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Category Archives: History
One hundred years ago: February 1918.
During an air raid on London a Gotha bomber was brought down by Captain Hackwell of the Royal Flying Corps. He is the second son of Mr W H Hackwell of Sudden Farm Langtree Torrington and he worked in a … Continue reading
Thomas Burton; 1875- 1959.
Everyone in Bideford knows where the Burton Art Gallery is, nicely situated in Victoria Park, adjacent to parking and Hockings’ Ice Cream van. But how many people know why it’s called the Burton Gallery? Was there someone called Burton? Well, … Continue reading
Freezing.
In this age of man-made global warming it is unlikely that we will see a repetition of what occurred in Bideford in 1894-5 and 1963. Simply put, this was the freezing over of the River Torridge around the Bridge. Both … Continue reading
Bideford’s ‘prefabs’.
During the Second World War huge numbers of houses were destroyed by enemy action, and as early as 1944 Winston Churchill announced an EFM (Emergency Factory Made) housing programme. In 1945 the new prime minister Clement Atlee began implementing the … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged Bideford, Bowden Green, EFM housing, Grenville estate, Peter Christie, Prefabs
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Rope Walk – “The Battle of the Posts”.
Rope Walk today is a narrow but well used roadway running parallel to the Pill. Its name obviously records the presence of the ropemaking industry which was once so important to the ship-owning merchants of Bideford – but how many … Continue reading
All the fun of the Fair!
Fairs have been visiting Bideford for one hundred and fifty years at least and even though today they face huge competition from computer games and local attractions the travelling show people still come. The history of the fair in Bideford … Continue reading
A brief history of the Custom House.
Bideford’s buildings are constantly being reinvented – and anyone walking along to the Post Office will have noticed the old Custom House has become a new coffee shop – with some of the best views over the river from its … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged Bideford Bridge Trust, Custom House Bideford, Peter Christie
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A brief history of the Palladium Club.
The Club began life in 1919 as the stables for the Heavitree Inn. In 1926 it was the Palladium Cinema and the ticket office was situated where Patts’ Fruit and Vegetable shop now is in Mill St. Later it became … Continue reading
Bideford’s Newfoundland links & the Chope Collection.
Devon has strong historic links with the Canadian Province of Newfoundland dating back to the 16th Century, when boats from local ports sailed to the waters of Newfoundland to fish for cod. Initially men left Devon in April and returned … Continue reading
Posted in Books, History
Tagged Bideford Library, Chope collection, Devonshire Association, Newfoundland
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HMS ‘Alliance’ visits Lundy.
During the month of April 1967, the submarine HMS ‘Alliance’ was operating in home waters in the South of England and for a day or two anchored off Lundy. One submariner, whose name is unknown, came ashore and probably spent … Continue reading
Two Bideford-built schooners of the Nineteenth Century.
“Buzz” was contacted in June by Roger Banfield of Scilly seeking information on the schooner “Vivid”, built in Bideford in 1851 (see Shipping Notes 136, July edition). Mr. Banfield undertakes maritime history research for his own interest, and also in … Continue reading
Lundy’s wartime farming problems.
In May 1940, Martin Coles Harman, the owner of Lundy, made the surprising decision to lease the island for a period of ten years to a Mr. Herbert A. Van Os. His reasons have never been fully understood, but … Continue reading
Memories of Bideford Shipyard.
Many thanks to Mr. Freddie Palmer, who provided these photos. We’re sure that they’ll be of interest to many people. “Buzz” is dating the photos of the trawler “Galatea” as 1975, since records show that as date of launch. Names … Continue reading
Posted in History, Local People, Shipping
Tagged Bideford, Bideford Shipyard, river Torridge, shipbuilding, shipyard, Torridge shipyards
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Christmas in Nineteenth-Century Bideford.
by Liz Shakespeare. Today, our local newspapers are full of advertisements for Christmas presents, Christmas events and Christmas meals, but when we look at the newspapers of the nineteenth century, it is apparent that the festival was a less commercial … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged Bideford, Bideford Gazette, Christmas, Liz Shakespeare, North Devon Journal
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Hungarians, not Bidefordians.
I was rather surprised to see the photograph (see above) on the first page of the July ‘Buzz’ labelled ‘An early Bideford Town Band’. The gentlemen shown went by the name of the ‘Hungarian Band’. They were a group of … Continue reading