Bideford’s ‘prefabs’.

Posted on 03/11/2017 by Tango Alpha

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 scheme and within six years some one million new ‘prefabs’, as they came to be known, had been built – and I lived in one as a child.

In Bideford some fifty were built at Bowden Green and named the Grenville estate. The rapidly assembled, prefabricated houses were simple but perfectly acceptable constructions and, unusually for the time, were ‘all electric’ with luxurious touches like fridges being available. The first was opened in April 1946 by the Mayor W.H.Chubb, who was accompanied by councillors and some of the first tenants. All this was reported in the Gazette along with some photographs as shown here.

The buildings were only designed for a 10 year life span but residents grew to love them so much they didn’t want to leave and it wasn’t until July 1964 that the town council decided to demolish them. This move immediately led to protests from the prefab dwellers – as shown in the attached cutting from the Gazette.

The tenants lost the battle, however, and their houses were removed and replaced by 3-storey blocks of flats – which in their time have now been demolished and replaced by new accommodation! Nothing ever stands still, but one has to wonder if the concept of ‘prefabs’ should be revisited to help tackle the nation’s current housing shortage?

Peter Christie.

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Felicity’s sustainable fish cookery – November.

Posted on 24/10/2017 by Tango Alpha

Here is a Devon version of ‘Stargazey pasties’ made with Clovelly herrings.

Devonshire Stargazey Pasty.

Ingredients.

450g puff pastry.

225g potato (cubed).

4/6 Herrings – filleted and sliced.

rashers of bacon.

1 onion.

50g butter .

1 tbsp. chives – chopped.

1 tbsp. parsley, chopped.

275g clotted cream.

Milk or egg for glazing.

Method.

Boil the potatoes for about 15mins.

Grill the bacon until the edges start browning, also slice and fry the onions in light oil until they are softened.

Chop up the cooked bacon and add to a bowl with the cooked diced potato, sliced herring fillets, chopped herbs and the softened onions and mix together.

On a floured surface roll out the puff pastry thinly and then cut rounds out to fit size 7inch/18cm side plates.

Fill the centre of each round with mixture on one half (be careful not to overfill). Add a spoonful of clotted cream on top.

Dampen the edges of the pasty with milk, fold and crimp the edges together carefully so that everything is sealed in.

Glaze with beaten egg and milk mixed, or just milk, and place on a non- stick baking tray.

Bake in the oven at 180C /gas mark 4 for 30 mins. until pastry is a golden brown.

Serve with seasonal vegetables or salad or take out with you on a walk or picnic.

Delicious with tomato chutney!

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Rope Walk – “The Battle of the Posts”.

Posted on 22/10/2017 by Tango Alpha

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 know the odd story behind the disappearance of the industry?

Around 1876 H.M.Restarick, a ship-builder of East-the-Water, took over the Rope Walk and, aware of the need for ever longer ropes, extended his ropemaking yard including some new posts – right across Chingswell Street and into the Strand. This obviously upset the local residents who immediately complained to the town council, who responded by ordering Restarick to take down the new posts as soon as possible.

Unfortunately Restarick was also a town councillor himself and he told his fellow councillors bluntly ‘Horses, carts, carriages, pedestrians etc could only pass subject to the convenience of the rope manufacturers’ and he really couldn’t understand why everyone was getting so agitated!

The council then ordered their Surveyor and his men to physically remove the contentious posts. They arrived at 7 a.m. one morning – only to find Restarick and some 50 of his employees guarding the posts. The shipbuilder then ‘dared the Surveyor to touch the posts’ – at which point the council men retreated.

Local papers satirically termed this ‘The Battle of the Posts’ as they reported a second attempt to uproot the posts at midnight where ‘a big strong fellow by the name of Passmore’ led the council men but as soon as he began work he was seized by Restarick’s men and escorted away. He was lucky as the ropemakers ‘had a bucket of tar and a bag of feathers near at hand and were very anxious to use them.’ To celebrate their victory they erected some ‘triumphal arches’ made of evergreens and topped with triumphant mottoes.

A month or so after this a council election was held where ‘pro-post’ candidates were elected in the heaviest poll ever recorded in town. The new council half-heartedly attempted to reach some agreement but Restarick refused and the posts remained at least until 1906 when, some 8 years after Restarick had died, the owner of the Strand Collar Works, which had replaced the Rope Walk ‘generously decided to forego his rights in respect of the posts on the Strand’ and they were removed. Exciting times in Bideford!

Peter Christie.

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Felicity’s sustainable fish cookery – October.

Posted on 26/09/2017 by Tango Alpha

Here is a wonderfully flexible and tasty recipe for a pasta cod dish. The original is a recipe from a restaurant in Rome -so an authentic Italian / Mediterranean dish. The best fish to use is salt cod. I used some fish from Newfoundland given to me by a cod fisherman from Petty Harbour near St Johns, when I visited in July. I also use fresh spinach for the vegetarian dish -both versions are delicious. You can use fresh cod or even local caught pollack as well.

Tagliatelle with Cod and pecorino cheese. (vegetarian version with fresh spinach leaves).

Ingredients

For the Stock-2 sticks of celery and chopped onion, fennel trimmings or seeds, parsley stalks and block pepper or peppercorns. 350g cod fillet (or salt cod fillet, if available).

50-100g of fresh washed spinach leaves – for a vegetarian dish.

1 small onion (could be red onion, for added colour).

6 tbsp. olive oil.

450g tagliatelle or spaghetti.

100g pecorino cheese, or ready grated Italian cheese.

Method

Simmer the stock ingredients together for about 15 min Poach the fresh cod in the stock for under 5mins, or soaked salt cod for 10 mins. Lift out with a slotted spoon, blot with kitchen towel and pull away from skin, and using a fork flake the fish and set aside in a bowl. If using spinach leaves wash the leaves and set to dry in a colander.

Cook the pasta in plenty of salted water until al dente. Chop the onion into chunky pieces. In a large frying pan fry the onion in the olive oil until soft and lift the pasta with any residual water clinging to it.

Pull the pan from the heat, add the cheese and mix vigorously until creamy – adding extra pasta cooking water, if necessary. Add the torn basil and fish flakes (or spinach leaves) toss again, and serve.Add more grated cheese and garnish with basil sprigs.

This tastes absolutely delicious whether with fish or spinach leaves.

September was a busy Fish Festival month with Festivals in Newquay and Brixham. Wouldn’t it be good if we could have a fish festival in Appledore Fish Dock next year to celebrate both River and Sea fishing? Let me know if you would like to contribute to this idea? [email protected]. Next month is Herring Month with recipes for fresh and smoked Herring.

The Bideford Bridge Trust has awarded a grant to two Primary schools in Bideford for the Brilliant Fish Education group to run “History of Fishing in Newfoundland and Salt cod recipe demonstration/tasting sessions this Autumn.

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All the fun of the Fair!

Posted on 02/09/2017 by Tango Alpha

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 has rarely been recorded but we know that for much of the nineteenth century the stalls and sideshows were erected on the Strand. Shown in photograph 1 is one of the boxing booths on the Strand where aspiring local boxers could take on professionals – and, more often than not, realise they weren’t quite as good as they thought.

When the gulley and stream flowing down the Pill was finally filled in around 1900 to accommodate the Bideford and Westward Ho! railway (the Appledore section came later) the showmen soon realised this large area of flat land would be ideal for their stalls and rides and they moved here – as shown in photograph 2. Notice the amount of litter scattered around – clearly this isn’t just a modern problem. The presence of the Kingsley statue (erected 1906) and the fashions indicate this picture dates from around 1910.

The third photograph shows the 1968 fair, with some very traditional-looking sideshows.

For many decades visiting fairs set up on the Pill and even spilled on to the Quay and along Bridgeland Street.

Over time, however, demands for car parking and complaints over road blockages saw the council move the fair site to the river bank in 1970 as shown in the unusual fourth photograph below taken from the top of the Post Office sometime around 1975.

This site was rather small and when the new Riverbank car park was opened in 1991 it allowed the larger rides and stalls we see today to spread out. Whatever their age many Bidefordians will have happy memories of when ‘the fair’ came to town, so let us hope the show people continue to visit bringing a touch of the exotic to Bideford during the few days they are here.

Peter Christie.

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Another ‘lost shop’ – Taylor Brothers.

Posted on 17/08/2017 by Tango Alpha

Shops come and go all the time in all towns, with a few lasting for some time – but even these eventually close. One that fits this latter category is Taylor Brothers’ shoe shop in Mill Street. I first started buying shoes there 40 years ago, but John and Angela Taylor, the present owners, can trace the beginnings of the business back to around 1938 when John’s father Reg served his apprenticeship with a shoe repair shop situated in one of the Art Deco buildings in front of the Baptist church in Mill Street.

Reg used his new skills to set up his own outlet in the front room of a house in Meddon Street and after the war set up a shoe repair business with his brother Mick in New Street, Torrington (opposite White’s Lane). The two did well, especially after securing the contract to repair shoes for both RAF Chivenor and St.Mawgan’s, and in 1949 moved back to Bideford acquiring 44 Mill Street and later the adjoining number 43. The two shops were completely remodelled in the 1970s to create the premises that have become familiar to generations of children and parents alike. As their available space enlarged so the brothers expanded into selling new shoes and leather goods and then added key cutting to their services. Reg died in 1981 just a year after taking on his son John, and the latter continued to run the business with his uncle Mick who passed on in 1995.

John and Angela have run it successfully with their 5-6 staff until this year when they have decided to retire. Over the years the shop hasn’t just catered for those buying new shoes or repairing old ones but has also provided some ‘special’ lines as well. These include making a pair of boots for a black Berkshire sow who had sore feet, repairing a diving suit and even making some size 20 shoes for local entertainer Jay the Clown. Oddest of all must have been the male customer who walked into the shop, took off his trousers and asked the surprised staff if they could mend his wooden leg!

All good things come to an end, it is said, and now this much loved shoe shop is closing some 68 years after it first opened – one of the longest lived businesses in the town. It will be much missed.

Peter Christie.

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A brief history of the Custom House.

Posted on 27/07/2017 by Tango Alpha

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 first floor windows.

The main bulk of the building itself dates from 1695, just three years after the Bideford Bridge Trustees decided to develop a new street to be called Bridgeland. The first house was constructed by Nicholas Gascoyne in 1692-93, being the handsome brown brick building known to most as ‘Dr.Candler’s’. Nicholas, whose name suggests he was a descendant of French Huguenots who fled to North Devon, was a local carpenter and his work was evidently good enough for him to be granted a 99 year lease on the Custom House site on which he built himself a house.

By 1760 Benjamin Grant was leasing the house and there is a note in the Bridge Trust minutes from 1778 asking him ‘to replace the Stone which some time since was taken down from the Wall of the House he inhabits facing Bridgeland Street which Stone sett forth the time the said Street was built.‘ I wonder what happened to that?

In 1792 a new lease was granted to Thomas Grant, who was the Bridge Trust Steward, but he does not appear to have lived in it as by 1794 he was building Northdown House (later the Convent). A decade later three spinster sisters called Morrison were leasing the house though whether they actually lived there or not is uncertain. A surviving sister was still the leaseholder in 1832 when the building was noted as being the HQ of the local customs officers.

The earliest surviving census from 1841 records various of these officers living here – as they are so recorded up until the 1891 census when 72 year old Thomas Martin, ‘a gentleman,’ was then the occupant. In the 1901 and 1911 censuses William Martin, a retired builder, was living here and it seems to have continued as a private house until becoming a shop.

People may recall the dry cleaners that were based here for some years before it became a public house (Tequila Jack’s, Quigley’s, Custom House etc). Today it has been refurbished as a coffee shop, delicatessen and cinema, and enters a new stage in its long life.

Peter Christie.

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A brief history of the Palladium Club.

Posted on 02/06/2017 by Tango Alpha

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 a Gentlemen’s Club, then for many years it was the home of the SWEB Social Club.The Palladium Club developed from this, with the bar made from the original skittle alley.(You can still see the brass points where the pins used to be placed before people played.)

The club has evolved from being a members’ drinking club to what it is now, a music venue with acts, both from our local area and as far away as Europe and America. The club also offers the facilities for snooker, pool and darts and has its own teams which continue to support the club.

The club is an important part of Bideford giving musicians a place to play and learn their craft – it would be very sad to see it go. The new owner is Ben Nigh ; we wish him well.

Margie Hughes (former owner).

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Walking the Coast Path; Mouthmill.

Posted on 25/04/2017 by Tango Alpha

This is a beach of contrasts. A stream idly trickles through football-sized boulders down to the sea, while soothing sweeps of light-brown sand provide a backdrop to jutting rock formations that point arrow-like towards the Atlantic. It’s a place for exploring rather than lounging, though flat grassy areas above the sea wall are ideal for reclining on while you listen to the babble of water below. (from ‘Secret beaches of the South West’).

There’s a beautiful bluebell wood between Mouthmill and the car park at Brownsham – ‘a patchwork of vibrant blues, carpeting the lush green valley.’ Winbury Hill, an Iron age fort, looks down on Mouthmill and Blackchurch Rock – an ideal vantage point.  Was this remote spot ideal for smugglers to haul ashore their contraband without fear of discovery?  Blackchurch rock is awe inspiring – a natural arch with two windows carved out by the ravages of nature. (from ‘Mouthmill – Beautiful North Devon’).

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Beavering away for Bideford flood protection.

Posted on 29/03/2017 by Tango Alpha

There are proposals under consideration for raising the level of the Kenwith Reservoir dam to give the necessary added protection from fluvial flooding resulting from anticipated climate change and the amount of new housing development in the catchment area.

In this context, the following quotation from an account of works carried out near Pickering, North Yorkshire, seems rather appealing !

“ In Pickering, rather than building a £20 million concrete flood wall through the centre of town, the community planted 29 hectares of woodland upstream to naturally soak up water, and created hundreds of natural obstructions in the river made of logs, branches and heather to restore its natural flow. The flood risk has now fallen from 25%, to just 4%, and at a fraction of the cost of hard defences”.

This description almost exactly matches the account of work carried out by beavers in a controlled experimental research project by the Devon Wildlife Trust in the south of Torridge district (see below). Here the storage and slow release of water from sudden rainfall events is proven to significantly reduce peak flows downstream. When you consider the popularity of the wild beavers on the river Otter, the presence of Bideford Beavers in the Kenwith Valley Nature Reserve could also be a great tourist attraction.

After all, with beavers on the river Otter in east Devon, why shouldn’t we have beavers on the most famous otter river of all, the Torridge? They should live happily together, as beavers are vegetarian and otters would love the extra fish that beaver pools encourage to breed and thrive.

Chris Hassall.

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Beavers win top BBC Countryfile award.

The remarkable story of Devon’s wild beavers goes on, with the announcement that the Westcountry rodents have now won a top national award.

Readers of BBC Countryfile Magazine have selected the River Otter Beaver Trial based in East Devon, along with the Scottish Beaver Trial, as their ‘Wildlife Success Story of the Year’ for 2017. The public poll attracted 56,000 votes across its 12 award categories.

The accolade is recognition of the work being done with the East Devon beavers by the charity Devon Wildlife Trust. The beavers are the first wild population of the animals to exist in England for 400 years. Devon Wildlife Trust leads the River Otter Beaver Trial in partnership with Clinton Devon Estates, University of Exeter and the Derek Gow Partnership.

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Mark Elliott manages the River Otter Beaver Trial and said:

“We’re delighted to have won this prestigious BBC Countryfile Magazine Award. The fact that thousands of members of the public have taken the time to vote for beavers in Devon and in Scotland shows the wide support these charismatic creatures enjoy.”

A breeding population of beavers was first discovered on the River Otter in 2014. No one knows how the beavers came to be living wild in East Devon. In 2015 Devon Wildlife Trust was granted a five-year licence from Natural England, which allowed the beavers to remain after they were initially threatened with removal. The licence also allowed the charity to establish a project which will monitor the beavers until 2020 when a decision about their long term future is to be made by the government.

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Mark Elliott added:

“The BBC Countryfile Award stands as a tribute to the strong partnership we’ve established to conduct the trial. Our research is now beginning to show the important role that beavers could play across our wider countryside in improving water quality, mitigating against the worst effects of flooding and drought, and in benefiting other wildlife. The trial has a long way to go, but this is a very public endorsement of the work we’ve done with beavers here in Devon and of the trial that has already been carried out in Scotland.”

News that Devon’s beavers were in the running for the BBC Wildlife Magazine Awards was announced in February. Nominations were made by a panel of judges which included the author Bill Bryson, along with broadcasters John Craven and Anita Rani. Other nominated projects in the same award category included conservation work done with dormice, cirl buntings, bumblebees and bitterns.

Prof Richard Brazier, University of Exeter, project partner and Chair of the River Otter Beaver Trial’s Science and Evidence Forum welcomed the public recognition:

“Undertaking research into the impacts of beavers is a challenging yet highly rewarding field of study, made all the more fascinating via the genuine partnership approach that Devon Wildlife Trust is leading and the huge interest in this keystone species shown by the general public.”

Dr Sam Bridgewater, Conservation Manager for Clinton Devon Estates, said:

“There was a lot of stiff competition. The award is testament to the hard work of all the partners involved. Clinton Devon Estates recognises that the beavers can have great benefits for wildlife and society and this award is affirmation that these benefits are being recognised nationally. We are very grateful to everyone who has voted for this project.”

Devon-based mammal expert and project partner Derek Gow said:

“I am over the moon that the Devon Beaver Trial has been given this recognition. I have worked with this magnificent species for 22 years. It is just brilliant that BBC Countryfile Magazine have recognised the importance of beavers in the presentation of this award.”

Chairman of Natural England, Andrew Sells, said:

“I would like to add my congratulations to Devon Wildlife Trust for their work on this programme. Their careful planning and monitoring of England’s first wild population of beavers for 400 years continues to provide us with important evidence on any impacts which a potential reintroduction might have. This is an exciting time for conservation and their award success is a clear indication that many people are very supportive of this scheme.”

It is thought that around 20 beavers now live on the River Otter, which winds its way through 20 miles of East Devon countryside. Last year one breeding pair of the rodents established themselves on land owned by Clinton Devon Estates close to the village of Otterton. Throughout the summer the adults along with their five offspring, known as kits, were seen most evenings. The family drew hundreds of visitors to the area.

The River Otter Beaver Trial receives no government funding. People can learn more about its work, help, and give their support via www.devonwildlifetrust.org/make-a-donation

Steve Hussey, Devon Wildlife Trust.

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Bideford’s Newfoundland links & the Chope Collection.

Posted on 19/03/2017 by Tango Alpha

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 in the autumn, but gradually land bases were established and in 1583 the Devon mariner Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as the first English overseas colony.

While people in Newfoundland are very aware of their Devon roots, Devonians are less well informed about the link. Indeed most of us would have to ask Google where it is! Bideford of course was a major port in the Elizabethan age, and quickly developed close maritime links with the New World colonies. Importing tobacco was initially the main source of income but the town also gained a large share in the lucrative Newfoundland cod trade, sending out more ships than any other English port except London and Topsham. The fish were sold in southern Europe in exchange for fruit and wine. Bideford pottery for export and provisioning ships was also renowned for several centuries.

If you want to do some reading about this, we have in our Chope Collection in Bideford Library a number of books that cover early Devonian seafarers such as John Hawkins and Francis Drake. We also have a couple about Newfoundland in particular. A History of Newfoundland by D W Prowse 1896 is a fine old book with reproductions of lots of contemporary illustrations and a big fold-out map at the back. (It’s a bit worn, so you’ll need to be careful if you come to have a look at it). There are references to Bideford in the earlier parts of the volume. Westwarde Hoe for Avalon in the New Found Land as Described by Captain Whitbourne of Exmouth Devon 1622 very nearly has a title longer than the book! Published in 1870, it is only 47 pages long and is a transcription with the original Early Modern English spellings preserved of Richard Whitbourne’s accounts of his travels. It is a lovely little book, nicely bound and has beautiful woodcut illustrations.

For those of you who don’t know, the Chope Collection is a collection of books left to the people of Bideford by Richard Pearse Chope (1862-1938). A native of Hartland parish, he was a keen local historian, writer and member of the Devonshire Association. These books are held at the library but they do not belong to the library. They belong to the people of Bideford. They are available for reference only, so why not come in and have a look at them.

Matt Chamings, Bideford Library.

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Buzz Byte – printers.

Posted on 25/01/2017 by Tango Alpha

 

Welcome to this new series of articles about home computing. This month’s tips are about printers. Most home users will have an inkjet printer which will use either a colour and black cartridge or a black with individual colours, cyan (blue), magenta (red) and yellow.

You need to turn the printer on at least once every week to charge the ink. This helps to prevent blockages and keeps the ink fresh in the head and stops the inks from drying out. You do not need to do anything to your printer as the cleaning function happens automatically when the printer is turned on and you do not need to print anything either.

Once the printer has finished making its ‘start up noises’ this means that it has performed the above function and can be turned off again. This is true of the majority of inkjet printers ; if your model doesn’t work automatically it will be a feature that is accessible from the lcd panel on the front of your printer, or via the printer software on your computer.

Many people think that you must only use original cartridges as cheaper compatible inks will either damage the printer or void the warranty of the printer, a misconception that the manufactures do not correct. This is not the case. You can get wonderful prints from inks that are a fraction of the cost of an ‘original’.

Did you know that if there is an interruption to your phone or internet service you can still print documents or pictures as your printer will still be able to operate wirelessly (providing the router is turned on! ; you just won’t be able to surf the web until the problem is fixed!! ) It is handy to keep a USB cable in reserve, just in case. If you need to print direct from the web, or if your router breaks, a solution would be to use a mobile broadband dongle, which is a little pre-paid USB device that plugs into your PC or laptop in conjunction with the USB cable.

Nicola Baglow (Complete Computing).

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HMS ‘Alliance’ visits Lundy.

Posted on 29/07/2016 by Tango Alpha

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 some time in the Tavern. On his return to the ship something happened to him and search parties both from the ship and from the island turned out to search for him. He was found hiding in the bushes somewhere on the side of the cliffs. The seaman was returned to his ship where he no doubt received the ‘due attention of his officers.’

Robert “Dave” Davey, the engineer on the island at the time had apparently been instrumental in the rescue of this seaman. Dave Davey had arrived on the island in 1964; he retired in 1981 and died sometime in the early 1990s. Soon after this incident, he received a handwritten letter from the commander of the submarine thanking him for turning out for the search and apologising for the problems that the man had given to everyone. A transcript of that letter is given here.

“H. M. S. Alliance at Sea,

22nd April 1967.

Dear Mr. Davey,

May I thank you and your friends (I regret I don’t know all their names), for so willingly turning out to search for this very stupid man. He was hiding in the bushes slightly up the cliff. At present he has no idea what all the fuss is about and we are in the process of informing him. It was such a dangerous manoeuvre that not only did it risk his life but the lives of us and particularly of yourselves. Again may I thank you and I hope you haven’t too bad an impression of us.

Yours sincerely,

T. E. Woods (Illegible), Lieutenant Commander Royal Navy.”

I made enquiries regarding H.M.S. Alliance and was very pleased to learn that she has been preserved and now forms part of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport. She is the only surviving example of the A Class ‘Amphion’ class submarines. She was built by Vickers in Barrow-in-Furness and commissioned in 1947, serving in the Far East and in home waters. She had a crew complement of 5 officers and 56 ratings, was 87 feet in length with a beam of 22 feet and had a surface displacement of 1,620 tons. Her armament Allianceconsisted of ten torpedo tubes and two external 4 inch guns. She was decommissioned in 1973 and served as a training ship in Southampton until 1979, when she was preserved as a memorial to those British submariners who had died in service and is now part of the Submarine Museum at Gosport. She has been completely restored through an £11.00 million Heritage Lottery grant and is now available for visitors.

I contacted the Submarine Museum in Gosport, asking for any information they may have on the event and for the name of the commander of the submarine, as his signature on the letter is illegible.

I received a reply from the Portsmouth archives officer at the Museum. He confirms that the submarine was operating in home waters at the time and could well have anchored off Lundy, as she had made a Port visit to Falmouth around that period. He also confirmed the name of the captain, Lt. Commander T.E. Woods RN, in command of the ship from1966 to 1967. He has compared Commander Wood’s signature on the letter with his signature in the ship’s log book and confirmed that they agree. Apparently the records of the ship shed no further light on the incident.

There are many unanswered questions in this matter. Why did Lt. Commander Woods say that the seaman was ‘hiding up the cliff’? He does not say that he had fallen over the cliff side. He also states that the man ‘has no idea what all the fuss is about’, as if the seaman was either too drunk or otherwise incapacitated to remember the incident. In his letter Commander Woods states ominously that they are “in the process of informing him”. One feels that there should be an exclamation mark inserted after this comment.

This whole incident brings back memories of similar situations when drunken lighthouse keepers staggering back to the South Light from the tavern, fell over the cliffs and had to be rescued.

Roger Allen.

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Two Bideford-built schooners of the Nineteenth Century.

Posted on 12/07/2016 by Tango Alpha

“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 support of the Isles of Scilly Museum.

He has now concluded his research on “Vivid”, and has sent us full details. In addition, he has provided details of another schooner, “Waterlily”, also built in Bideford, in 1841. “Buzz” is very grateful, particularly for his kind permission to publish his work in full.

These two monographs contain a wealth of detail on the ships, their histories, owners, voyages, crew, and also the history and background of their builders. They provide a fascinating snapshot of Bideford’s maritime past in the mid-nineteenth century.

Incidentally, Mr. Banfield has offered to help anyone researching the history of Scilly-built vessels. Any such enquiries (or comments on the article) can be sent via [email protected] and will be forwarded to him, or else leave a comment on this post.

“Vivid” – Schooner

Details of Ship:-

Built: 1851

Type: Schooner.

Dimensions: Length: 81.0 ft. Beam: 20.1 ft. Depth of Hold: 13.1 ft.

Tonnage: 131 tons (12years A1) (tonnage varied between 117 tons to 131 tons)

Builder: Thomas Waters, Cross Park, Bideford, Devon (In business from 1845 – 1873, see details below)

Owners: 1852 – 1860, Lebrey & Co. (Possibly Ann Banfield)

1861 – 1869, Possibly W. Nicholson

1867, William Burnyeat of Whitehaven

1880 – 1881, J. Graham, registered at Whitehaven.

Captains: 1851 – 1853, Lakey (possibly Edmund Lakey b. 1821) (Interestingly, there was a vessel called the “Vivid” built in Scilly in 1843, which was abandoned on 1st April 1851, and lost. The same captain then took over the “Vivid” that was built in Bideford).

1852 – 1860, E. Lebrey.

1861 – 1869, Possibly N. Beck

1863, Britton

1864 – 1865, Capt. Clegg

1880, Capt. J. Mayes.

Trade: Coastal & Foreign: Bideford, Mediterranean, Scilly, New York, Palermo, Bristol, Cardiff, Falmouth, Hamburg, Antwerp, Marseilles, Smyrna, Jamaica, London, Holyhead, Whitehaven, Dublin, Pomaron, Gloucester, Belfast, Liverpool, Messina, Pomaron.

Cargo: 1852, Coffee

1863, Oil.

1864, 1879, Iron ore.

1870, Bricks.

Port of Registry: 1852 – 1860, Scilly

1861 – 1869, Whitehaven

1880, Whitehaven.

Port of Survey: 1852 – 1860, Bideford

1861 – 1869, Whitehaven.

Signal: K.G.S.B.

Official No.: 9301

Demise: Wreck reported in the Times newspaper, Saturday, 5th March, 1881, page 12: ‘A small schooner was wrecked yesterday morning on Longness, Isle of Man, all hands drowned. A piece of a vessel marked “Vivid”, schooner, of Whitehaven, 117 tons register, has been picked up’.

1851, Seamen’s Crewlists for Cornwall:-

Browne Edward

Current Ship: VIVID of Scilly,  Trade: Foreign

Age: 21

Born: Kingstown           Ticket No: 241218

Seaman

Date Joined: 11 Aug 1851         Place Joined: Bideford

Ellis James

Current Ship: VIVID of Scilly,  Trade: Foreign

Age:

Ticket No: 194996

Apprentice

Date Joined: 11 Aug 1851        Place Joined: Indentured at Bideford

Lakey Charles

Current Ship: VIVID of Scilly Trade: Foreign

Age: 22

Born: Scilly Ticket No: 157377

Seaman

Date Joined: 11 Aug 1851      Place Joined: Bideford

Penrose William P

Current Ship: VIVID of Scilly Trade: Foreign

Age: 20

Ticket No: 490017

Seaman

Date Joined: 10 Sep 1851        Place Joined: Cardiff

CROSS PARK, BIDEFORD, DEVON (Thomas Waters):­-

Source: “Ship Building in North Devon” by Grahame Farr. Maritime monographs and reports No. 22 – 1976.

The next building site, as we follow the river Torridge bank, is Cross Park, the downstream part of East-the-Water facing the town of Bideford. Several builders are described as of Cross Park and dates indicate the presence of at least two yards. Before dealing with the yards in the Port of Bideford, however, it must be explained that with a number of builders the precise location of their yards is unknown. They could have been anywhere in the Port. Others are known to have been at Appledore but the information necessary to pinpoint their yards has not been discovered.

CROSS PARK. Known builders at Cross Park begin with William Heard, who built the 15-ton sloop “Ville de Paris”, in 1793. This is an unexpected name when one considers the French declared war on Britain on 1 February in that year, beginning the First French Revolutionary War.

William Taylor was a prolific builder between 1802-30 and at least 37 vessels of his can be named.

William Brook built at another East-the-Water yard from about 1824 to 1843. An old map in Bideford Museum, dated 1842, shows it to have been the northernmost property save one below Bideford Bridge. The property beyond was Lake’s Limekiln, which can still be seen. The earliest vessel traced to Brook is the brigantine “Apollo”, 179 tons, of 1824, a Mediterranean trader. A total of seventeen can be listed and his last was the largest – the barque “Alice Maud”, 464 tons. In 1839 Brook had a contretemps with Thomas Corey, a Bristol shipowner, who alleged the barque “Milford”, 325 tons, was six months late on delivery. In fact Corey brought a tug from Bristol to fetch the vessel, but later denied he had taken her by force. The press reports are interesting in that they quote the contract price for the vessel – £2,752 7s. Such figures are difficult to ascertain in the absence of surviving company books.

William Brook fell ill in 1843 and died three years later, aged 51. In 1844 his yard was taken over by Thomas Waters – probably the same who was building ships at Clovelly from about 1827 to 1840. His first vessel at Cross Park was the sloop “Ebenezer”, 22 tons, in 1845. Other small craft followed, but in 1854 he built on speculation a barque which bore the temporary name of “Chieftain”, apparently his only venture above the 200 tons category. Soon after her launch she was bought by Thomas Evans, a local shipowner (probably in fact the former shipbuilder at Cleave House) who registered her as “Ellen Sophia”, but sold her on the very next day to Edward Fernandez, of Instow.

During 1857-9 William Waters signed three builder’s certificates, for the “Fairy”, Leader” and “St. Germans”, which probably indicates he was the son of Thomas. William seems to have branched out on his own in 1860 and built two schooners at the Sea Locks yard ‘above bridge.’ Thomas continued at Cross Park until 1873 and died two years later. Twenty-four vessels can be identified with his yard.

CLOVELLY. The only place in North Devon, west of the Torridge, where shipbuilding has been practiced on a commercial scale is Clovelly. There are several builders listed from 1801 to 1818.

We next find Richard Mill and Thomas Waters building the fishing smack “Ranger”, 30 tons. Vernon Boyle quoted the Exeter Gazette, October 1827, reporting the launch:-

‘Nearly the whole of the population ws on the beach and quay and all the fishing boats were tastefully decorated, not with colours flying, but with herrings and other fish suspended from poles and waving gracefully in the air, which was rent with the shouts of the multitudes when the “Ranger” glided gracefully into briny deep.’

Thomas Waters later built several sloops and smacks at Clovelly, and in 1840 the schooner “Providence” was attributed to John Waters, but this might be a mistake. The “Providence”, almost 60 ft long and of 76 tons register must have been difficult to launch down this exposed beach. By 1845 Thomas Waters was building ships at Cross Park, Bideford, as we have already seen.

_____________________________

“ Waterlily ” – Schooner

Details of Ship:-

Built: 1841.

Type: Schooner.

Tonnage: 84 tons (Lloyd’s Register of 1850)

Builder: Robert Johnson, East-the-Water, Bideford, Devon.

12 yrs. A1.

(see below for full details on Robert Johnson)

Measurement: Length: 59.4 ft. Beam: 16.2 ft.

Owners: 1842 – 1849, Williams.

1850 – 1852, Bastian & Co., Scilly. Harry Weymouth & S. Davies.

Captains: 1842 – 1843, C. Burtt.

1843 – 1849, T. Major.

1850, Francis Bastion

1851 – 1852, J. Bastion

Trade: Foreign. 1842, Bideford, Swansea, London.

1843, London to Bideford.

1850 – 1852, Liverpool to Mediterranean.

St. John’s, Newfoundland, Oporto, Boston, Falmouth, Scilly.

Registered: 1843 – 1849, Bideford.

1850 – 1852, Scilly.

Signal:

Official No.:

Demise: 17.4.1852, Source: Daily News.:-

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

CASUALTIES. “Waterlily”, Bastian, sailed from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Dec. 17, for Zante, and has not since been heard of.

1851, Crew List:-

Ashford James

Current Ship: WATERLILY of Scilly Trade: Foreign

Age: 30

Born: St Martins Scilly Ticket No: 68417

Seaman

Date Joined: 06 May 1851         Place Joined: Liverpool

Previous Ship: EXPRESS of Scilly

BT 98/: 2703

Bastian Francis

Current Ship: WATERLILY of Scilly         Trade: Foreign

Age: 33

Ticket No: 50704

Master

Date Joined: 06 May 1851         Place Joined: Liverpool

Previous Ship: WATERLILY of Scilly

BT 98/: 2703

Clarke James

Current Ship: WATERLILY of Scilly Trade: Foreign

Age: 17

 Ticket No: 500495

Cook & Seaman

Date Joined: 06 May 1851         Place Joined: Liverpool

Date Left: 22 Jul 1851        Place Left: London

Previous Ship: SLANEY of Belfast

BT 98/: 2703

Ellis Edwin C

Current Ship: WATERLILY of Scilly

Age: 23

Born: Scilly        Ticket No: 71603

Mate

Date Joined: 05 Sep 1851        Place Joined: Scilly

Previous Ship: MINERVA of Scilly

Comments: MT 70089

BT 98/: 2703

Ellis Samuel

Current Ship: WATERLILY of Scilly

Age: 27

Born: Scilly        Ticket No: 247188

Mate

Date Joined: 12 May 1851         Place Joined: Scilly

Date Left: 22 Jul 1851       Place Left: London        Why Left: Discharged

Previous Ship: VESPER of Scilly

Comments: MT 58817

BT 98/: 2703

Hocking William

Current Ship: WATERLILY of Scilly, Trade: Foreign

Age: 27

Born: Falmouth            Ticket No: 296319

Seaman

Date Joined: 06 May 1851          Place Joined: Liverpool

Date Left: 22 Jul 1851           Place Left: London Discharged

Previous Ship: CORK PACKET of Fowey

BT 98/: 2703

Parrott Thomas

Current Ship: WATERLILY of Scilly,  Trade: Foreign

Age: 20

Born: Llanelly           Ticket No: 480108

Seaman

Date Joined: 05 Sep 1851           Place Joined: Scilly

Previous Ship: ANN of Southampton

Comments:

BT 98/: 2703

Watts William James

Current Ship: WATERLILY of Scilly ,Trade: Foreign

Age: 15

Born: Scilly           Ticket No: 419567

Boy

Date Joined: 05 Sep 1851           Place Joined: Scilly

Previous Ship: First vessel

BT 98/: 2703

1851, Previous Crew Member:-

Leopold Charles

Current Ship: TELL TALE of Penzance,  Trade: Foreign

Age: 28

Ticket No: 483460

Seaman

Date Joined: 20 May 1850           Place Joined: Liverpool

Date Left: 28 Aug 1850         Place Left: Labrador         Why Left: Deserted

Previous Ship: WATERLILY

Comments: aka Lepold

BT 98/: 2676

EAST-THE-WATER, BIDEFORD, DEVON (Robert Johnson):­-

Source: “Ship Building in North Devon” by Grahame Farr. Maritime monographs and reports No. 22 – 1976.

EAST-THE-WATER. Close to the bridge, on the river Torridge, was the Johnson yard. It was old established, but who was there before Robert Johnson took over – about 1839 – is uncertain. Through two generations the output there was prolific, at least 78 vessels being attributable, the last in 1877. Robert Johnson died in 1855, aged 61, and his wife Ann took an active part for the following four years or so, even signing builder’s certificates. The son, John, carried on from 1858, at first using the title Robert Johnson and Son.

The Johnsons produced all manner of craft from smacks to barques. Their first was the schooner “Isabel”, 109 tons, of which the principal owner was Captain John Swinsdale, of Appledore. Other owners were of Liverpool, and in a short life of two years she shuttled between Liverpool and Egypt, bringing cotton on the homeward passage. One of Johnson’s smallest, the smack “Surprise”, 49 tons, built for Captain James Braund of Bucksh, was sailed out to New Zealand. The yard also built a number of vessels for Brixham and Dartmouth owners in the Newfoundland trade, for Plymouth and Bideford owners in the Mediterranean trade, and for Salcombe owners in the soft fruit trade. A few were run by the family themselves before being sold, and frequently they retained an eighth share. Their first vessel over 200 tons was the brigantine “Georgiana”, 231 tons, in 1853, for the local shipowner George Braginton, and in the next year the same owner had the brigantine “Clara Louisa”, 181 tons. Johnson’s first barque was the “Hugo”, 369 tons, in 1862 for London owners, and the largest they built in this rig was the “Florence Danver”, 498 tons, of 1865, which, with the “Beatrice”, 455 tons, in the same year, went to Swansea owners for the ore trade. On the other end of the scale John Johnson built the only two vessels of the short-lived Bideford Deep Sea Fishing Company, the “Dolphin”, 40 tons, in 1860, and the “Morning Star”, 49 tons, in 1867. An unusual job was the rebuilding of the Austrian bark “Pace”.

John Johnson built his last vessel in 1877, the schooner “Mary Walter”, which it so happens was wrecked on the Newfoundland coast in the following year.

Details of Voyages:-

12.7.1844, Source: Royal Cornwall Gazette.:-

SHIP NEWS.

FALMOUTH.

FOREIGN.

THURSDAY – Sailed, the “Waterlily”, Major, for Liverpool.

11.4.1851, Source: Liverpool Mercury.:-

SHIP NEWS.

EUROPE.

“Waterlily”, Bastian, 72, Oporto – Cotesworth, Wynne, and Co.

23.5.1851, Source: Cornish Telegraph, Arrived at Scilly:-

Arrived: May 12. “Waterlily”, Boston, from Liverpool.

Sailed: May 13. “Waterlily”, Boston for Oporto

17.4.1852, Source: Daily News.:-

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

CASUALTIES.

“Waterlily”, Bastian, sailed from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Dec. 17, for Zante, and has not since been heard of.

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Lundy’s wartime farming problems.

Posted on 27/04/2016 by Tango Alpha

 

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 the difficulties of reaching the island during the war, provisioning the island, and the shortage of staff may all have contributed to this decision. It is known that Mr. Felix William Gade, agent and administrator of Lundy from 1925 to 1971, was totally against this leasing arrangement. In his memoirs entitled “My Life on Lundy”, published in 1978, and in chapter 10, Mr. Gade tells us exactly what he thought of Mr. Van Os and his abilities as a farmer.

Van Os had a small farming business in Middlesex and persuaded Martin Coles Harman that he could run the farm on Lundy to a profit. He brought a couple of men with him, who turned out to have had no farming experience whatsoever, and a lady to run the hotel and shop. Mr. Gade and his wife Rene moved into Millcombe House, the home of the owners, with the remit of simply keeping a watchful eye on the farm activities.

In fact Gade still had to perform many of the farm tasks, such as sheep shearing, ploughing and repairing and maintaining of machinery, as Van Os and his men were quite incapable of performing these tasks. The sheep were uncared for and most lambs died, the crops were not harvested in time and rotted in the fields and the deer were shot in large numbers, including the last of the fallow deer. The shippons were not cleared of dung and the cows not milked on time. One of the only two work horses on the island was allowed to die of a chill. The whole farming structure of the island was virtually wrecked and left in ruins when Van Os finally departed.

Probably at Gade’s suggestion, Martin Coles Harman came down, alone, to Lundy for Christmas 1941 and after discussions with Van Os which were likely to have been very heated (although Gade in his memoirs does not specifically say so), in February 1942 Van Os and his employees departed Lundy.

The Gades soldiered on for the rest of the war, restoring and running the farm, keeping the island supplied and dealing with the few visitors that were able to get there. There was a small Royal Navy Contingent of men billeted at the Old Light and the Light House keepers to provide occasional volunteer work, plus one or two other workers that remained. The island had no ship of its own during the war and all ships and visitors to the island, including even the owners, had to obtain permits from Admiral H. G. Franklin, the commandant of the Appledore and estuary area, who handed them out grudgingly.

Documents with the signature of Herbert Van Os from the period he was on Lundy are very rare but a single item, a postcard, is in the collection of the writer of these notes. It is dated Nov. 1941, and indicates that at least some farming activity was carried on during that unfortunate time. Typically, no postage stamps were placed on the card, which bears postage due stamps for 4d.

L1

Addressed to Messrs G. T. Andrews & Sons Ltd., Town Mills, Barnstaple, the text ran as follows:- “We have today shipped to you the undermentioned:-

46 lbs Locks.

7 lbs Fleece.

The above will be laying at Royal Navy Stores, The Quay, Appedore. Hope that you can collect when in district. Have you sent off poultry grain and have I coupons for a sack of middlings? (Signed) Herbert Van Os.”

L2

This short text actually says quite a lot. It shows that sheep were being shorn, even though probably by Mr. Gade, and that the wool was being transferred and sold on the mainland. Interestingly the fleeces were being deposited in the Royal Naval Stores at Appledore, under the beady eye of Admiral Franklin no doubt. It is also worthy of note that in war time, farmers still needed ‘coupons’ to purchase some of their supplies, in the same way as ration books were issued to the ordinary citizens. And what are ‘Middlings’ ? *

This story of Herbert Van Os and Lundy during wartime is covered in much greater detail by Mr. Gade in his memoirs, as indeed he covers almost every moment of the last 53 years of his life that he spent on Lundy.

Roger Allen.

****
*

‘Middlings’.

29th April.

Dear Editor,

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the May edition of Bideford Buzz, particularly the articles on ‘War Time Savings’ and ‘Wartime Farming Problems’ on Lundy.

In the latter, Roger Allen queries, “What are Middlings?”

I remembered that they were a form of second quality wheat, but checked for a fuller definition in a post-war book of mine, entitled “The Principles and Practice of Feeding Farm Animals” (1st published – 1940). I attach the entry for Roger’s enlightenment (see below).

Many thanks for your efforts in producing your fine community newsletter.

Yours sincerely,

John Hobbs. (Buckland Brewer)

Middlings

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