Teignmouth
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Teignmouth sea front |
Teignmouth (pronounced 'Tinmuth') is a
town on the east bank of the estuary mouth of the
River Teign in south
Devon,
England. The town grew from a
fishing port to a fashionable resort of some note in
Georgian times with further expansion after the opening of the
South Devon Railway on
30 May 1846, built by
Isambard Kingdom Brunel which ran along a
stone embankment between the sea and cliffs for several miles from
Newton Abbot to the east towards
Dawlish, ending at
Exeter. A stretch of this line was originally both broad gauge (7ft.01/4Inch) and worked by the atmospheric system, with steam pump houses at regular intervals to create the vacuum. It was not successful for a host of reasons and was converted to normal steam locomotive working.
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Teignmouth Seafront showing the Old Library and the Ness in the Background, circa 1930 |
The port, in existence since the 13th century, is still active, mostly handling clay, timber and grain, with many smaller pleasure craft mooring in the wide estuary. The town is linked with
Shaldon, the village on the opposite bank, by a passenger
ferry at the river mouth and by a road bridge further upstream. The granite for London Bridge was sent from here, having come down the unique
granite railway from the quarries near
Haytor and then down the
Stover canal to the port.
In the harbour area is Salty, a small island created through dredging operations. salmon nets are still employed by locals, especially near Shaldon Bridge. This bridge is of Roman Origin and when the present bridge was constructed some of the roman wood was used to make a table which was kept at Lindridge House. Tragically it was destroyed in the fire that destroyed the house just as its conversion into a hotel was nearing completion in the 1960's.
Although greatly reduced from its hey-day, Teignmouth still receives considerable numbers of holiday makers, most of whom visit the sea facing beach and the
Pier with its amusement arcade and rides.
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The Teignmouth Seafront in the 1860's with the Railway in the background |
The western half of the town was destroyed (apart from the Jolly Sailor public house) by fire during a brief invasion by the French in
1690, the last invasion of England (though not of Britain as the French invaded
Carreg Gwastad, near
Fishguard,
Pembrokeshire in
1797). French Street with its museum is named in memory of the occasion.
The poet Keats spent a few weeks here and completed his epic poem 'Endymion'.
Charles Babbage (26 December 1791 â€" 18 October 1871) the English mathematician, analytical philosopher, mechanical engineer and (proto-) computer scientist who originated the idea of a programmable computer, lived here for some years and was warden of a local church.
Donald Crowhurst, competing in the
Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, started his ill-fated attempt to sail round the world single-handed from Teignmouth on
October 31,
1968. His boat was a trimaran named the
Teignmouth Electron after the town and his electronics company.
In pop culture, the rock band
Muse was formed in Teignmouth, and
Neil Forrester, cast member of American
reality television show
The Real World spent his formative years there. Also,
Patrick Wolf has written a song called Teignmouth, which can be found on his album
Wind In The Wires.
Teignmouth railway station is close to the town centre and is served by trains to most stations in Devon was well as
London and further afield. The seawall between Teignmouth and Dawlish is the most expensive stretch of line to maintain of the whole British railway network. The Great Western Railway had surveyed a quadruple tracked inland deviation, but the the advent of World War 2 brought the project to an end.
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A Broad Gauge Train leaving Teignmouth with Shaldon Bridge and the Ness in the background, circa 1854. |
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Teignmouth Community Choir*
Photos of Teignmouth*
Teignmouth (DMOZ.org)*
Teignmouth at Google Local UK (Beta)*
Teignmouth Community College
