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
On 7 September 1592*, Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roebuck and Queen Elizabeth’s ship Foresight escorted the captured Portuguese “carrack” Madre de Dios (“Mother of God”) into Dartmouth. An ocean-going cargo ship, about 1600 tons, she was then the biggest ship ever seen in England.![]()
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Inside were “riches beyond the dreams of avarice” – exotic spices, silks, damasks, porcelain, ivory, pearls, jewels galore. Better still, there were charts with vital information about trading routes to India, China and Japan.![]()
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News had already spread; Dartmouth was filled to bursting with traders and looters. The authorities lost control, the ship was mobbed and the crews of the prize and her escorts, their pockets overflowing, went wild.![]()
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Raleigh was in prison due to his secret marriage to Bess Throckmorton, the Queen’s lady in waiting. Due to the chaos, the Queen released him, sending him to Dartmouth to restore order and secure her profit.![]()
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Eventually the prize was valued at £150K (in today’s money, over £50M!). The Queen took about half. But it also galvanised English trading ambitions to the East. As some historians note, the British Empire began here.![]()
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If you are interested in finding out more about Dartmouth’s history, be sure to check out the Dartmouth History Research Group website: dartmouth-history.org.uk![]()
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*old style date![]()
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“Unknown artist’s impression of the Madre de Dios arriving in Dartmouth, 19thC”![]()
Picture credit, wikimedia
1588: Crisis Summer ⛵️![]()
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1 August 1588. People watch from the clifftops as the massive Spanish Armada comes into view off Dartmouth, moving up the English Channel.![]()
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Tension’s been rising for months. Sir Walter Raleigh’s Roebuck, and Robert Holland’s Diamond of Dartmouth, have been on duty since December, in Sir Francis Drake’s squadron, keeping watch on the western approaches.![]()
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In April the order for more ships went out. Dartmouth and Totnes equipped the Crescent (70 men) and the Hart (30 men).![]()
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They’ve been ready for weeks, with their falcons, minions, muskets and calivers: the latest artillery and handweapons. Two nights ago, as the English fleet emerged from Plymouth to fight, the little Hart was in the vanguard.![]()
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Now local militia are defending potential landing sites, and local gentry, like the Gilberts of Greenway and the Champernownes of Dartington, are sending their ships from Dartmouth to swell the fleet.![]()
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At a moment of national crisis, Dartmouth is doing its best! ⚓️⚔️![]()
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📸: US Library of Congress, Sir Francis Drake Collection
History’s hidden heroines: Hannah Newcomen![]()
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Dartmouth is justly proud of Thomas Newcomen and his atmospheric steam engine. The invention that sparked the Industrial Revolution. But let’s not forget the woman who kept the home fires burning: his wife Hannah.![]()
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Hannah Waymouth married Thomas Newcomen in South Huish, Devon, in 1705. A farmer’s daughter, she understood hard work. While her husband worked in secret with his friend John Calley on the great invention, and later travelled the country setting up his engines,![]()
Hannah anchored family life.![]()
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She managed his Dartmouth business and his finances while he was away, raised their three children, and shared Thomas’ deeply held Baptist faith. And she carried on doing so after he died in London in 1729, until their son Elias could take over.![]()
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Behind every great scientific and engineering breakthrough is a mountain of everyday labour. Next time you boil a kettle, remember Hannah Newcomen, one of history’s many unsung heroines.![]()
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📸: Dartmouth Museum
Looking for shade and refreshment in the hot weather? Come and see us tomorrow at our free "History Help" drop-in session at Dartmouth Library, at The Flavel, Friday 17 July 10am-12noon.![]()
Use the Library's local history collections to find out more about Dartmouth's rich history, or get help with researching your family or house history. Or just come and have a history chat!😎📖![]()
#localhistory #dartmouthdevon #dartmouthlibrary #exploredartmouth