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 6 January 2025

10:00 am to 12:00 noon

Our next meeting will be on Monday 6 January 2025. It will be a “business meeting” where we discuss our plans and activities, at our usual venue.

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

A century ago, Christmas was a time of cautious optimism. Interviewed by the Western Morning News in December 1924, the Deputy Mayor, Alderman Seccombe said: “the borough of Dartmouth has gone through a period of depression and bad trade, but I am confident the signs point to a revival ahead. The Town Council have ... several schemes for the relief of employment and for beautifying the town, and ... other big works in prospect.” Old property in Higher Street was being demolished to provide new housing, and shipbuilders Philip & Son had launched the second of three tankers they were building for an oil company. The weather was mild but stormy, with strong gales in the Atlantic. In Fairview Road, two large trees fell on a house, damaging the roof and chimney, but nobody was hurt. The Royal Mail steamer Sarthe limped into Dartmouth with a broken engine, mooring alongside her sister steamer Radnorshire, laid up in the harbour a few days before. An engine cylinder was transferred from Radnorshire to Sarthe so she could complete her journey to Southampton.For last-minute Christmas greetings, the Dartmouth Post Office was open on Christmas Day from 9-10.30am for telegrams and stamps. Church and chapel services were well-attended, and “the usual spirit of gaiety pervaded the Cottage Hospital.”We hope the usual spirit of gaiety pervades your festive season too. Thanks to all those who have followed us this year - we look forward to researching more of Dartmouth’s history in 2025.#localhistory #dartmouth ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
If you're in Dartmouth, come and see us tomorrow for a local history chat, Friday 8 November 2024, between 10am and 12 noon, at Dartmouth Library, in the Flavel Centre. We'll be there to answer your questions about our rich and fascinating local history, about how to get started on doing your own research, and about what we do as a local group. We look forward to meeting you.A big thank you to Dartmouth Library for ho#dartmouth##localhistoryc#dartmouthlibraryu#flavelry #flavel ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
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
View on Facebook
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
View on Facebook
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
View on Facebook