Editing Brixham (section)

=== Maritime ===
[[File:BrixhamLookingWest750px.jpg|thumb|right|Looking west across Brixham Harbour]]
There has probably been fishing in Brixham in one form or another from the settlement's very beginnings in the Saxon period. When this developed into a recognisable industry no one any longer knows, but by 1406 it had grown sufficiently large to warrant regulation by the [[Water bailiff|Bailiff of the Water]] of the Dart, an officer of the [[Duchy of Cornwall]], a legacy of this being that up until 1902 Brixham fishing boats were registered at [[Dartmouth, Devon|Dartmouth]] rather than their actual home port.

Due to being sheltered from the prevailing south-westerly winds, over the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries Brixham became Torbay's largest town and main fishing port, hake being the principal fish landed. [[Trawling|Trawl fishing]] was first recorded in south Devon in the 1760s with high value deep water species such as [[turbot]], [[Sole (fish)|sole]] and [[plaice]] being landed. As a result of the development of the [[Turnpike trust|turnpike]] road system during the rest of the eighteenth century, the transportation of fish to markets in [[Exeter]], [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] and even [[London]] became economically viable, this trend being substantially enhanced in the nineteenth century with the coming of the railways, although Brixham itself, not getting its own railway station until 1868, was relatively late to fully benefit from this process. During the 1820s over 120 tons on average of turbot and sole was being landed per week by a Brixham fleet of about ninety trawlers exploiting fish stocks as far west as the Irish and Welsh coasts and eastwards along the Channel as far as [[Hastings]] and [[Dover]]. Migration of Brixham fishing families up the [[North Sea]] coast led to the establishment of new fleets in [[Grimsby]] and Hull.

In time these ports would grow significantly larger than Brixham, but in the middle of the nineteenth century the town still boasted the largest fishing fleet in England, with more than 250 boats keeping well over 1,000 fishermen in employment. Catches consisted of [[flounder]], [[Neosebastinae|gurnard]], [[herring]], [[Mullet (fish)|mullet]], [[plaice]], [[Sole (fish)|sole]], [[turbot]] and [[Whiting (fish)|whiting]], the best quality fish being sent to Exeter, Bath, Bristol and London. From 1868, once Brixham had finally been connected directly to the rail network, fish landed in the port could be delivered to London's [[Billingsgate Fish Market]] in eight hours as opposed to three days by road.

In parallel with this expansion, over the course of the century, a major boat and shipbuilding industry grew up in the town, numerous [[Shipyard|boatyards]] lining the shore and catering both for the local demand for new boats and that from ports further afield. For much of the century, these yards also turned their hand to building ocean-going [[schooner]]s for the fiercely competitive fruit trade with the [[Azores]].

Other maritime trades such as sail, rope and net-making were needed as well and became a conspicuous feature of the Brixham townscape, forming an important part of the local economy in their own right.

In 1900, Brixham even had its own ice factory, a much needed addition to the town, given the large quantities of ice required to keep catches fresh and the somewhat precarious method of supply available previously, from 1869 onwards it having been imported from [[Stavanger]] in Norway, carried aboard fast sailing ships capable of making the passage in just four days. Despite their speed, in the summer months half the cargo would typically be lost to melting in transit.

However, reluctant and unable on financial grounds to replace sailing trawlers with faster and more powerful steam-powered ones, from the 1890 onwards and into the early twentieth century, Brixham's fishing industry went into decline, in particular being unable to compete with North Sea ports such as [[Lowestoft]] and [[Grimsby]] in the lucrative [[Dogger Bank]] fishing grounds. This decline was further compounded by the outbreak of [[World War I|World War One]] in 1914 and the resultant loss of fishing boats to U-boat attack and trawler crews being called upon for military service. The inter-war years proved no better. In 1928 only 2160 tons of fish were landed at Brixham, compared to 94,000 at Hull, and by the outbreak of [[World War II|World War Two]] in 1939 the Brixham fishing fleet had dwindled to only six boats.

The arrival during World War Two of refugee fishermen from Belgium helped to revitalise the fishing industry and brought with it a much needed knowledge of diesel engines.

A definite upturn in the industry's fortunes was seen in 1960 following the adoption of larger trawlers from the Netherlands and by 1966 the fishing fleet had grown to 45 boats. In 1969 the fleet had grown to 70 boats with £247,000 worth of fish being landed at Brixham and over the next two decades £4.6 million was invested in infrastructure projects such as building a new fish market and ice plant. In 1991 more than 800 people were employed directly or indirectly within the industry. In 2000 Brixham became England's premier fishing port, landing a total of £18.4 million worth of fish. In 2021 £43.6 million worth of fish was landed.

The modern boats are [[Diesel engine|diesel]]-driven, but a few of the famous old sailing trawlers have been preserved. Owned by not for profit organisations and registered as historic vessels on the [[National Historic Ships UK|National Historic Ships]] register it is possible to sail on these big wooden built, red sailed boats. They depend on income from guests to keep them sailing, such as ''Pilgrim of Brixham'' (1895) and ''Vigilance of Brixham'' (1926).

Hundreds of ships have been wrecked on the rocks around the town. Brixham men have always known the dangers but even they were taken by surprise by a terrible storm that blew up on the night of 10 January 1866. The fishing boats only had sails then and could not get back into harbour because gale-force winds and the high waves were against them. To make things worse, the beacon on the breakwater was swept away, and in the black darkness they could not determine their position. According to local legend, their wives brought everything they could carry, including furniture and bedding, to make a big bonfire on the quayside to guide their men home. Fifty vessels were wrecked and more than one hundred people died in the storm; when dawn broke, the wreckage stretched for nearly {{Convert | 3 | mi | 0 | spell = in}}  up the coast.

[[File:Breakwater light.jpg|thumb|left|Brixham breakwater and [[lighthouse]]]]
Hearing of this tragedy, the citizens of [[Exeter]] gave money to set up what became the [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution]]'s Brixham [[Lifeboat (rescue)|Lifeboat]] in 1866. Now known as [[Torbay Lifeboat Station]], it operates a {{Lbc|Severn}} all-weather lifeboat and a {{Lbc|D|IB1}} inshore lifeboat.<ref>{{cite book |last= Denton |first= Tony |title= Handbook 2009 |year= 2009 |publisher= Lifeboat Enthusiasts Society |location= Shrewsbury |page= 59 }}</ref> The crews have a history of bravery, with 52 awards for gallantry. The boathouse can be visited and memorials to the brave deeds seen; on special occasions, visitors can go on board the boat. Two maroons (bangs) are the signal for the lifeboat to be launched.

Smuggling was more profitable than fishing, but if the men were caught, they were hanged. There are many legends about the local gangs and how they evaded the Revenue men. One humorous poem describes how a notorious local character, Bob Elliott ("Resurrection Bob"), could not run away because he had gout and hid in a coffin. Another villain was caught in possession but evaded capture by pretending to be the [[Devil]], rising out of the morning mists. On another occasion when there was a [[cholera]] epidemic, some Brixham smugglers drove their cargo up from the beach in a hearse, accompanied by a bevy of supposed mourners following the cortege drawn by horses with muffled hooves.

The town's outer harbour is protected by a long breakwater, useful for sea angling. In winter, this is a site for [[purple sandpiper]] birds.

To the east of Brixham, and sheltering its harbour, lies the coastal headland of [[Berry Head]] with a lighthouse, [[Iron Age]] fort and [[national nature reserve (United Kingdom)|national nature reserve]].