Dawlish
|
The Great Western Main Line runs along the Dawlish seafront |
For the character from the Harry Potter books, see Minor Ministry officials in Harry Potter#Dawlish.Dawlish is a
town on the south coast of
Devon,
England, 12 miles from the County town of
Exeter, with a population of around 13,000 people. During the
eighteenth century, it grew from a small
fishing port to become a well-known
seaside resort.
The old town is situated atop red
cliffs, while the coast to the North East, known as
Dawlish Warren, is sandy. Dawlish is also known for its
black swans (Cygnus atratus), introduced from Western Australia.
The people who first settled in Dawlish lived on the higher grounds. These were
fishermen and
salt makers who would venture down to the coast to net fish and gather salt. Salt was abundant in rock pools at the time but resources would have been limited. So eventually
salterns were constructed to dry out
brine and produce salt. The high-quality salt produced was stored in sheds or saltcellars. Dawlish produced less salt than its neighbour
Teignmouth, most likely due to inhabitants being wary of Dawlish water and its unpredictability when it came to flooding.
Dawlish at the time was spelt 'Deawlisc', a
Celtic word meaning 'Devil Water'. Several other spellings and meanings are found later in the
Domesday Book and in documents from
Exeter Cathedral.
Salt making would have started before
Roman times (
55 BC) and continued until the withdrawal of the Romans in
400 AD. Sometime during the
Anglo-Saxon period (
400 AD -
1000 AD) salt making in Dawlish ceased, however Teignmouth continued its production. During the Anglo-Saxon period the number of inhabitants grew and some communities settled in the upper part of the valley where floods were less common and the land was fertile. Evidence of early farming settlements is found at Aller Farm, Smallacombe, Lidewell and Higher and Lower Southwood.
When the Romans invaded Britain, the Celts of
Devon and
Cornwall, like
Scotland, were left alone and continued to occupy the land throughout the Roman period that lasted until the Anglo-Saxons arrived .The Anglo-Saxons were more interested in trading than conquering and mixed with the Celts of Devon and Cornwall. The majority of local people would have descended from these.
The
Danish invasion of
800 AD left Dawlish untouched, possibly due to the shallow sea waters and marshland.
Bishopsteignton was destroyed by the Danes in
1001 AD, along with settlements at the mouth of the
River Teign.
Until its sale in the
19th century, the site of Dawlish belonged to
Exeter Cathedral, having been given to the chapter by
Leofric, Bishop of Exeter in
1050.
The arrival of the railway
Dawlish grew with the coming of the railway. In
1830,
Isambard Kingdom Brunel designed a railway for the town, which operated on a
pneumatic principle, using a 15" iron tube. The
atmospheric railway opened on
30 May 1846 and ran between
Exeter St. Davids and
Newton Abbot. There were
pumping stations at
Exeter St. Davids, Countess Weir, The Turf,
Starcross (where the
old pump house can still be seen),
Dawlish,
Teignmouth,
Bishopsteignton and
Newton Abbot. The first passenger train ran in September
1847. The project was besieged with problems mainly with the leather sealing valve, which after 12 months use needed replacing at a cost of £25,000.
South Devon Railway directors abandoned the project in favour of conventional trains, the last atmospheric train running in September
1848.
It is often noted as one of the most memorable streches of track in Britain for its natural beauty, unfortunately this comes at a very high cost to
Network Rail as it is one of the most expensive lines in the UK to maintain due to the continual battle with sea
erosion.
Dawlish railway station is situated in the town centre and right next to the beach. It is served by trains to most stations in Devon, as well as to
London and further afield.
This article incorporates text from Dawlish.com, a site which allows free use of its content.*
Dawlish (DMOZ.org)
