Welcome to the Dartmouth History Research Group

Welcome to the Dartmouth History Research Group

The Dartmouth History Research Group is a small voluntary and community group, founded in 1991. We research the history of Dartmouth and surrounding villages and make it available to the general public through publications, events and this website, to promote public understanding of local history and heritage. The “Dartmouth Archives” section provides resources enabling you to explore the rich and fascinating history of Dartmouth and the local area, and discover more about local people and places. It contains an extensive collection of documents and records, built up by members of the Group over several years and still growing. Other sections of the website tell you more about us and about what we do.

Our next meeting

Monday 4 November 2024

10:00 am to 12:00 noon

Our next meeting will be on Monday 4 November 2024. It will be a “history and cake meeting” at our usual venue. Amongst other things, we’ll be looking into topics which came up at our recent session at the Dartmouth Book Festival.

Everyone is welcome. If you are new to the group and plan to come, it would be helpful if you could email us by clicking this link so that we have some idea of numbers. We look forward to seeing you!

Join Us

Membership of DHRG is free and open to all and everyone is welcome at any of our meetings. We usually meet on the first Monday of each month in the Church Hall, Baptist Church, Carey Road, Townstal, 10.00 – 12.00 noon (see the “Contact” page for more details). As arrangements may change at short notice, please let us know if you plan to come to any of our meetings.

Our Books

The DHRG has published many books and booklets about aspects of the history of Dartmouth and surrounding villages. Books and booklets are sold at a price sufficient to cover our costs. Please go to the “DHRG Books” section of the website to see what’s available and for information about how to purchase our current titles. Out of print titles are free to download as PDFs from this website.

Latest DHRG News

15th January 2024          Latest Additions to this Website

The programme for the Group’s event “A History of Dartmouth in Four Houses” at the Flavel on 18 November 2023 can be found here.  As part of the preparation for this event, a detailed guidance note has been produced on how to research the history of a house in Dartmouth.  To access it, please visit our Guidance and FAQs page.

Following the sad death on 19 September 2023 of Ray Freeman, a founder and first Chair of the DHRG in 1991, we have published a page dedicated to her memory, giving an account of her life and work.

One of our publications – “A Wrens-Eye View of Wartime Dartmouth” compiled by Ray Freeman – is no longer in print and is now available as a free-of-charge download from our Books page.

Several items have been added to the Archive, including

  • cine films showing Dartmouth taken in 1947 and 1950 kindly made available by the Arnold family
  • the 1831 and 1868 reports on the proposed boundary of the borough of Dartmouth as a parliamentary constituency, taking account of population, including maps.

 

DHRG on Facebook

Dartmouth History Research Group

1 week ago

Dartmouth History Research Group
A week after the Battle of Hastings comes the anniversary of another significant battle, the Battle of Trafalgar, on 21 October 1805, when the British fleet under Lord Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets under Admiral Villeneuve. Amongst those serving in the Royal Navy were 34 men and boys whose place of birth was reported on ships muster rolls as “Dartmouth” (31), “Kingsware” (2), and “Ditson” (Dittisham) (1) (see the “Trafalgar Ancestors” database at the National Archives).Two of the 34 were killed in the battle, Able Seaman William China, of HMS Tonnant, age 40, and Ordinary Seaman Robert McInnes, of HMS Belleisle, age 28. So far we’ve not been able to find anything in local records about Robert, but we do know something about William.There’s no trace of his birth in local records but his wife and family certainly lived in Dartmouth. Remarkably, two letters from him to his wife Jane, the second written only a month before the battle, survived – the text appeared in the Western Morning News in 1924. Dartmouth parish registers show that Jane Triscott (nee Rumsume), recently widowed, married William China (sp Chaina), Mariner, of Islington, in 1796 in St Saviours. Jane and her family appear to have remained in Dartmouth after William’s death.#dartmouth #localhistory This painting by Nicholas Pocock shows HMS Tonnant in action at Trafalgar, engaging the Spanish ship Monarca ... See MoreSee Less

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Dartmouth History Research Group

2 weeks ago

Dartmouth History Research Group
On 14 October 1066, the army of King Harold of England faced the invading army of Duke William of Normandy. We don’t know if men from our part of South Devon fought in the Battle of Hastings, but they were probably called out earlier in the year, when King Harold summoned the largest land force in living memory to defend the Channel coast against invasion. They maintained their watch all summer, but contrary winds kept William’s ships away. No sooner had they stood down, than King Harold faced a surprise attack in the north. At the battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September, he achieved his greatest victory, only to discover that the Norman army had finally landed three days later in Sussex. King Harold and his army hurried south, and met William's forces near Hastings. The fierce battle lasted all day – at the end of it, Harold, two of his brothers, and many of the country’s leading men, were dead. Remaining members of his family fled to the south-west, where the King's mother, Countess Gytha, held several estates. Over the next three years, Devon became an important centre of English opposition to William’s regime.#dartmouth #localhistory #battleofhastingsThe photograph shows the traditional site of the battlefield, south of Battle Abbey in Sussex. ... See MoreSee Less

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Dartmouth History Research Group

1 month ago

Dartmouth History Research Group
Come and visit us at the first Dartmouth Book Festival! We're very pleased to be involved in this exciting new event.Some of us will be in Dartmouth Library from 4pm to 5pm tomorrow with copies of all our books. We'll be delighted to meet you and answer your questions about how to discover more about our wonderful local history. I#dartmouthr#localhistoryh#flavelh#dartmouthlibraryartmouthlibrary ... See MoreSee Less

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Dartmouth History Research Group

2 months ago

Dartmouth History Research Group
To celebrate Dartmouth Royal Regatta, two "then and now" pictures."Then" may be 1899, 125 years ago. We can see that the site of the new Royal Naval College has been prepared, though there is no building as yet. HMS Britannia is moored in the river, above the Higher Ferry, and the harbour is crowded with visiting yachts. 1899 was the 65th Regatta and took place over the last Thursday to Saturday in August. Thousands of "excursionists" came each day to the town by train, and apart from all the sailing, rowing and swimming races, the highlights were two firework displays and a "Grand Al Fresco Ball" on the New Ground (now the Royal Avenue Gardens).The "now" picture shows the view on Wednesday this week from a similar location. Of course, much has changed in 125 years, but much remains the same. See how many differences you can find! And if you're coming to Regatta, have a good time!#dartmouth #The Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta #localhistoryWith thanks to ZRJPHOTOS for the "now" photograph. ... See MoreSee Less

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Dartmouth History Research Group

4 months ago

Dartmouth History Research Group
In the General Election this Thursday Dartmouth forms part of a new “South Devon” constituency, following a name change and a small boundary adjustment. Dartmouth has a long parliamentary history. In 1298 two of the town’s leading men, John le Bakere and William atte Vosse, were summoned to Edward I’s Parliament in York, demonstrating the town’s growing importance. From 1351 Dartmouth sent representatives to Parliament continuously for over five hundred years - two until the Great Reform Act of 1832, and then one.In 1868 the constituency of Dartmouth was abolished altogether. Seven English boroughs with populations under 5000 were disenfranchised to give more seats to Scotland without creating more MPs. Dartmouth became part of the "South Devon" constituency – as it once more is today (though "South Devon" in 1868 was bigger than in 2024).But electoral reform still had a long way to go. In 1868 there was no secret ballot and universal suffrage for adult men and women (age 21 and over) was not achieved for another sixty years. The right to vote was extended to everyone over 18 in 1969.#dartmouth #LocalHistory #southdevon #votingmatters. 🗳The map shows Dartmouth's parliamentary boundaries in 1868, just before the constituency was abolished. From the archives on our website: dartmouth-history.org.uk ... See MoreSee Less

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