Dartmouth History
In 1588, as the Spanish Armada approached, Dartmouth was again called upon for two warships. The Cressant carried 70 men, and the Harte, 30. Both returned safely. In an echo of John Hawley, local gentry and merchants “volunteered” several more ships. Sir Francis Drake secured a major prize, the Nuestra Senora del Rosario, flagship of the Andalusian squadron, left helpless after a collision. She was taken into Torbay and the crew were held prisoner in Torre Abbey barn. Later the ship was towed round to Dartmouth, where many prisoners were held on board for several months in very poor conditions until ransomed by the Duke of Parma.
1600
In the early 17th century, the town’s growth and prosperity was based increasingly on fishing.
Sir Humphrey Gilbert, of Greenway, upriver from Dartmouth, claimed Newfoundland for the Queen as the first English colony in 1583 but the seasonal Newfoundland fishery had begun to expand before this. The trade rapidly became very important to the town. To expand the port, a programme of land reclamation began. In 1585 the “New Quay” was built (the east and south side of the Boat Float) with several new houses. Bayards Cove quay was embanked at about the same time. The New Quay was extended northward from about 1620 and then westward; more houses were built, including the Butterwalk, completed in 1640. St Saviours was enlarged and beautified, and the height of its tower was raised.
By the 1620s, Dartmouth ships were fishing in northern New England, as well as in Newfoundland. The Champernowne and Shapleigh familes were involved in the trade and Francis Champernowne and his business partner, Alexander Shapleigh, emigrated to Maine. The new settlement was named Kittery, after a property at Kingswear both families had used for their business.
In 1620, Dartmouth was an unplanned stop for the Pilgrim Fathers. Leaks in the Speedwell, one of their two ships, forced them to put in for repairs. The ship was “thorowly searcht from steme to steme [and] some leaks were found & mended”; and then they waited several days for a fair wind. Christopher Martin, the leader in the Speedwell, would not allow anyone to leave the ship “least they should rune away”. When they set sail again the Speedwell continued to leak, so they returned to Plymouth. “No spetiall leake could be founde”, but the Speedwell was abandoned, and the Mayflower set off alone. According to William Bradford’s account, the Speedwell’s master and crew “ploted this strategem to free themselves” – no blame attaches to Dartmouth shipwrights!
1642
Like Exeter and Plymouth, Dartmouth declared for Parliament at the start of the English Civil War in 1642. Control of the sea by the Parliamentary Navy protected the town from attack by sea, so preparations covered the land approaches from the west. A line of fortified earthworks and converted buildings was constructed from Dartmouth Castle via St Clements to Mount Boone. But these were not enough to withstand Royalist artillery, and the town surrendered in October 1643. With the Navy heavily committed elsewhere, a Royalist garrison held Dartmouth for a little over two years. Two substantial earth forts were added on the hills – Gallants Bower (which survives) above Dartmouth Castle, and Mount Ridley Fort above Kingswear Castle.But only a sizeable army could hold such a long perimeter on two sides of an unbridged river, and the Royalists surrendered in their turn to Sir Thomas Fairfax and the New Model Army in January 1646.
The Civil Wars had stifled trade, and many merchants were ruined or impoverished. Recovery was slow, and political and religious upheavals continued – the republican experiment ended, monarchy was restored, and those who did not conform to the Church of England were excluded from public office. John Flavel, Vicar of Townstal during the Protectorate and a celebrated preacher and writer, led a large dissenting congregation in Dartmouth, despite considerable harrassment. The Flavel Chapel and the Flavel Centre commemorate him.
1710
Amongst the dissenting community was the Newcomen family. From about 1710, Thomas Newcomen, a Baptist lay-preacher by calling and an ironmonger by trade, developed the first successful working steam engine, with his assistant John Calley. The first engine was installed in 1712 in Dudley, in the West Midlands and over two thousand followed, in most of the important mining districts of Britain and elsewhere. A working Newcomen Engine can be seen at the Tourist Information Centre.
1750
During the 18th century the Newfoundland trade developed from seasonal fishing into a much more complex, broader “triangular” trade, extending well beyond Newfoundland. Dartmouth’s social and economic ties with Newfoundland became extremely close – in 1785, 15 of the 44 most powerful traders in Newfoundland were Dartmouth-based firms. The Holdsworth family, who together with the Newman family were prominent in the trade, dominated political life in the town. The town prospered and many houses still existing today date from this time.
1815
More than twenty years of war with France, from 1793 - 1815, hit the Newfoundland trade hard and Dartmouth with it. The war helped to keep shipbuilding going (fourteen new ships were built for the Navy in Dartmouth) and the coastal trade remained important, but there was little manufacturing industry. The tidal creek (called the “Mill Pond”) was drained and a new Market House (which still remains) was built on the reclaimed land in 1828-9. The rest of the land was released for building, though there was no industrial development – shops and houses were built. The “New Road” in 1825, and the new “Floating Bridge” in 1831, connected the town to the turnpike network; but the railway, which reached Totnes in 1847, took another seventeen years to reach Kingswear, requiring a ferry connection to reach Dartmouth.
Political and municipal reform ended the Holdsworth family’s control of Dartmouth. John Henry Seale, whose grandfather had bought Mount Boone in 1724, had opposed the Holdsworth ruling interest and was an enthusiastic campaigner for parliamentary reform. He was elected the town’s MP in 1833 after the Great Reform Act. A new Council replaced the Corporation in 1836 and the extended franchise opened up municipal government. John Henry Seale and his son Henry Paul Seale were both involved in providing schools for the poor in Dartmouth.
1834
The natural beauty of the town’s setting and the development of the international sport of yachting, began to make Dartmouth an attractive holiday resort for the wealthy. The first official Regatta was held in 1834, becoming the Royal Regatta after Queen Victoria’s visit in 1856. Many villas were built to take advantage of the best sea and river views in Dartmouth and Kingswear.
The Dartmouth History Research Group researches and records the history of Dartmouth and surrounding villages. If you’re interested in Dartmouth’s rich history, have a look at their many publications (available in the Community Bookshop, in the Museum, or directly from the DHRG), at their website www.dartmouth-history.org.uk or go along to one of their meetings – dates are on the home page. It costs nothing to join and new members are always welcome.
First published By The Dart May 2018 Issue
