News

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.

 


19th September 2023
Death of Ray Freeman, founder and first chair of the Dartmouth History Research Group

The Dartmouth History Research Group is very sad to hear of the death last night of Ray Freeman, aged 99. Ray died peacefully at Lincombe Manor in Torquay where she had been looked after for the past few years. We extend our sincere condolences to her family and friends.

Ray was the founder and first chair of the Group. She was a history teacher and came to Devon in 1964. After retiring to Dartmouth, she devoted herself to researching the town’s history, publishing several books, notably “Dartmouth and its Neighbours: A History of the Port and its People” in 1990, updated in 2007. In 1991 she brought together a group of friends and colleagues interested in exploring local history and became the first chair of the Group. Under her leadership the Group made rapid progress – Ray wrote several books for the Dartmouth History Research Group on a wide range and topics and was involved in preparing and editing others. When the Group’s website was first set up she made much of her extensive collection of research material freely available for others to use.

Ray has left the Group a tremendous legacy in her extensive published work and in all her painstaking and careful research. Everyone interested in the rich history and heritage of Dartmouth and the surrounding area will continue to benefit from her hard work and very considerable achievement.


3rd July 2023
“Dartmouth Then Dartmouth Now” 2nd Edition now available to buy

Dartmouth Then Dartmouth Now, by Hilary Sunman and Peter Prynn, was first published by DHRG in 2016, charting the transformation of Dartmouth’s shops and businesses since the 1960s. An updated second edition now looks at what happened next, after towns closed and people were locked down during the Covid-19 pandemic. Their conclusion is that Dartmouth continues both to change and thrive, with unique integrity and resilience. For further information, go to DHRG Books.


12th December 2022
Harry Inder, engineer and inventor

Harry Inder is recognised in Dartmouth as inventor of the town’s first motor car. But that’s not Harry’s only achievement. Barry Inder, his grandson, has been researching Harry’s wider contribution to Dartmouth’s shipbuilding and engineering history, and his other significant inventions. To read our latest article about Harry, please click here, or search the Archive for “Harry Inder”.


31st August 2022
HM Queen Elizabeth II 1926-2022

The Dartmouth History Research Group marks with great sadness the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II. Earlier this year the Queen celebrated the 70th anniversary of her accession on 6th February 2022. To mark her Platinum Jubilee, DHRG researched the history of Royal Jubilees, and how they were celebrated in Dartmouth. To read the article, go to the “Social History” archive category where you will find it in the “Historic Events” section, or put 103194 in the search box.


30th June 2021
When War Came to the Dart

The Dartmouth History Research Group is delighted to announce the publication of When War Came To The Dart, by Hilary Sunman and Gail Ham. The book is the Group’s fortieth publication in thirty years and marks the 75th anniversary in 2020 of the end of the Second World War in 1945.

Many members have contributed to the book, which brings together material from the Group’s earlier publications about aspects of the war, with memories of local people and some new research, to tell the fascinating and dramatic story of the impact on local people of nearly six years of war.

Eight chapters tell the story of war in the Dart within a broadly chronological approach: preparations for civil defence and the experience of evacuation; the impact of the catastrophe of 1940; defences implemented in response to the invasion threat; the growing contribution of forces based in the Dart to the “Secret War” and the naval war in the Channel; the effects of German bombing raids 1940-1943; the arrival of US forces in the area in 1943 and the preparations for D-day (including Exercise Tiger); and the final phase of the conflict from the D-day landings in 1944 to eventual victory in 1945. The last chapter traces the local impact of the global conflict through names commemorated on local war memorials.

Drawing on a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, and including some previously unpublished material, the book provides a vivid local perspective on the war through the memories of local people and extracts from contemporary accounts such as newspapers, diaries and letters, combined with official records such as war diaries. A bibliography sets out the principal sources.

The 284 page book is in A5 paperback format, printed and bound to high quality standards, and features approximately 30 pages of photographs, maps and other illustrations.

How to Buy

When War Came To The Dart is on sale in the Dartmouth Museum, (the Butterwalk, Duke Street), the Dartmouth Community Bookshop (12 Higher Street), the Tourist Information Centre (Mayor’s Avenue), Browser Books (3 Foss Street) and Torre Records (6 The Old Market).

It can also be ordered directly from this website, price £10.00 (£7.00 to members of the Group). To buy, please contact us by email at enquiries@dartmouth-history.org.uk


1st March 2021
Directory of Dartmouth Shops

The Group have been compiling a directory of the Dartmouth shops from the early 1900’s to the present day, based on information from early Directories, memories of older Dartmothians and recent records.The shops are recorded by street names and numbers where known. Separate files are included for north, central and south Dartmouth. Note that this database is still being compiled and is not yet complete.


DHRG on Facebook

100 years ago this week, which was just after Easter, newspapers reported the results of "Egg Day" in local schools:“Dartmouth Cottage Hospital obtained 1558 eggs ... Dartmouth Girls Council School contributed 144, Boys’ School, 150; Infants, 90; Catholic School, 133; Secondary School, 179; Dittisham Church School, 120,; Kingswear School, 111; Stokefleming School, 117; Bedford House School, 127; Broadstone School, 48; Fairview College, 306; and Mrs Woodward’s market basket, 33.”The National Egg Collection for the Wounded began during the Great War. Local branches ran collections and ensured eggs brought in by the public reached local hospitals promptly. The practice continued after the war to help provide a nourishing diet for sick and convalescing patients in local hospitals (and because it was an eggsellent idea ..!)Wishing you all a Happy Easter exploring our local history!#localhistory #discoverdartmouth #Dartmouth ... See MoreSee Less
View 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 ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
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.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”. 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.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!#dartmouth #localhistory #discoverdartmouth #devoninthe1920s ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
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.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. 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 #internationalwomensdayPhoto left, the listed street name on the old medical centre marks Victoria Place, and photo right, Victoria Road, looking east towards the town centre. ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook
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.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.” 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. 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. Wishing you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow!#dartmouth #localhistory ... See MoreSee Less
View on Facebook