]: 82 

 Phips arrived with 736 New England men in seven English ships. Governor de Meneval fought for two days and then capitulated. The garrison was imprisoned in the church, and Governor de Meneval was confined to his house. The New Englanders levelled what was begun of the new fort.[24]: 38  The residents of Port Royal were imprisoned in the church and administered an oath of allegiance to the King.[24]: 39 

Phips left, but warships from New York City arrived in June,1990 which resulted in more destruction.[23]: 82  

The seamen burned and looted the settlement, including the parish church.[24]: 40  

The New Englanders left again, and Villebon, the governor of Acadia, moved the capital to safer territory inland at Fort Nashwaak (present-day Fredericton, New Brunswick). Fort Nashwaak remained the capital until after the war, when Port Royal was restored as the capital in 1699.[24]: 45 

In Church's second expedition to Acadia, he arrived with 300 men at Casco Bay on 11 September 1690. His mission was to relieve the English Fort Pejpescot (present-day Brunswick, Maine), which had been taken by the Wabanaki Confederacy.[22]: 179–180  He went up the Androscoggin River to Fort Pejepscot.[21]: 66  From there he went 40 miles (64 km) upriver to Livermore Falls and attacked a native village. Church's men shot three or four native men when they were retreating. Church discovered five English captives in the wigwams. Church butchered six or seven natives and took nine prisoners.[21]: 67  A few days later, in retaliation, the members of the Wabanaki Confederacy attacked Church at Cape Elizabeth on Purpooduc Point, killing seven of his men and wounding 24 others.[21]: 69  On September 26, Church returned to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

During King William's War, when the town of Wells contained about 80 houses and log cabins strung along the Post Road, it was attacked on June 9, 1691, by about 200 Native Americans commanded by the sachem Moxus. But Captain James Converse and his militia successfully defended Lieutenant Joseph Storer's garrison, which was surrounded by a gated palisade. Another sachem, Madockawando, threatened to return the next year "and have the dog Converse out of his den".[25]

As the natives withdrew, they went to York off Cape Neddick and boarded a vessel, killing most of the crew. They also burned a hamlet.[19]

In early 1692, an estimated 150 Abenakis commanded by officers of New France returned to York, killing about 100 of the English settlers and burning down buildings in what would become known as the Candlemas Massacre.

Church's third expedition to Acadia during the war was in 1692 when he raided Penobscot (present-day Indian Island, Maine) with 450 men.[22]: 212  Church and his men then went on to raid Taconock (Winslow, Maine).[22]: 214 

In 1693, New England frigates attacked Port Royal again, burning almost a dozen houses and three barns full of grain.[24]: 43 

Note

John Pomery born 1773 son of John & Mary Pomery who had married in West Teignmouth in 1771

son John was married in Brigus Newfoundland on 8 Dec 1804 to Ann Roberts widow of John Norman

He would have been 21 in 1793 -

son George born April 1816 married Elizabeth & died age 90 in 1905

PARLIAMENT WAS PROROGUED  FROM MAY 1690 UNTIL 1695

The 2nd Parliament of William II & Queen Mary in May 1690 was prorogued and remained so until 1695  when they summoned Parliament again

Summoned 6 Feb. 1690. Assembled 20 Mar. 1690 & Dissolved  

During the next session, 1690-91, a ‘country opposition’ consisting of prominent men of both parties began making its presence felt.  On the Whig side it was headed by Paul Foley I and Robert Harley, and on the Tory side by Sir Thomas Clarges and Sir Christopher Musgrave, 4th Bt.   Together they secured legislation establishing a commission of accounts, consisting of themselves and several other non-ministerial MPs, to examine all aspects of public expenditure.   The evidence gathered enabled the commissioners to lead an effective opposition to the ministry.   Not only did they demand cuts in estimates, but they also tabled their own proposals for raising funds which, they maintained, would exceed the effectiveness of schemes advocated by the courtiers.  Many of these proposals were successfully embodied in a whole series of supply measures during 1691-4, including Paul Foley’s innovative ‘Million Fund’ scheme approved early in 1693.  This introduced the practice of ‘deficit financing’ and an institutionalised ‘National Debt’, which allowed much larger sums to be raised for the annual supplies. 

Forfeited Estates Commission: abstracts of estates of Popish recusants FMP

Teignmouth is  in Exminster HUNDRED

Further observations

Between 1645 and 1715 there was a mini Ice Age making winters were very cold and the summers were wet

The terrible winter of 1684 claimed many lives. Burials were suspended as the ground was too hard to dig. Trees split apart and some preachers interpreted the events as God’s punishment, for which the people must repent. This was caused by the cooling effect of massive volcanic eruptions, and sustained by changes in Arctic ice cover, scientists conclude. 

Starting in the early 14th century, average temperatures in the British Isles cooled by 2°C, with similar anomalies recorded across Europe. Much colder winters ensued. Rivers and coastal seas froze, grinding trade and communications to a halt. Crops and livestock withered while downpours spoiled harvests, unleashing widespread hunger and hardship.

In London  frost fairs sprang up on the frozen Thames & saw an unlikely mixing of social classes. Between January and mid-February 1684, thousands of people from King Charles II and the royal family to the lowliest pauper ventured out to “Freezeland”, as one pamphleteer had christened it. At its height, the fair extended about three miles from London Bridge to Vauxhall. Eyeing a chance to make money and with no ground rent to pay, a number of market stalls sprang up. Many stalls sold sumptuous food and drink: beer, wine, coffee and brandy; beef, pies, oysters and gingerbread. Entertainment included skating, sledging and dancing, together with football, horse racing, bear baiting and cock throwing. There were puppet plays and peep shows featuring tame monkeys, as well as fire-eating, knife swallowing and a lottery.

**

Contemporary reports show how news of the attack was spread across the country. On 23 July, a correspondent writing to the Attorney-General from Exeter reported that the French fleet had been sighted off Exmouth on Sunday 20 July: “...consisting of 115 sail of great and small ships.... and doe still remain there, except 14 galleys, who are gone into Torbay. These drew the last night very close to the shoar, but retired on seeing some beacons on fire. All the militia of the county of Devon is raised, and warrants issued out this day for the posse [comitatus], all directing their course to Torbay. Never was there known more unanimity and resolution than appears in the people… to hinder their landing...”

The same correspondent writes again: “July 28. Exeter. On Saturday last [26 July], the French gallys approached Tingmouth, and fired many great shot towards the shoar, which frighted all the people in and about the place, and made them fly into the country. Their small boats then landed about 300 men without any opposition, who burnt two small fishing towns, East and West Teignmouth, and all the ships and boats in the harbour, one or two only excepted..... They rifled the houses before they set them on fire. They broke down all the seats of the Church, tore in parts the Bible and Book of Common Prayer, carrying away the Chalice... This done they retired to their small boats which carryed them off to their galleys, and they to the fleet lying before Torbay.... Our militia is in arms, and the posse raised...”

Other accounts quote a force of 700, 1,000 and even 1,700 landing at 4.0 am or 5.0 am which “.... in the space of Three Hours Ransackt and Plundered the said Towns and a village called Shaldon.... and Burnt and Destroyed One Hundred and Sixteen Houses,(116 ) together with Eleven ships.”(97)

Meanwhile, The London Gazette recounted the movements of the militia, particularly the troops of horse: “From the Camp at Torbay, July 27. The Lord Lansdown having given the necessary Orders at Plimouth, came hither on the 25th with the Stannary Troop under the command of Sir John Fowell, where he found Sir Bowchier Wrey with his Regiment of Horse, Sir William Drake the Sheriff, and Major Rolle, with several other Deputy-Lieutenants of Devon.

The next morning, upon Information that the French Galleys were gone towards Tingmouth.... he immediately marched thither with all the Horse, but being come to Newton, within 5 miles of Tingmouth, understood that the French Galleys.... had early that morning landed there some Men, who set the Town on fire, and some Vessels in the Port, and after that returned about Noon to their Galleys; which afterwards fired some Guns upon a little Town called Torquay.

Whereupon the Lord Lansdowne went back with the Forces to Torbay. At their return thither in the Evening, they saw the whole French Fleet under sail standing to the Westward, the Wind at S.E. But the Wind coming Westerly, they returned this morning into Torbay, where they still continue. And the Militia remains here to observe them.”(98)

Details of the ordeal suffered by the people of Teignmouth were circulated to every parish in England and Wales in the form of a royal Brief seeking “liberal contributions” towards the costs of the loss and damage amounting to some £11,000.

This I did not know !!

This (Teignmouth raid) was no hit-and-run raid, as has been implied subsequently.

The fleet remained in Torbay on 27 and 28 July “where our militia and others are in arms, consisting of 30,000 cheerfully resolving to oppose them”.

Despatches to newsletters referred to expectations of landings near Plymouth, heightened by the French fleet sailing out of Torbay on Tuesday morning 29 July

“In the afternoon, they appeared to the Westward of the Start Point, and some hours after came to an Anchor in Begbery Bay” [Bigbury] where some damage was done.

( AJP Note  Start Point is just east of Salcombe Estuary so they were sailing west along the south coast )

Then, according to an account in a London newsletter

31 July: “An express from Plymouth, arrived to-day, says that the guard ship of Plymouth gave notice that the French fleet were standing (sailing) towards them, upon which 15,000 militia were drawn together to oppose their landing, with about 5,000 seamen resolving to defend Cattwater. They also say that the French weighed and stood to the westward.”99

Early the same morning, a galley was repulsed on approaching Lyme harbour.

The London Gazette said that the fleet was back in Torbay on Friday 1 August, sending boats on a sortie to Dartmouth the next day, “....but the militia fired so fast upon them they were forced to put out to sea again”.

The disquiet on shore must have intensified when more ships arrived in Torbay from Le Havre on Sunday – “the number being increased to 160 sail” - and loitered there all day and for most of Monday 4 August.

The Gazette’s next issue announced:”

“Plimouth, August 5.    The French Fleet sailed yesterday in the evening from Torbay; But the Galleys who could not endure the Sea that was then pretty high, continued there till this morning, and then followed their Fleet;

which appeared about 5 this morning before our Habour, and by Noon was clear of Pentlee Point, standing to the Westward, and ‘tis not doubted but they are going home having.... great numbers of sick Men on Board.”

(AJP this is Penzance & Mousehole Cornwall )

Some of the most intriguing references in these descriptions are those to galleys

These vessels were designed for, and largely confined to, the Mediterranean, drawing too little water to withstand Atlantic weather. They were propelled by oars, and a despatch from Torbay on 1 August confirms that they were manned by ‘Galley Slaves’ one of whom “....leaped over Board, and after some hours swimming got alive to Land....”.100 .

The French navy’s excursion to the Devon coast for a fortnight in 1690 was an unusual expedition, and it is worth asking about its purpose.

Enquiries into French sources reveal that it was partly an experiment to evaluate the usefulness of galleys to the fleet along France’s Channel coast, brought forward by a group of naval officers and Jean de Chazelles, a hydrographer and mathematician.....

The innovatory element was to use galleys to tow frigates either when the wind failed or was against them, rendering them independent of the wind. Consequently, according to the elogy (‘biographical summary’) prepared after his death: “Monsieur de Chazelles.... was sent into the West in July 1689, to view the Coast with respect to the Navigation of the Gallies; finally in the Year 1690, fifteen new built Gallies sailed from Rochefort almost wholly upon his word.... They went as far as Torbay in England, and were made use of in the Landing at Tinmouth.” 101

Research of Teignmouth prior to 1690, & the 10 year period afterward, is proving difficult

Reminding me that  Teignmouth is one of the most thoroughly destroyed and least well understood medieval ports in England 

The strength of feeling produced by the 1690 events was demonstrated by the publication of a popular song of some 18 verses celebrating

‘The Devonshire Boy’s Courage’ and lambasting the French.

It begins by applauding the rapid response to the invasion:

“Brave Devonshire Boys made haste away

When News did come from Tinmouth-bay,

The French were Landed in that Town,

And Treacherously had burnt it down.

It ends with the promise of an appropriate response next time:

“Then let proud French-men all bewail,

That e’re they did to England Sail,

Not words but blows shall make it out,

When we with them have ‘tother bout.”

Occupations in BishopsTeignton 1698

Men signed up for Newfoundland fishery at Jolly Sailor

1680 of 440 servants St Johns census in 1680 shows 50 % employed by masters from Teignmouth and surrounding villages

Teignmouth produced no trade goods or articles although there was rope making & shipbuilding the spin-off s of a commercial fishing enterprise

OCCUPATIONS BISHOPSTEIGNTON

Parish Register 1697

Bickford Daniel mariner

Evens Thomas Yeoman

Hill John Butcher

Biere William Miller

Paddon John Seaman

Slowhouse Hohn Carpenter

Illor Nicholas Mason

Commins Thomas Gent

Coleman Thomas Thatcher

Hill Joseph Shoemaker

Best Nicholas Seaman

HILL John Butcher

Blackler Edward Blacksmith

EVEN John Yeoman

Rowell Richard Yeoman

Wootten William Gardener

Even John Seaman

Hill Joseph Seaman

Bickford John Mariner

Branscombe Thomas Mariner

PLUS MANY YEOMAN AND LABOURERS

A few years later

FREEHOLDERS 18th C 1733 West Teingmouth  

Andrew Towill

Thomas Tucker

Humphry Risdon

Thomas Hall

Oliver Manwaring, gentleman, freeholder East Teingmouth  

West Teingmouth  

Joseph Hale, mariner

Robert Squarey, mariner

Thomas Gaunt, mariner

William Tapley, mariner

Thomas Braddon, marinert

Elias Pitts, mariner

Rufus Jordan, mariner

Richard Tapley, mariner

William Darracott, mariner

Richard Perryman, mariner

Bishopsteington [Bishopsteignton]

Nicholas Cove, esq

Mr. Thomas Comming

Mr. Charles Pidesley

Richard Lowe

Thomas Ewen

I think the difference between a sailor & a mariner was 

Sailors or seamen were in the Royal Navy and mariners were fishermen  with their own boats & with maritime skills not needed if you were a simple RN ordinary seaman or sailor

Research notes

Heritage Gateway

https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway

enables search ing for information on England's historic sites and buildings, including images of listed buildings.

This website allows you to cross-search over 60 resources, offering local and national information relating to England’s heritage. Click here for full details of the range of records that you can search on this website

PastScape results now appear as Historic England Research Records. Further information on Historic England Research Records

~~~

Gatehouse Gazetteer Teignmouth Town Wall

http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/home.html

The comprehensive online gazetteer and bibliography of the medieval castles, fortifications and palaces of England, Wales, the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man.

A length of embattled wall, close to the shore at Teignmouth, is mentioned by Leland. It must have stood in the neighbourhood of Saint Michael's Church. (PastScape)

Leland, writing in the sixteenth century, in his Itinerary gives what we may regard as an account of Teignmouth in the time of the later Tudor sovereigns. He mentions by their present names the Ness and the Pole Sand; and speaks of East Teignmouth as taken to be the elder of the two towns, and as possessing a market and a church dedicated to St. Michael, and also a piece of embattled wall against the shore.

On the west side of this town is, he says, a piece of sandy ground called the Deane or Dene, " whereon have been not many years since divers houses and wine cellars."

In West Teignmouth he only mentions the church of St. James. The piece of embattled wall he speaks of must, I conceive, have been in the neighbourhood of St. Michael's Church, near which the market and the fair were held and the market cross stood. A small battery existed at one time on the Den in another direction, and not far from the site of the present one, but this was not erected till after 1774, and was known as the Fort. The wine cellars must, I apprehend, have been cellars for the storage of wine for purposes of trade situated not far from the place of the market and fair, but they seem to have disappeared before Leland's time. (Lake 1904)

Comments

It is not entirely certain the embattled wall was a town defence and Leland may have just been referring to an enclosure around a fortified warehouse or a grandiose sea wall. Given map reference for St Michael's Church. ( AJP note   a lan was land around a church often a wall enclosing the church ground )

East Teignmouth is the oldest part of the settlement with Saxon roots , a Saxon  or Norman watchtower with chapel attached which became St Michael's church in East Cliff. It had an early C13th charter for a market possibly with a bounding bank in an oval around the the tower which appears to be Saxon or Norman in design before it was demolished & replaced in the C19th  

WEST TEIGNMOUTH is divided from [East Teignmouth] only by a small brook,(the Tame) and contains 403 acres of land, and increased its inhabitants from 1528 in 1801, to 2883 in 1841.

The Earl of Devon is lord of the manor of East Teignmouth,

Lord Clifford of West Teignmouth, the former of which was long held by the Dean and Chapter of Exeter, and the latter by the Bishops of Exeter. Cliffords were Catholics and burdened by recusancy & fines see footnotes

West Teignmouth was a celebrated haven for ships at an early period, the river being then navigable for large ships, and having no shifting bar at the entrance.

Shaldon Village and the Lords Clifford of Chudleigh

Until the Clifford family purchased the land from the Carews in 1671, Shaldon and Ringmore were part of the parish of Stokeinteignhead.

The Ness headland and much of Shaldon and Ringmore were purchased by Lady Elizabeth, widow of Thomas, the 1st Lord Clifford of Chudleigh.

Did they help pay for the rebuilding with the expectation of getting their money back from the National subscription

When 1st baron Thomas Clifford died his estate was estimated by Samul Pepys to be 7 score pounds - £140 – a very small estate . Wife Elizabeth Martyn of Lindridge

His son Hugh see notes

A map of the Clifford estate dated 1700 shows many interesting details and some buildings depicted on this map still survive today. It shows two fishermens’cottages on the site of Glenside at Ringmore and the roofs of these cottages with traces of thatch can still be found intact and sturdily pegged inside the existing roof at Glenside which was built up, over and around in later centuries by the Georgians and Victorians!  Hunters Lodge was a gift from the Carews to the Cliffords, somewhere to stay and relax after hunting on the common lands above the village.

HERITAGE GATEWAY TEIGNMOUTH

streets and their origins

A Battery at The Den, Teignmouth

Summary A small fort or battery was built on the Den in the mid 18th century. It appears to have been in a ruined state by 1762 but it was repaired in the 1790s only to be closed at the end of the Napoleonic War in 1815. However, by 1859 it was up and running again. In 1866 Lord Courtenay made known his wish to build on the Den and the battery was moved to the sea front.

Silverman, J., Copies of 18th and 19th Century Plans of Teignmouth (Plan - sketch). SDV354592.

Fort shown on 18th and 19th century maps and plans.

Lake, W. C., 1874, Sketch of the History of Teignmouth, 380-1 (Article in Serial). SDV302882.

It was built at the request of the local inhabitants, who feared a repetition of the sacking of the town by the French in 1690.

Silverman, J., 2007, The Teignmouth Battery (Un-published). SDV354590.

History of the battery at Teignmouth, built in the late 18th century to defend the town against the French. Still wary after the attack by the French in 1690 the people of Teignmouth sent a petition to Sir William Courtenay, the manor lord, in the 1740s asking for permission to build a small fort on the Den.

The fort is shown on several Courtenay Estate maps dated 1759. However, an article in the Royal Magazine in 1762 states that the town and harbour were defenceless and the fort in ruins. It is shown as such on Donn's Map. The fort was repaired in the 1790s. It was closed at the end of the Napoleonic War in 1815 but was up and running again in 1859 although with two 64 pound cannon rather than 12 pounders.

In 1866 Lord Courtenay made known his wish to build on the Den and the Battery was temporarily relocated to the Sea Front until the new Battery was completed near the lighthouse in 1871. The battery continued to be manned until 1905 and in 1907 the site was converted into an underground public toilet. Not quite the end the Volunteers would have cared to imagine.

Lake, W. C., 1874, Sketch of the History of Teignmouth, 380-1 (Article in Serial). SDV302882.

It was built at the request of the local inhabitants, who feared a repetition of the sacking of the town by the French in 1690.

Minchinton, W. + Parsons, S., 1971 - 1973, Further Windmills in Devon, 107 (Article in Serial). SDV13006.

Minchinton, W., 1977, Windmills of Devon, 46 (Monograph). SDV12997.

Correspondence in 1628 refers to the windmill. It is marked near the site of the present lighthouse on the Den on a chart of Teignmouth harbour in 1727, and a map of 1759 marks the site as 'Place of the Old Windmill. A map of 1805 refers to 'Where the windmill stood', suggesting it was no longer standing.

Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division, 1980, SX97SW32 (Ordnance Survey Archaeology Division Card). SDV350616.

Pearson, A., 1985, Visitor's Guide to Teignmouth, South Devon, 97 (Monograph). SDV300876.

Roughly opposite the Royal Hotel there once stood a windmill.

R. B. M., 1922-1923, Windmills in Devon and Cornwall, 351-2 (Article in Serial). SDV350618.

A windmill stood close to the sea front at Teignmouth near the site of the present war memorial. It is marked on a map of 1759 with a note attached that it was a boundary between the manor of East Teignmouth, in which it was situated, and a part of the manor of Kenton in the same parish.

Ordnance Survey, 1855-1895, Towns 1855-95 1:500 (Cartographic). SDV348147.

"Battery (2 Guns)" marked.

Off Salcombe. 2005

The Salcombe Cannon wreck, which is protected, previously yielded Europe's largest collection of 17th-century Moroccan gold coins.

The Salcombe Cannon Site is the remains of a 17th Century shipwreck of unknown, possibly Dutch, origins which had possible trade links with North Africa. The ship was wrecked between Prawle Point and the Salcombe Estuary. Within the protected area of seabed several Bronze Age artefacts have been discovered, these will be taken into account with the adjacent Bronze Age site of Moor Sand and covered in the Management Plan for that site. The wreck was discovered in the early 1990’s by the Henley BSAC branch who informed Neville Oldham, who in his capacity as Chairman of the South West Branch of the Nautical Archaeology Society, was mapping all of the cannon sites in the area. From 1992 intermittent work was conducted on the site by the South West Maritime Archaeology Group (SWMAG), locating and surveying the cannons and recovering a few items. On the 30th April 1995 SWMAG were working on the site in very cold and poor conditions when one of them, Ron Howell, located a small gold ingot and a number of gold coins. Finds recovered from the site included more than 400 gold coins, gold ingots, pieces of gold jewellery, pottery fragments, lead weights and other archaeological material. Work continued on the site with the knowledge of the relevant archaeological authorities until autumn of 1997 when news of the discovery finally broke. As a result of this the site was designated as an historic wreck under the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 on 24th October 1997 under Statutory Instrument 1997/2536

https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/salcombe-cannon-site-conservation-statement-and-management-plan/salcombe-cannon-site-csmp/

Modern road improvements obscured the pattern of medieval burgage plots that ran back from Teign Street and Bitton Park Road (formerly Bitton Street).

The three main thoroughfares in West Teignmouth during the medieval period were Exeter Street, Bitton Street and Teign Street.

Heritage Gateway tells us

Dawlish Street was the principal street in the medieval period when settlement was restricted to a small area around the East Teignmouth Church

It comes down the hill from the right bend in Exeter Road and runs past St Michaels church into Regent Street .

22 Dawlish Street is C18th

I note that on the purchase of Lindrdge West Teignmouth was granted to Andrew Dudley in 1549, from whom it passed to the Cecils. It was bought by Richard Martyn in 1614 before passing by marriage to the Clifford family.

East Teignmouth remained with the Dean and Chapter of Exeter until 1803 and subsequently to the Courtenay family.

The Bridge over the Tame was wooden and located.....where Wellington Street opens out into Regent Street, where a wooden bridge crossed from the end of Lower Brook Street to the opposite side of the Tame.

See page 7

1 Regent St Regent House C19 th

HISTORICAL NOTE: in 1878 this was the house from which George Henry Croydon published the Teignmouth Gazette. Altered ground floor, but complete upper floors with curved bays complimenting those on No.2 (qv).

(Kelly's Directory: 1902-).

2 Regent St House with shop. Early C19. Seen here

Teign Street Listed buildings . Most are C19th C

but 8 Teign Street No.8 Teign Stret GV II located on the north side of the street

The shop where Teign Museum located whilst new build was in progress

House with shop. Late C18/early C19. Painted Flemish-bond brick, stone coped parapet, double-pitched slate roof with a large brick stack to the left and a conical lead rainwater-head to the right return. Double-depth plan.

EXTERIOR: 2 storeys; 2-window range. Tall semicircular arched 6/6-pane sash windows with radial glazing bars, in stepped-back recesses to the 1st floor.

Late C19 former

butcher's shop front with a set-back early C20 door to the left. The former 6-panel right-of-centre shop door with overlight, now half-glazed, is flanked on the left by a C20 3-pane window to the left and a C19 2-pane colonnetted window to the right.

45 TEIGN STREET (Formerly listed as: 1 STANLEY STREET

House with shop, now a cafe. Early C18, refronted with shop in early C19. Painted stucco over red sandstone rubble, slate roof. Double-depth plan.

EXTERIOR: 3 storeys; 2-window range. The entrance, formerly in the early C19 shop front in Teign Street, is now a C20 door in the right return in Stanley Street inserted into a former external stack over which the attic is jettied; C20 windows, doors and tile-hung 1st floor to the right return. The front has 6/6-pane sash windows, 2 to the 1st floor, one to the left of the 2nd floor with a small C20 window to the right.

The early C19 shop front bowed to the left has a moulded cornice to the fascia over two 3-pane shop windows divided by lamb's tongue glazing bars with former doors to centre and

INTERIOR: altered except for a spiral staircase to the centre of the right return, one early C18 thin 2-panel door and a thin planked door to the attic. The rear wall to the 2nd-floor rear is reputed to be lath and plaster with cob below. The rubblestone front wall is exposed on the interior, it is approx 0.8m thick.

43 Teign House GV II

House with corner shop with entrance in Stanley Street. C18, remodelled early C19. Painted roughcast, slate roof, half-hipped to the front. Double-depth plan.

EXTERIOR: 2 storeys and attic; one-window range. Mid C20 door and windows; C20 2-light casement window to the attic, mid C1 2-over-2-pane sash window to the 1st floor, C20 small-paned shop window below. The left return in Stanley Street has a good painted stone doorcase with fluted pilasters supporting an entablature with a fine dentil cornice almost obscured by paint. C20 door and windows.

INTERIOR: not inspected but the ground floor noted as being altered.

In C19th there were still 5 lanes from Teign St through to Bitton Street

TEIGN STREET(South side) No.37 GII

Industrial building, now builder's yard. Early C19.

Painted stucco with a slate roof.Three-unit plan with long rear wings.

EXTERIOR:two and one storeys to the left single storey to the right;front block is two storeys;symmetrical three-window range.Six/six-pane sash windows in forward frames to the first floor.Full-height double doors to the stone-flagged open central bay are flanked by a simple fascia and moulded window sills to two rows of five square panes with thin glazing bars;the plinth is of painted stretcher-bond brick.The long rear wings retain some six/six-pane sash windows,much overlapped industrial glazing and planked doors to loading bays.

INTERIOR:much original joinery remains.

HISTORICAL NOTE:this was used as a fish market in much of the C19 and a coachbuilder's yard in the late C19.

Listing NGR: SX9392072905 HER Number: MDV9862

Name: West Teignmouth Medieval Market Place

Summary West Teignmouth was granted a market and fair in 1256. It is suggested that the original medieval market may have been held near St. James church. Teign Street, however, was previously known as Old Market Street and is presumed to be the location of a street market throughout the medieval period but it does not seem to have survived into the post medieval period.

Lake, W. C., 1890, Notes on the Origin of the Streets of Teignmouth, and on their Nomenclature, 121 (Article in Serial). SDV291838.

A market used to be held on the premises of 36 Teign Street, formerly Old Market Street.

Dyer, M., 1999, Archaeological Observation and Recording at 36-37 Teign Street, Teignmouth (Report - Interim). SDV340932.

Archaeological observation and recording at 36-37 Teign Street, during ground works for sheltered accommodation, found industrial activity from the 17th century, with a mortared sandstone culvert and 17th to 19th century pottery.

Exeter Archaeology, 2004, Archaeological Assessment of Proposed Fire Station on Land off the A379 Teignmouth,

Devon, 7 (Report - Assessment). SDV361709.Teign Street used to be called Old market Street from a market that was once held at No. 36.

next property down the street toward harbour s is Peanuts” is marked 40 Teign Street - an open area is opposite with the Chapel on the right as you go up through to underpassThe corner property seen here is 38 Sun Stnext door is Brodequin double fronted listed as 42 Teign St.

Notes on the origin of the streets of Teignmouth and on their nomenclature

Trans. Devon. Assoc. Vol 22. (1890), illus. pp. 111-128. By W.C. Lake Prepared by Michael Steer

In 1690, Teignmouth was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power. The town grew from a fishing port associated with the Newfoundland cod industry to a fashionable resort of some note in Georgian times, with further expansion after the opening of the South Devon Railway in 1846.

PDF downloaded 26 Sept 2022

The generality of the houses, whether large or small, were built of cob, and, except in the case of some of the best class, thatched with straw. Drinking water, and that for domestic purposes, was obtained from the brook at Bitton, from the Tame or Brimley Brook above its estuary, from a public well (St. James's) near West Teignmouth Church, and from the private wells of houses. Most of the houses and cottages had gardens attached to them, some of a considerable extent. In these, in many cases, pigs were kept and poultry, both pigs and poultry occasionally wandering about the vicinity of their abodes.

The gardens were also used as drying-grounds for clothes, which I have, in my own time even, often seen spread out on myrtle bushes, a shrub which, flourishing in the locality, was almost universally grown in the gardens or against the walls of houses and cottages, sufficiently so to render a description given of Teignmouth in the last century, as a prettily situated village embowered in myrtles, hardly an exaggeration. The ruthless hand of improvement has now, alas ! left hardly one remaining.

At the close of the last century, and the beginning of this, the building of the more modern part of Teignmouth commenced, yet not systematically or on a settled plan, but in a disjointed way bit by bit. The estuary of the Tame Brook, contracted to the channel of the little stream itself, was covered over, and on the ground thus gained, as well as on other parts of the sandy waste near the sea, streets and rows of houses were built. The wide irregular part of the street, at the southern end of Somerset Place, shows where the widest part of this estuary was covered in.

South of this point the Strand, as it was called, was built, the first new house erected called in consequence " Strand House," being that now occupied by Mr. Hoare, the cooper, Number 31 Northumberland Place. Previously to this the " Jolly Sailor Inn," and one or two houses besides, were all that existed between the bottom of Fore Street and the sea.

Houses and groups of houses were also built, as the fancy of the builders dictated, along the present Bank Street, Wellington Street, and Regent Street, and similarly, though with more regularity of design, such were commenced along the townward margin of the waste near the sea, which, laid out with a carriage drive and a promenade and turfed over, forms what is now known as "The Den."

page 116 Burnt by the French in 1340, burnt by them again in 1690, the town was probably in neither case totally destroyed — in the latter case certainly not so ; yet with the exception of the old churches, of which only the tower of that of West Teignmouth now remains, and of a few residences of com- paratively late date, there could have been little in its buildings otherwise of a lasting character. The line of the streets that I have recorded is probably nearly all that now remains of ancient Teignmouth,

By considering, however, the position and character of the older houses now or recently extant in the various streets, a rough representation of Teignmouth in a map of Shaldon of the date of 1741,

page 121

Teign Street terminates where Pearson Street enters it. A little further on in the same direction commences a somewhat irregular street or lane, named by the committee Old Quay Street, from its proximity to the old quay. At its present point of termination at Number 7 this was formerly a part of or continuous with Clay Lane, which has. since been deflected by the Eailway Company into Willow Street. Willow Street and Mulberry Street connect Bitton Street with Old Quay Street. Parson Street, Chapel Street, and Saxe Street eater Teign Street from the north.

On the north side of Teign Street, not far from the termination of Parson Street, lies a court, Albion Place, I believe a fancy name. Fore Street and Teign Street are connected by a curved street of the name of Commercial Eoad, into which Park Street enters. The origin of the name I am unacquainted with.

From the south side of Teign Street proceeds, opposite the entrance of Chapel Street, a lane numbered in Teign Street, formerly known, from the name of a baker whose shop was at the corner, as Pratt's L wards the sea was a sandy waste ; and that the estuary of the little Tame, which ran through this, varied in its dimensions with the wash along it of the tide, and with the amount of water coming down from the hills.

The central point of East Teignmouth was the church...to all appearance a place of defence, In proximity to it would lie the houses of the inhabitants, at first the mere huts of fishermen, and near it, in what is now the eastern part of Regent Street, stood subsequently the market- place and its cross

Teignmouth Inns

The Bird in Hand was on Lower Brook Street, damaged during WW2 and now part of Waitrose Car Park (Picture source: Clive Schneidau)

The Newfoundland Fishery, one of Teignmouth’s oldest pubs, was so named due to the connection with cod fishing in the North Atlantic from the Mid-16th It was later renamed the New Quay Inn so it is south of the Tame & therefore  in East Teignmouth , as is

The Ferry Boat Inn was named after the crossing nearby and is probably the oldest pub in Teignmouth, established around the early 16th We know it today as The Jolly Sailor.The landlord may have been a Catholic  maybe  even a French spy -  there was a priests Hole in the chimney & a room used for Catholic services which suggests to me that he might at least been sympathetic with French cause 

Did he give a signal that Teignmouth was undefended

The Horse and Groom, more ‘recently’ called the White Horse was destroyed in an air raid in 1943. Pellew Arcade is now built on the site in Teign Street.

The Beehive was situated on Bitton Street behind the quay it opened in the early 19th century but closed just after WW2.

The Ship as we know it today, it was The Pilot,  is a River Beach Pub with fascinating history. There is a commemorative plaque on the wall to acknowledge fourteen Teignmouth men who fought in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805

~~~

Higher Coombe farm is C18th as is Lower Coombe Hose Thatch Cottage & Quarry Cottage are also C18th where a cannon ball was found- this is a mile inland

Higher Coombe Cottages 1&2 PADDONS LANE. House. C16. Painted render over cob and rubblestone, hipped thatched roof with rendered stacks to end walls and a ridge stack to the right of the door. Originally a 3-room plan with hall stack backing onto through passage and long lower end. 

EXTERIOR: 2 storeys; 4-window range. C20 windows, door and porch. A window to the far right was formerly a door.

INTERIOR: the ground-floor room to the left has rough crossbeam possibly chamfered to the left side. To the rear right of the passage, which has stop-chamfered joists, is part of a plank and-muntin wall and doorcase. The room to the right of the passage has exposed joists with roll-edge moulding divided from a room to the far right by a complete plank-and-muntin wall.

Did their barns become a refuge for the 'refugees'

All the original buildings at the docks were destroyed by the fire and were rebuilt and some still remain today. According to Grace Griffiths, History of Teignmouth, Ex Libris Press,1965, p45.

LORDS OF THE MANORS OF EAST & WEST TEIGNMOUTH WERE BARON WILLIAM COURTENAY EARL OF DEVON & HUGH CLIFFORD BARON CHUDLEIGH

 and they were connected by marriage