How to Contact Us
For general enquiries, please email us by clicking this link.
To order a DHRG book in hardcopy, please visit our book ordering page.
Our meetings normally take place monthly at 10:00am on the first Monday of the month at
Townstal Baptist Church Hall
Carey Road
Dartmouth
TQ6 9LT
There is a bus stop at Carey Road served by the number 90 bus from the middle of Dartmouth to Townstal.
DHRG on Facebook
If you're in Dartmouth, come and see us for a local history chat on Friday 11 April 2025 in Dartmouth Library, in the Flavel Centre, from 10am to 12noon. We can't promise a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, but we'll do our best to answer your questions about people and events in Dartmouth's rich history, or perhaps we can help you look into your family or house history. We look forward to meeting you!![]()
A big thank you to Dartmouth Libr#LocalHistoryn#dartmoutha#dartmouthlibraryt#flavelmouthlibrary #flavel
One hundred years ago this week Hauley Road was opened for traffic. In fine weather, a large crowd watched the Mayor, Dr H J Campbell, cut the tape.![]()
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Connecting Newcomen Road to the Embankment, Hauley Road replaced the narrow Burrough’s Slip. Newspapers reported that “the old-fashioned construction of the lower part of the town, with its narrow alleys and roads, has proved a great inconvenience ... with the ever-increasing amount of traffic on the roads, a new thoroughfare to lead to the Quay without using the narrow corner in Fairfax Place was a necessity”. ![]()
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The Town Council had purchased a large block of old property running the whole length of Burrough’s Slip, four years before, and demolished the buildings. The new road was “a very pleasant public thoroughfare with a wide pavement on either side”. The rest of the land was soon to be used for shops and for building the Hospital extension.![]()
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Though the road was very much a modernising improvement, the Town Council chose to name it after John Hawley d1408, Dartmouth's most prominent medieval resident. He may well have known the buildings demolished to make way for the road named after him!![]()
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#dartmouth #localhistory #discoverdartmouth #devoninthe1920s
Here’s a question on International Women’s Day. How many women are remembered in Dartmouth’s street names? If we discount Britannia Avenue, named (presumably) for HMS Britannia, the answer seems to be only one - Queen Victoria. She visited Dartmouth on several occasions, the first time as a girl, in 1833. When she became Queen in 1837, Victoria Place, newly built at the time, was named for her accession.![]()
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Ten years later she and her husband Prince Albert paid a brief call in the Royal Yacht Victoria and Albert; and in 1846 they stopped overnight in the harbour due to bad weather. Victoria wrote in her journal that Dartmouth reminded her of “the beautiful Rhine”, a phrase much used afterwards to promote the town to visitors. ![]()
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Her fourth visit was in August 1856, again in the yacht. After an official reception, the Royal Party toured choice coastal viewpoints by carriage. The Royal Yacht remained overnight, with all the houses illuminated by candlelight. Dartmouth Regatta was due to start so she donated a prize of £25; and from then on, it was the Royal Regatta. The whole visit was front page news in the Dartmouth Chronicle. But it was not until her Diamond Jubilee, in 1897, that the New Road (completed in 1826) was renamed Victoria Road, in her honour. ![]()
#dartmouth #localhistory #internationalwomensday![]()
Photo left, the listed street name on the old medical centre marks Victoria Place, and photo right, Victoria Road, looking east towards the town centre.
In medieval tradition, Valentine’s Day marked the onset of spring, when birds chose their mates. In the 1600s, friends met on the evening of 13 February to draw valentines in lotteries, and exchange messages and gifts.![]()
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The modern practice of sending valentine cards developed in the 1790s, when many new types of paper goods were invented, including greetings cards. By the mid-1800s thousands of cards were sent every year through the post. In 1869, the Western Times reported that, in Dartmouth, “more than 500 valentines were delivered by the postmen on Sunday morning.” ![]()
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Advertisements in the Dartmouth Chronicle (which you can see on our website) show that, at Cranford’s Library (now Kendrick’s Restaurant) you could find “a large, elegant and carefully selected stock”. Children sent “floral and fairy valentines” and those less romantically inclined could buy comic ones. ![]()
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Every year Cranford advertised fashionable new stock prominently in his newspaper. In 1884 his offering included “Prang’s American” valentines. Louis Prang was an American lithographer who became well known for high quality greetings cards. The example illustrated is from the New York Public Library. ![]()
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Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow!![]()
#dartmouth #localhistory
New Year, New Resolutions, New Discoveries! ![]()
Calling all those who want to find out more about the history of their house, or about our beautiful and historic town and the people who've lived and worked here, making it what it is today. The Dartmouth History Research Group will be in Dartmouth Library at The Flavel, Flavel Place, on Friday 10 January from 10 am until 12 noon, to answer questions about our local history and about what we do. Come and pay us a visit - we'd love to #dartmouth##LocalHistoryc#dartmouthlibraryukh#TheFlavel#TheFlavel