6
TRANSPORT
RAILWAYS
The earliest railway built in Devon was the Haytor Granite Railway, sometimes known as the Haytor Tramway. Built in 1820, its trucks were road wagons pulled by horsepower, and it carried granite from Haytor quarry to the basin of the Stover canal, from where it was taken by canal boat to Teignmouth. It closed in about 1858 at the same time as the quarry, as it was unable to compete with the cheaper Cornish granite.
The second, and in fact the first railway in the modern sense, was the Plymouth & Dartmoor Railway, the brainchild of Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, former Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales and later MP for Plymouth. It was opened on 26 September 1823, and ran 23 miles from Sutton Pool to King Tor, near Princetown, with a 2-mile extension to the latter being completed soon afterwards.
The South Devon Railway Company built and operated a railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay, with the first section being opened from Exeter to Teignmouth on 30 May 1846. It was extended to Newton Abbot later that year and to Totnes in May 1847, the route being completed when it reached Plymouth in April 1849. It was extended into Plymouth Great Western Docks a year later, and in 1853 opened a branch to Sutton Pool though converting part of the Plymouth & Dartmoor Railway to broad gauge. A branch was opened from Newton Abbot to Torquay in December 1848, was extended as the Dartmouth & Torbay Railway in August 1859, and reached Kingswear in August 1864. Plymouth became a joint station when the Cornwall Railway opened in May 1859, as did the South Devon & Tavistock Railway a month later. The company was amalgamated with Great Western Railway on 1 February 1876. It was nationalised on 1 January 1948, and the former South Devon Railway became the responsibility of British Railways, Western Region.
The South Devon Railway Trust, a separate body altogether, is a charitable organisation which runs a heritage railway from Totnes to Buckfastleigh alongside the River Dart. It has its headquarters at Buckfastleigh, and is known as the South Devon Railway, formerly the Dart Valley Railway.
The North Devon Railway Company, originally planned as a feeder line to the Bristol & Exeter Railway, operated a line from Cowley Bridge to Bideford, which later became part of the London & South Western Railway. Within a few years it had extended to give a rail connection to other towns in North Devon which previously relied on packhorse transport and coastal shipping. An Exeter to Barnstaple section followed the rivers Yeo and Taw. Several other smaller lines were gradually absorbed into the same company, including the Taw Vale Railway and Dock Company along the River Taw, the Exeter and Crediton Railway, the Bideford Extension Railway and the Torrington Extension Railway. In 1923 the L&SWR became part of the Southern Railway Company.
Stations – Exeter to Plymouth
Exeter St Davids
Exeter St Thomas
Exminster
Starcross
Dawlish Warren
Dawlish
Teignmouth
Newton, later renamed Newton Abbot
Totnes
South Brent
Wrangaton, later renamed Kingsbridge Road
Bittaford Platform
Ivybridge
Cornwood
Plympton
Laira Halt
Laira
Lipson Vale Halt
Mutley
Plymouth
Plymouth Millbay
Stations – Torquay Branch
Kingskerswell
Torquay, later renamed Torre
Stations – Exeter & Crediton Railway
Cowley Bridge Junction
St Cyres, renamed Newton St Cyres in 1913
Crediton
Stations – North Devon Railway
Yeoford
Coleford Junction
Okehampton
Copplestone
Morchard Road
Lapford
Eggesford
South Molton Road
Portsmouth Arms
Umberleigh
Chapeltown, renamed Chapelton 1875
Barnstaple
Stations – Taw Vale Railway & Dock
Barnstaple
Fremington
Stations – Bideford Extension Railway
Instow
Bideford
Stations – L&SWR Torrington Extension
Bideford
Torrington
DISASTER!
Devon’s worst railway tragedy was at Bere Ferrers station (on the former Southern main line between Exeter and Plymouth, via Okehampton) on 24 September 1917. A group of soldiers had just arrived in England from New Zealand and were being taken from Plymouth to Salisbury. At Bere Ferrers the train stopped, and they got out for a short break, but had assumed they would get out the same side of the carriage as they had entered. Tragically, the door they used took them straight into the path of an oncoming express. Nine were killed immediately and a tenth died in hospital shortly afterwards.
CANALS
The Grand Western Canal, from Taunton to Tiverton, was built to link the Bristol Channel and English Channel, but was never completed as planned as it was superseded by the advent of the railway. It was constructed in two parts, with one section from Tiverton to Lowdwells on the county border opened in 1814, and the Somerset section opened in 1839. The latter closed in 1867, with part of it having disappeared from the landscape and part still in use as a footpath. The Devon section closed in 1962 but was reopened in 1971, and is now known as the Tiverton Canal. Navigation is now restricted to unpowered boats, apart from a maintenance vessel used for cutting weed. The final section from Fossend to Lowdwells is a nature reserve. The whole waterway is a designated country park, with a horse-drawn tourist narrowboat running from Tiverton.
The Tavistock Canal, linking Tavistock to Morwellham Quay, River Tamar, where cargo could be loaded on to ships, was first used in 1805, completed in 1817 and closed in 1873, but is still used to supply water to a hydro-electric power plant at Morwellham.
Stover Canal, from Jetty Marsh, Newton Abbot, to Ventiford, built for the ball clay industry, was first used in 1792, and closed in 1937. It is now derelict although the Stover Canal Society has plans to restore it and reopen it for navigation.
Rolle (or Torrington) Canal, from Landcross where it joins the River Torridge, to the limekilns at Rosemoor, was completed in 1827 and closed in 1871.
Exeter Ship Canal, from Exeter to Topsham, was begun in about 1564 and is one of the oldest artificial waterways in England. Extended in 1677, it was last used commercially in 1972 and is now used for recreational purposes, mainly watersports.
Cann Quarry Canal, from Cann Quarry to the River Plym at Marsh Mills, was opened in 1829 but it had ceased to be used for navigation by about ten years later. The tracks of the Plymouth and Dartmoor Railway were laid along the canal bank, and part of it is still visible.
TRAMS
Plymouth’s first street tramway, opened by the Plymouth, Stonehouse and Devonport Tramways Co. in 1872, ran from Derry’s Clock along Union Street to Cumberland Gardens, Devonport. Although the network soon expanded, by 1941 the only line left was from Drake Circus to Peverell Corner. The final Plymouth tram journey was on 29 September 1945, when the last remaining vehicle started at Old Town Street and drove for the last time into the Milehouse depot.
Exeter ran a privately operated horse-drawn tramway from 1882 to 1905, when it was bought by the City Council who replaced the system with an electric tramway. Single-decker buses were introduced in 1929, and the last Exeter tram made its final journey on 15 August 1931.
Torquay Tramways Co. Ltd began a service around the town on 4 April 1907, and opened an extension connecting it with Paignton in July 1911. After a residents’ poll, buses won the vote and the last Torquay tram ran on 31 January 1934.
The Seaton Tramway, 3 miles long and running along the Axe Valley from Seaton to Colyton, was established in 1950. Operated by Modern Electric Tramways, it was originally built as a hobby by an enthusiast who made electric milk floats for a living and decided to build a large-scale model tram to exhibit and run at local resorts, where it attracted so much attention that he expanded it into a regular venture. Parts of the track run on the bed of the old British Rail Seaton line.
TURNPIKE TRUSTS
Until the end of the nineteenth century, highway maintenance was the responsibility of individual parishes. With growth of manufacturing industry and the need to transport raw materials and finished goods, increasing traffic required a new means of dealing with the maintenance of roads, which led to an Act of Parliament in the eighteenth century sanctioning the formation of turnpike trusts. These were permitted to build roads and charge tolls. The following trusts were established in Devon.
Stonehouse, 1751, 4 miles (later absorbed into Plymouth Eastern)
Exeter, 1753, 141 miles
Axminster, 1754, 22 miles
Honiton, 1754, 51 miles
Ashburton & Totnes, 1755, 25 miles
Plymouth Eastern, 1758, 15 miles
Tiverton, 1759, 86 miles
Kingsbridge & Dartmouth, 1759, 63 miles
Modbury, 1759, 16 miles
South Molton, 1759, 76 miles
Great Torrington, 1759, 71 miles
Okehampton, 1760, 43 miles
Saltash, 1762, 8 miles (included some Plymouth roads)
Tavistock, 1762, 51 miles
Totnes & Berry Pomeroy, 1762, 44 miles
Barnstaple, 1763, 104 miles
Bideford, 1764, 49 miles
Newton Bushel (Abbot), 1765, 24 miles
Torquay & Dartmouth, 1765, 44 miles
Countess Wear Bridge, 1769, 2 miles
Moretonhampstead, 1772, 13 miles
Honiton & Ilminster, 1807, 12
miles Plymouth & Tavistock, 1812, 16 miles
Cullompton, 1813, 6 miles
Honiton & Sidmouth, 1816, 7 miles
Plymouth & Exeter Road, 1822, 5 miles
Teignmouth & Dawlish, 1823, 24
miles Braunton, 1829, 5 miles
Exmouth, 1832, 2 miles
Combe Martin, 1838, 22 miles
Braunton & Ilfracombe, 1843, 10 miles
Sidmouth & Cullompton, 1846, 16 miles
DEVON’S MAJOR ROADS
The A30 runs from Staines, near London, to Land’s End, a distance of 284 miles, and it was known as the Great South West Road. It was the most direct route until superseded by the M3 and the A303, and has trunk road status between Honiton and Penzance, where it is mostly dual carriageway although it has some sections of single carriageway. As well as Honiton, it also passes through Exeter, and bypasses Okehampton.
The A39 runs from Bath, through Somerset, North Devon, Exmoor, to the South Cornwall coast, a distance of 204 miles. The section from the North Devon Link Road at Barnstaple to the A30 at Fraddon, Cornwall, is known as the Atlantic Highway.
The A361 runs from Ilfracombe to Barnstaple, along the North Devon coast, hence its name the North Devon Link Road, to Tiverton, then to Taunton and terminates at a junction on the Northamptonshire–Warwickshire border. Covering a distance of 195 miles, it is the longest three-digit A road in Britain.
The A38 runs from Bodmin, Cornwall, to Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, a distance of 292 miles. Until the M5 was opened, it was the main South-West holiday route. The 42-mile stretch from Exeter to Plymouth is also known as the Devon Expressway. The M5, which begins at a junction with the M6 near West Bromwich and ends at Exeter, reached Devon in 1969.
DEVON’S ROAD ACCIDENTS
According to official figures from Devon County Council, in 2009 Teignmouth had the highest number of road accidents in Devon during the previous four years. In 2008 there were 9 fatal accidents, 47 serious crashes and 498 minor collisions. In the same period East Devon also had 9 fatal accidents, 37 serious crashes and 462 minor collisions, and South Hams 3 fatal accidents, 35 serious crashes and 352 minor collisions. The main cause of accidents was speeding, leading local councillors to campaign for a reduction in the speed limit on specific roads.
In 2001, Devon reported 3,367 injuries as a result of road accidents, of which 375 were serious cases, and 46 fatalities. The worst months for these were January and October.
SHIPWRECKS
There have been several hundred shipwrecks off the Devon coasts, and this list gives only a selection in chronological order, including some of those with the worst fatalities. The date of wreckage follows the name of the vessel.
Arms of Bristol, 26 March 1675, 350 tons, sailing from Bristol to Barbados, wrecked off Ilfracombe with the loss of 16, although 40 reached land.
HMS Coronation, 3 September 1691, 90-gun ship of the line, sunk in a storm off Rame Head with about 600 lost and only 20 survivors.
HMS Ramillies, 14 February 1760, 1,700-ton, 90-gun ship of the line, originally built as HMS Royal Katherine in 1664, later refitted, expanded and renamed in honour of John Churchill’s victory at the battle of Ramillies in 1706 during the War of the Spanish Succession. In almost continuous service for over ninety years, she was wrecked off Bolt Head in what would remain the greatest maritime tragedy in South-West waters for many years. Exact figures are uncertain, but it is thought that of a total crew of about 850, only about 20 survived.
HMS Weasel, 12 January 1799, sank off Baggy Point, Croyde Bay, with loss of 106, and the purser the only survivor.
Betsey, 3 March 1831, a sloop sailing from Wales to Barnstaple, capsized in Barnstaple Bay with the loss of three men.
Thomas Crisp, 18 January 1850, schooner sailing from Bristol to Barbados, struck Morte Stone off the North Devon coast near Woolacombe, with one man lost.
Soudan, 27 June 1887, 844-ton French steamer, sailing from Senegal, wrecked off Hamstone, near Salcombe.
SS Nepaul, 10 December 1890, 3,536 tons, owned by P&O Steam Navigation Co., wrecked off Plymouth between Shag Stone and the Mew Stone.
HMS Formidable, 1 January 1915, battleship carrying out exercises in English Channel, sunk after being hit by two torpedoes from a German submarine in rough seas near Berry Head, with the loss of 35 officers and 512 men out of a total complement of 780.
HMS Foyle, 15 March 1917, hit a mine near Dover and 27 crew out of 70 were killed. She was towed to Plymouth, but was too badly damaged to make the complete journey, and sank off the Mew Stone.
Yvonne, 3 September 1920, 4-masted barquetine, sailing from Jamaica for France, wrecked at Plymouth Breakwater, with the loss of the ship’s cook.
Herzogin Cecilie, 25 January 1936, German four-mast barque or windjammer, given to France as part of reparation after the First World War and sold to a Finnish owner, but while sailing from Falmouth to Ipswich, struck the Hamstone, just off the coast at Salcombe.
SS Louis Sheid, 7 December 1939, 6,057-ton Belgian steamer, ran aground off the coast near Kingsbridge.
SUBMARINE DISASTERS
Submarine A8, 8 June 1905, lost outside Plymouth Breakwater while on routine training exercises when tons of water came through a faulty hatch seal and she exploded underwater – 15 men were killed and four rescued.
USS Minneapolis-St Paul, 29 December 2006, four men fell overboard while working on routine maintenance on vessel in Plymouth Sound. Two died and two were rescued.
DEVON LIGHTHOUSES
All are active unless otherwise stated
Berry Head, Brixham – England’s smallest lighthouse
Braunton Sands Low, Crown Point
Brixham Breakwater
Dartmouth Castle (inactive since about 1886)
Eddystone
Exmouth Customs House
Hartland Point
Ilfracombe, Lantern Hill
Kingswear
Lundy Island Beacon Hill (inactive since 1897 and replaced by the two below)
Lundy Island North
Lundy Island South
Lynmouth Foreland
Mortehoe, Bull Point
Plymouth Breakwater
Plymouth Ocean Court, Hamoaze
Plymouth, Queen Anne’s Battery
Shaldon
Start Point
Teignmouth
There have been four Eddystone lighthouses off Rame Head, the first one being lit in 1698, destroyed in a storm in 1703. The second, completed in 1709, was destroyed in 1755. Smeaton’s Tower, completed in 1759, remained in use until 1877 when it was deemed unsafe because of erosion of the rocks, rebuilt on Plymouth Hoe and was replaced by a newer lighthouse on Eddystone Rocks.
The original Kingswear lighthouse on the cliff was demolished in 1980 as it had become unsafe, and was replaced by a new one in 1981.
AIRPORTS
Plymouth City Airport, opened July 1931, 3,809ft long – due to close December 2011
Exeter International Airport, opened July 1938, 6,833ft long
AIR CRASHES
Dartmoor, Hameldon Tor, 21 March 1941, four crew killed when an aeroplane from 49 Squadron from Bomber Command crashed in poor visibility.
Dartmoor, near Okehampton, 22 August 1941, one died, three taken prisoner when an aeroplane from 152 Squadron was shot down by a Spitfire while on a reconnaissance mission over Filton, Bristol.
Dartmoor, Tiger’s Marsh, near Black Tor Copse, 25 December 1943, five killed and another three injured when 8th Air Force B17 crashed in poor visibility.