iKnow Devon
Devon Accommodation
Take the Agatha Christie Mile trail around Torquay, birthplace of Agatha Christie
Exeter Quay's Custom House, once a thriving centre in Devon's Woollen Trade
Elizabethan Merchant's House, Plymouth
Dartmoor People at the Museum of Dartmoor Life, OkehamptonDevon History Roman History Medieval Saxon English Civil War Elizabethan Plymouth
Devon history takes a variety of forms, from the ancient stone circles and Megaliths of Dartmoor, though to Roman Exeter, Medieval woollen trade history, historic quays, the tin mining industry, Elizabethan swashbucklers a la Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, the Pilgrim Fathers (who had rather an accident prone start to their journey to the New World from Plymouth), English Civil War battles at Great Torrington, and a choice of ruined Abbeys and Monasteries, left by the early Monk settlement.
If that isn't enough, Devon's history is intricately connected with the sea and maritime history. Plymouth and Plymouth Sound is where to start here. Devon is old market town territory, and many old towns in Devon are mentioned in the Domesday book. Devon also has a selection of literary prodigies including the most famous Agatha Christie, with Tarka the Otter author Henry Williamson, Blackmore and 'Lorna Doone' up Exmoor way, and of course Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's dark depiction of Dartmoor in his classic 'The Hound of the Baskervilles'.
Devon Maritime History
Plymouth Harbour's history stretches right back, but really it's focus is from the period of Sir Francis Drake, his enormous statue can be viewed near Smeaton's Tower. The Plymouth Sound estuary and harbour is a naturally perfect harbour, with it's deep waters, it's sheltered position and it sits at the mouth of many a river. Many historic names are associated with Plymouth, notably Sir Frances Drake!
Plymouth has a couple of excellent exhibitions to head to for finding out more out the Pilgrim Fathers who made this impromptu detour to Plymouth on their 1620s journey to America.
Check out initially the superb interactive Plymouth Mayflower Exhibition on The Barbican opposite the Mayflower Steps. Plymouth's main Tourist Information Centre is based here also. Check out the many stories of emmigrants fleeing from Plymouth Harbour at this exhibition as well - harrowing stories many of them, and little known!
Devon Castles, Monasteries & Historic Houses
Exeter is crammed with historic buildings of interest, from the Roman, Medieval, and Georgian period particularly. Exeter Cathedral is one of the best gothic cathedrals in the UK.
The pick of Devon Castles are not just on the Devon Coastline, they're in Dartmoor as well. Castle Drogo is perhaps the most striking, and Okehampton has some extensive and impressive castle ruins. Historic houses are on the menu here in Dartmoor as well, most notably the home of Sir Francis Drake in Yelverton - Buckland Abbey, which is still a working monastery open to the public.
Visual marvel Dartmouth Castle is 600 years old and was built to guard the entrance to the estuary and the River Dart, and indeed Dartmouth itself. Move over to the opposite bank and you can see the ruins of it's sister defence castle, Kingswear Castle. Dartmouth was a strategic port as far back as the Middle Ages when it had a large export trade. This Devon castle was the first of it's kind, uniquely designed for artillery purposes.
Devon Ancient History & Natural History
The central and High Moorland areas of Dartmoor contain many an ancient wonder, created by both nature and by man. As the ice retreated man moved in, and flint tools from the Mesolitic Age, or middle Stone Age around 8000BC have been found in Dartmoor National Park.
Dartmoor is definitely one of the most monumental and prolific areas for Bronze Age sites in Britain. Key examples are all here in central and High Moorland Dartmoor, such as burial grounds like Spinster's Rock (dated to the Neolithic Period), Megalithic sites such as Merrivale's stone row and the remains of early Bronze Age settlements on Dartmoor such as Grimspound north of Widdecombe. Other features include waymarking crosses errected by monks in outlying abbeys and dating from the 12th century evidence of tin mining, mostly open cast.
The World Heritage Site, the Jurassic Coast, stretches all the way from Orcombe Rocks in Exmouth to Studland Bay in Dorset, and here on the East coast of Devon visitors have access to what is the oldest stretch of the Jurassic Coast dating back to to the Triassic period 250-200 million years ago. The triassic rocks and cliffs in East Devon from Exmouth to Sidmouth are a record of a time when the area was actually forming millions of years ago.
Roman & Medieval Devon
Exeter was a key Roman stronghold in the UK, and any trip to Exeter should take in the remains of Exeter's Roman Military Bath House which lie on the west front of the gothic cathedral. Work is currently being undertaken on this spectacular Roman find. This Roman Bath House just happens to be one of the earliest stone buildings contructed by the Romans in the UK, and much excavation work is underway to develop this attraction and open it out to Exeter's visitors. Exeter's architecture bears witness to it's evolving growth not just during Roman occupation, but later through a Saxon period, and during the medieval period when Exeter was a key ecclesiastical hotspot - bring on the churches. Major improvements were made in Exeter during the Middle Ages, most notably the surviving network of fascinating Underground Passages which were contructed around 1200 to enable the transport of spring water into Exeter.
Devon Canal Holidays
The Exeter Ship Canal may not be very big or long at 6 miles, but it's one of the oldest cuts in the UK, and there's a history of trade squabbling attached to it which makes good reading. A good place to start your historic exploration of Exeter is at the Quayside visitor's centre. Here you can catch the 'Celebration of Exeter' audio and visual presentation, which introduces you to the history of Exeter and surrounds stretching back to the Roman period, up until the present. What's more, admission is free, and this Exeter Visitor's centre is open from April to October 10am-5pm, 7days a week. During the rest of year the centre is open Saturdays and Sundays only from 11am-4pm.
The Grand Western Canal runs all the way down to Tiverton in Devon. Much restoration has been afoot recently, and today there are 11 miles the the Grand Western Canal still open, and this stretch has been preserved and not dried out due to it's natural water supply from local springs. A superb country park surrounds this stretch of the Grand Western Canal today, and there's lots going on. It's a perfect spot for picnics, fishing, cycling, walking or alternatively why not take a leisurely horse drawn Barge trip!
Devon Social & Industrial History
The Museum of Dartmoor Life in Okehampton, North Dartmoor is a great starting point to begin your exploration of Dartmoor. On offer here is a choice range of exhibitions exploring the working lives of Dartmoor residents - you can get a real sense of the hardships through the many photographs and ephemera.
Devon does well for museums taking time to explore social history, particularly that of 19th century industry, and in the case of Tiverton Museum it's the fascinating lace making industry at Heatcoats enormous lace making factory.
The railway was crucial to the growth of market town Newton Abbot, so it is fitting that the superb GWR Railway Heritage Museum should be located here. Journey through the history of the Great Western Railway. There are many revived steam railways back up and running in South Devon including the Paignton & Dartmouth Steam Railway.
Devon and Dartmoor are renowned for their tin mining history. Men who worked in this industry were a hardy bunch, with their own Stannary Laws. Tavistock, like Ashburton, was one of the key stannary power bases on the outskirts of Dartmoor. The spectacular remains of Wheal Betsy mine are near to Tavistock at Mary Tavy!
Devon & The English Civil War
Great Torrington's links with the English Civil War and all things Roundheads and Caveliers is not by accident. There was a horrendously brutal battle here at Great Torrington in 1646, with the Roundheads victorious and Royalists slaughtered by the infamous New Model Army under the charge of Sir Thomas Fairfax.
Great Torrington's attractions are centred around it's links with the English Civil war, and there are English Civil War trails, costumed characters everywhere, a main exhibition centre and lots to see from how musket balls were made to trying on some 17th century armour. Kids will love this come-alive English Civil War journey around Torrington. Great Torrington is also a great stopping off point from the Tarka Trail, which runs 180 miles through both North and Central Devon.
Devon Literary Heritage
Torquay is synonymous with Agatha Christie, and pays due homage to it's homegrown genius. Christie was rather cagey about her many detective stories, comparing their production to a sausage factory. Lovers of the Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot Agatha Christie books however will no doubt beg to differ, for they are indeed journeys of discovery and insights into human behaviour, through the perspective of two very unlikely detectives, which is the 'rub' of course.
Torquay Museum has a whole exhibition dedicated to Agatha Christie, with an array of fascinating photographs reflecting on Christie's life, particularly growing up in Torquay. Take the Agatha Christie Trail around Torquay taking in her honeymoon hotel - The Grand, where she stayed with Archie, Meadfoot Beach on the way to Babbacombe which was a popular swimming spot for Christie, and branch out into South Hams and Dartmouth where Agatha Christie lived later in life with her second husband.
