Editing Dartmouth, Devon

{{short description|Town in England}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox UK place
 | country                  = England
 | official_name            = Dartmouth
 | coordinates              = {{coord|50.351|-3.579|display=inline,title}}
 | population               = 5,064
 | population_ref           = ''(2011)''
 | shire_county             = [[Devon]]
 | shire_district           = [[South Hams]]
 | civil_parish             = Dartmouth
 | region                   = South West England
 | constituency_westminster = [[South Devon (UK Parliament constituency)|South Devon]]
 | post_town                = DARTMOUTH
 | postcode_district        = TQ6
 | postcode_area            = TQ
 | dial_code                = 01803
 | static_image_name        = dartmouth.town.750pix.jpg
 | static_image_caption     = Dartmouth from the [[River Dart]]
 | os_grid_reference        = SX877514
}}

'''Dartmouth''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|d|ɑːr|t|m|ə|θ}}) is a town and [[civil parish]] in the [[England|English]] county of [[Devon]]. It is a [[tourist destination]] set on the western bank of the estuary of the [[River Dart]], which is a long narrow tidal [[ria]] that runs inland as far as [[Totnes]]. It lies within the [[South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]] and [[South Hams]] district, and had a population of 5,512 in 2001,<ref>[http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790363 Office for National Statistics : ''Census 2001 : Parish Headcounts : South Hams''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612112036/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/viewFullDataset.do?instanceSelection=03070&productId=779&$ph=60_61&datasetInstanceId=3070&startColumn=1&numberOfColumns=8&containerAreaId=790363|date=12 June 2011}} Retrieved 27 January 2010</ref> reducing to 5,064 at the [[2011 United Kingdom census|2011 census]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-england-southwestengland.php?cityid=E35000831|title=Parish population 2011|access-date= 19 February 2015}}</ref> There are two [[electoral wards]] in the ''Dartmouth'' area ([[Townstal]] & [[Kingswear]]). Their combined population at the above census was 6,822.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/dartmouth-and-kingswear-e05003566#sthash.e3UCCLd3.dpbs|title=Dartmouth and Kingswear ward 2011|access-date=19 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219173216/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/dartmouth-and-kingswear-e05003566#sthash.e3UCCLd3.dpbs|archive-date=19 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/dartmouth-townstal-e05003567#sthash.W1B4gdA1.dpbs|title=Dartmouth Townstall ward 2011|access-date=19 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219172950/http://www.ukcensusdata.com/dartmouth-townstal-e05003567#sthash.W1B4gdA1.dpbs|archive-date=19 February 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History==
In 1086, the [[Domesday Book]] listed ''Dunestal'' as the only settlement in the area which now makes up the parish of Dartmouth. It was held by [[Walter of Douai]]. It paid tax on half a hide, and had two plough teams, two slaves, five villagers and four smallholders. There were six cattle, 40 sheep and 15 goats. At this time Townstal (as the name became) was apparently a purely agricultural settlement, centred around the church. Walter of Douai rebelled against William II, and his lands were confiscated and added to the [[Marshwood Castle|Honour of Marshwood]] (Dorset), which sublet Townstal and Dartmouth to the FitzStephens.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Freeman|first1=Ray|title=Dartmouth and its Neighbours 1st Ed|date=1990|publisher=Phillimore|location=Chichester|isbn=0-85033-697-X|pages=17–18}}</ref> It was probably during the early part of their proprietorship that Dartmouth began to grow as a port, as it was of strategic importance as a deep-water port for sailing vessels. The port was used as the sailing point for the [[Crusades]] of 1147 and 1190, and [[Warfleet Creek]], close to [[Dartmouth Castle]] is supposed by some to be named for the vast fleets which assembled there.<ref>{{cite web|title=What's in A Name – Warfleet Creek|date=2 June 2016|url=http://www.bythedart.co.uk/things-to-do-in-dartmouth/what%27s-in-a-name---july-2011/|publisher=By The Dart|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-date=18 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118113233/https://www.bythedart.co.uk/things-to-do-in-dartmouth/what%27s-in-a-name---july-2011/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Dartmouth was a home of the [[Royal Navy]] from the reign of [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] and was twice surprised and sacked during the [[Hundred Years' War]], after which the mouth of the estuary was closed every night with a great chain. The narrow mouth of the Dart is protected by two fortified castles, Dartmouth Castle and [[Kingswear Castle]]. Originally Dartmouth's only [[wharf]] was Bayard's Cove, a relatively small area protected by a fort at the southern end of the town.

In 1373 [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] visited and among the pilgrims in his [[The Canterbury Tales|''Canterbury Tales'']],
{{poem quote|
A [[The Shipman's Tale|schipman]] was ther, wonyng fer by weste;
For ought I wost, he was of Dertemouthe.}}

Notwithstanding Dartmouth's connections with the crown and respectable society, it was a major base for [[privateer]]ing in [[medieval]] times. [[John Hawley (died 1408)|John Hawley]] or Hauley, a licensed privateer and sometime mayor of Dartmouth is reputed to be a model for Chaucer's "schipman".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.devonperspectives.co.uk/johnhawley.html |title=John Hawley of Dartmouth |publisher=Devonperspectives.co.uk |date=11 February 2012 |access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dartmouth-history.org.uk/content_images/upload/Town_Mayors.htm |title=Roll of Mayoralty |publisher=Dartmouth-history.org.uk |access-date=25 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229093014/http://www.dartmouth-history.org.uk/content_images/upload/Town_Mayors.htm |archive-date=29 February 2012 }}</ref>

The earliest street in Dartmouth to be recorded by name (in the 13th century) is Smith Street. Several of the houses on the street are originally late 16th century or early 17th century and probably rebuilt on the site of earlier medieval dwellings. The street name undoubtedly derives from the smiths and shipwrights who built and repaired ships here when the tidal waters reached as far as this point. Smith Street was also the site of the town [[pillory]] in medieval times.

The first church in the parish was St Clement's, Townstal, which may have existed in some form before the 1190s. It was granted by the FitzStephens to [[Torre Abbey]] in about 1198, the Abbey having been founded in 1196, and the present stone-built church was probably started shortly after this.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Freeman|first1=Ray|title=Dartmouth and its Neighbours|date=1990|publisher=Phillimore|location=Chichester|isbn=0-85033-697-X|pages=19–21|edition=1st}}</ref>
[[File:St Saviour, Dartmouth, Devon - Door - geograph.org.uk - 1727469.jpg|thumb|225px|right|Medieval church door of St Saviour's, with armorial leopards]]

Manorial transactions are first recorded in 1220, when the manor house was at Norton, about half a mile west of Townstal. Names of occupations also started to appear, including taverner, tailor, coggar, korker, goldsmith, glover, skinner and baker. The "Fosse", now Foss Street, a dam across the creek known later as The Mill Pool, was first mentioned in 1243. The flow of water out of the pool through the Mill Gullet powered a tidal mill. The dam was used as an unofficial footpath linking Clifton, to the south, with Hardness, to the north. Before this it was necessary to go westwards to the head of the creek at Ford to travel between the two settlements. The lord of the manor was given the rights to hold a weekly market and an annual fair in 1231. In 1281, a legal case proved that the Lord of Totnes had the right to charge tolls on ships using the river, and this right was bought by Nicholas of Tewkesbury in 1306, who conveyed the town, river and port to the king in 1327, so making Dartmouth a Royal Borough. The king gave the river to the Duchy of Cornwall in 1333, who still own the "fundus" or bed of the river.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Freeman|first1=Ray|title=Dartmouth and its Neighbours|date=1990|publisher=Phillimore|location=Chichester|isbn=0-85033-697-X|pages=23–24|edition=1}}</ref> In 1335 Edward III granted Dartmouth to Joan of Carew, whose husband was Lord of Stoke Fleming, and almost immediately she obediently passed the lordship to Guy de Bryan, one of the king's leading ministers. In 1341, the town was granted a Royal Charter, which allowed for the election of a mayor. The borough was required to provide two ships for forty days per year. After 1390, no more is heard of lordship rights, and the borough became effectively independent of any lord.

St Saviour's Church was constructed in 1335 and consecrated in 1372. It contains a pre-Reformation oak [[rood screen]] built in 1480 and several monuments including the tomb of John Hawley (died 1408) and his two wives, covered with a large brass plate effigy of all three. A large medieval ironwork door is decorated with two leopards of the [[Plantagenet]]s and is possibly the original portal. Although it is dated "1631", this is thought to be the date of a subsequent refurbishment coincidental with major renovations of the church in the 17th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roughwood.net/ChurchAlbum/Devon/Dartmouth/Dartmouth-St-Saviour.htm |title=St Saviour, Dartmouth, Devon – Church |publisher=Roughwood.net |date=27 February 2009 |access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref> The gallery of the church is decorated with the heraldic crests of prominent local families and is reputed to be constructed of timbers from ships captured during the defeat of the [[Spanish Armada]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Andrews|first1=Robert|title=The Rough Guide to Devon & Cornwall|date=2013|publisher=Rough Guides UK|isbn=9781409364863|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Biwnm1Zm1JsC&q=St+Saviour%27s+Church+Dartmouth+spanish+Armada+timber&pg=PT147}}</ref> although this has not been categorically substantiated. An engraving of a painting by [[Thomas Allom]] of the interior of the church, showing the rood screen, provided the inspiration for [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]]'s poetical illustration ''Dartmouth Church'' in Fisher's Drawing Room scrap Book, 1833.<ref>{{cite book|last=Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833|url=https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/annuals/id/9631|section=picture|year=1832|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833|url=https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/annuals/id/9632|section=poetical illustration|page=31|year=1832|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}</ref>
{{wikisource|Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1833/Dartmouth Church|'Dartmouth Church',<br />a poetical illustration<br /> by L. E. L.}}

In medieval times, land access from the Totnes direction passed the manor at Norton and the parish church at Townstal before falling steeply along what are now Church Road, Mount Boone and Ridge Hill to the river at Hardness. There were steeper routes via Townstal Hill and Clarence Street and also via Brown's Hill. These were all too steep for vehicles, so the only land access was by packhorse. In 1671 there is the first mention of the building of the "New Ground". A previously existing sandbank was built up using ships' ballast, and a quay wall was built around it to provide more mooring space. The area proved too unstable to be built on, and is now the Royal Avenue Gardens. It was originally linked to the corner of the Quay by a bridge, opposite Duke Street. At the other end of The Quay, Spithead extended into the river for a few yards. 
[[File:Great Carrack 'Madre de Dios'.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|left|The arrival of the Great Carrack ''[[Madre de Deus]]'' at Dartmouth Harbour, 18 September 1592]]

Dartmouth sent numerous ships to join the English fleet that attacked the Spanish Armada, including the Roebuck, Crescent and Hart.<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.dartmouth-history.org.uk/content_images/upload/Russells_Dartmouth.pdf |title=Ancient Dartmouth |last=Russell |first=Percy |date=September 1946 |access-date=2 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229093022/http://www.dartmouth-history.org.uk/content_images/upload/Russells_Dartmouth.pdf |archive-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The ''[[Spanish ship Nuestra Señora del Rosario (1587)|Nuestra Señora del Rosario]]'', the Spanish Armada's "payship" commanded by Admiral Pedro de Valdés, was captured along with all its crew by [[Sir Francis Drake]]. It was reportedly anchored in the River Dart for more than a year and the crew were used as labourers on the nearby [[Greenway Estate]] which was the home of [[Sir Humphrey Gilbert]] and his half-brother [[Sir Walter Raleigh]]. Greenway was later the home of [[Dame Agatha Christie]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historic-uk.com/DestinationsUK/Dartmouth.htm |title=Dartmouth, Devon – Destinations UK |publisher=Historic-uk.com |date=4 June 1944 |access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref>

In 1592 the ''[[Madre de Deus]]'', a [[Portugal|Portuguese]] treasure ship [[Battle of Flores (1592)|captured by the English]] in the [[Azores]], docked at [[Dartmouth Harbour]]. It attracted all manner of traders, dealers, cutpurses and thieves and by the time Sir [[Walter Raleigh]] arrived to reclaim the Crown's share of the loot, a cargo estimated at half a million [[Pound sterling|pounds]] had been reduced to £140,000.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McDermott|first1=James|title=Martin Frobisher: Elizabethan Privateer|date=2001|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=9780300083804|pages=[https://archive.org/details/martinfrobishere0000mcde/page/397 397]–398|url=https://archive.org/details/martinfrobishere0000mcde|url-access=registration|quote=Dartmouth.}}</ref> Still, ten freighters were needed to carry the treasure to London.

[[Henry Hudson]] put into Dartmouth on his return from North America, and was arrested for sailing under a [[flag state|foreign flag]]. The [[Pilgrim Fathers]] put into Dartmouth's Bayard's Cove, en route from [[Southampton]] to America. They rested a while before setting off on their journey in the ''[[Mayflower]]'' and the ''[[Speedwell (1577 ship)|Speedwell]]'' on 20 August 1620. About 300 miles west of [[Land's End]], upon realising that the ''Speedwell'' was unseaworthy, it returned to [[Plymouth]]. The ''Mayflower'' departed alone to complete the crossing to [[Cape Cod]]. Dartmouth's sister city is [[Dartmouth, Massachusetts]].
[[File:Butterwalk hdr.jpg|thumb|[[Dartmouth Butterwalk|The Butterwalk]]]]

The town contains many medieval and [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]] streetscapes and is a patchwork of narrow lanes and stone stairways. A significant number of the historic buildings are listed.<ref>{{cite web|author=Good Stuff IT Services |url=http://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/england/devon/dartmouth |title=Listed Buildings in Dartmouth, Devon, England |publisher=British Listed Buildings |access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref> One of the most obvious is the [[Dartmouth Butterwalk|Butterwalk]], built 1635 to 1640. Its intricately carved wooden fascia is supported on granite columns. [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] held court in the Butterwalk whilst sheltering from storms in 1671 in a room which now forms part of [[Dartmouth Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The King's Room at Dartmouth Museum|url=http://dartmouthmuseum.org/collections/kings-room/index.html|publisher=Dartmouth Museum|access-date=29 July 2011|quote=It was in this magnificent room that King Charles II was entertained in July 1671, when storms forced him to seek shelter in Dartmouth.|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120717143023/http://dartmouthmuseum.org/collections/kings-room/index.html|archive-date=17 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> Much of the interior survives from that time.

The Royal Castle Hotel was built in 1639 on the then new quay. The building was re-fronted in the 19th century, and as the new frontage is itself listed, it is not possible to see the original which lies beneath. A claimant for the oldest building is a former merchant's house in Higher Street, now a [[Good Beer Guide]] listed public house called ''the Cherub'', built circa 1380. Agincourt House (next to the Lower Ferry) is also 14th century.

The remains of a fort at Gallants Bower just outside the town are some of the best preserved remains of a [[English Civil War|Civil War]] defensive structure.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gallants Bower|url=http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/little-dartmouth/features/gallants-bower|publisher=National Trust|access-date=10 July 2016}}</ref> The fort was built by [[Royalist]] occupation forces in c. 1643 to the south east of the town, with a similar fort at Mount Ridley on the opposite slopes of what is now [[Kingswear]]. The [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] [[General Fairfax]] attacked from the north in 1646, taking the town and forcing the [[Cavalier|Royalists]] to surrender, after which Gallants Bower was demolished.

===19th century===
Before 1671, what is now the town centre was almost entirely tidal mud flats. The New Road (now Victoria Road) was constructed across the bed of the (silted up) Mill Pool and up the Ford valley after 1823. Spithead was extended in 1864 when the [[Dartmouth and Torbay Railway]] arrived in [[Kingswear]] and a pontoon was constructed, linked to Spithead by a bridge. The railway directors and others formed the Dartmouth Harbour Commissioners. 
At this time, all the roads in those parts of Dartmouth which were not land reclamations were very narrow. In 1864-7 Higher Street was widened into Southtown and linked to Lower Street, which was also widened, with the northern part renamed Fairfax Place. Some of the buildings were rebuilt further back with decorative frontages.
In 1881 the Harbour Commissioners produced a scheme for an embankment or esplanade from near the Lower Ferry to Hardness, across the remains of The Pool, to provide an attraction for tourists and further mooring space. It was completed in 1885 after much disagreement between the Borough, the Commissioners and the Railway (now the [[Great Western Railway]]). A new station was also built at this time.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Freeman|first1=Ray|title=Dartmouth and its Neighbours|date=1990|publisher=Phillimore|location=Chichester|isbn=0-85033-697-X|pages=166–168}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Potts|first1=C.R.|title=The Newton Abbot to Kingswear Railway|date=2014|publisher=Oakwood Press|location=Usk|isbn=978-0-85361-733-4|pages=92, 335–339|edition=2}}</ref> The building of the Embankment left a section of river isolated between Spithead and the New Ground, which is known as The Boatfloat, and is linked to the river by a bridge for small vessels under the road.

The coming of steam ships led to Dartmouth being used as a [[bunkering]] port, with coal being brought in by ship or train. Coal lumpers were members of gangs, who competed to bunker the ships by racing to be first to a ship. This led to the men living as close as possible to the river, and their tenements became grossly overcrowded, with the families living in slum conditions, with up to 15 families in one house, one family to a room.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Freeman|first1=Ray|title=Dartmouth and its Neighbours|date=1990|publisher=Phillimore|location=Chichester|isbn=0-85033-697-X|pages=178–180}}</ref>

The [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution]] opened the [[Dart Lifeboat Station]] at the Sand Quay in 1878, but it was closed in 1896. In all this time only one effective rescue was made by the [[Lifeboat (rescue)|lifeboat]].<ref name=Lifeboats>{{cite book |last= Leach |first= Nicholas |title= Devon's Lifeboat Heritage |year= 2009 |publisher= Twelveheads Press |location= Chacewater |isbn= 978-0-906294-72-7 |pages= 19–20 }}</ref>

===20th century===
The area to the north of Ridge Hill was a shallow and muddy bay ("Coombe Mud") with a narrow road running along the shore linking with the Higher Ferry. The mud was a dumping ground for vessels, including a submarine. The reclamation was completed in 1937 by the extension of the Embankment and the reclamation of the mud behind it, which became Coronation Park. [[File:smithstreet.jpg|thumb|right|Smith Street circa 1930]]

In the 1920s, aided by government grants, the council made a start on clearing the slums. This was aided by the decline in the use of coal as a fuel for ships. The slums were demolished, and the inhabitants were rehoused in new houses in the Britannia Avenue area, to the west of the old village or hamlet of Townstal. The process was interrupted by the second world war, but was resumed with the construction of many [[Prefabricated home|prefab]]s, and later more houses. Community facilities were minimal at first, but a central area was reserved for a church, which was used by the [[Baptists]] and opened in 1954,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dartmouth Baptist Church|url=http://www.dartmouthbaptistchurch.co.uk/about-us/|access-date=24 January 2018|archive-date=8 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180408010344/http://www.dartmouthbaptistchurch.co.uk/about-us/|url-status=dead}}</ref> together with a speedway track. The latter was later used for housing, but a new community centre was opened nearby,<ref>{{cite web|title=Townstal Community Hall|url=https://www.bythedart.co.uk/living-in-dartmouth/local-services/townstal-community-hall/|website=By the Dart|access-date=24 January 2018|archive-date=18 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118113248/https://www.bythedart.co.uk/living-in-dartmouth/local-services/townstal-community-hall/|url-status=dead}}</ref> together with a leisure centre, an outdoor swimming pool, and later an indoor pool,<ref>{{cite web|title=Dartmouth and District Indoor Pool|url=http://www.dartmouthpool.co.uk/|access-date=24 January 2018|archive-date=18 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221118113243/http://dartmouthpool.co.uk/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and supermarkets. There are also light industrial units.

In the latter part of the [[World War II|Second World War]] the town was a base for American forces and one of the departure points for [[Utah Beach]] in the [[Normandy landings|D Day landings]]. Slipways and harbour improvements were also constructed. Much of the surrounding countryside and notably Slapton Sands was closed to the public while it was used by US troops for practise landings and manoeuvres. 
Between 1985 and 1990 the Embankment was widened by 6 metres and raised to prevent flooding at spring tides. A tidal lock gate was provided at the Boatfloat bridge, which could be closed at such times.

===21st century===
[[Dart Lifeboat Station]] was reopened in 2007, the first time that a lifeboat had been stationed in the town since 1896. It has initially been kept in a temporary building in Coronation Park.<ref name=Lifeboats/>

In 2010, a fire seriously damaged numerous historical properties in Fairfax Place and Higher Street. Several were Tudor and Grade I or Grade II [[listed building]]s.<ref>{{cite news | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/devon/10189310.stm | publisher= BBC News | title= Dartmouth's Tudor buildings destroyed by chip shop fire | date= 29 May 2010 | access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>

==Governance==
The town was an ancient [[borough]], incorporated by [[Edward III of England|Edward III]], known formally as '''Clifton-Dartmouth-Hardness''', and consisting of the three parishes of ''St Petrox'', ''St Saviour'' and ''[[Townstal]]'', and incorporating the hamlets of Ford, Old Mill and Norton.<ref>[http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Dartmouth/Dartmouth1830.html ''Pigot & Co.'s Devonshire'' (1830)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200443/http://genuki.cs.ncl.ac.uk/DEV/Dartmouth/Dartmouth1830.html |date=4 March 2016 }} GenUKi</ref> It was reformed under the [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]]. The town returned two members of parliament from the 13th century until 1835, after which one [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) was elected until the town was disenfranchised in 1868. It remained a [[municipal borough]] until 1974, when it was merged into the [[South Hams]] district, and became a [[successor parish]] of Dartmouth with a town council.<ref>''The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972'' (S.I. 1972 No. 2039)</ref><ref>''The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973'' (S.I. 1973 No. 1110)</ref>

Dartmouth Town Council is the lowest of three tiers of local government. It consists of 16 councillors representing the two [[ward (politics)|wards]] of Clifton and Townstal.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.visionwebsites.co.uk/Contents/Text/Index.asp?SiteId=304&SiteExtra=7188892&TopNavId=662&NavSideId=5318| title = ''Dartmouth Town Councillors'', Dartmouth Town Council. Retrieved 21 March 2008}}</ref> At the second tier, Dartmouth forms part of the Dartmouth and Kingswear ward of [[South Hams]] District Council, which returns three councillors.<ref>{{cite web|title=Election of District Councillors for Dartmouth and Kingswer |url=http://www.southhams.gov.uk/20110408_dis_notice_of_poll_-_dartmouth_and_kingswear.pdf |publisher=South Hams District Council |access-date=15 April 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928051444/http://www.southhams.gov.uk/20110408_dis_notice_of_poll_-_dartmouth_and_kingswear.pdf |archive-date=28 September 2011 }}</ref> At the upper tier of local government Dartmouth and Kingswear Electoral Division elects one member to Devon County Council.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www4.devon.gov.uk/dris/elections2005/choose.php?pa=show&division=36 |title=''Division 36: Dartmouth and Kingswear'', Devon County Council. Retrieved 21 March 2008 |access-date=21 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050508122232/http://www4.devon.gov.uk/dris/elections2005/choose.php?pa=show&division=36 |archive-date=8 May 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Culture and tourism==
[[File:Dartmouth map.png|thumb|right|Map of Dartmouth]]
The [[Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta]] takes place annually over three days at the end of August. The event sees the traditional regatta boat races along with markets, fun fairs, community games, musical performances, air displays including the [[Red Arrows]] and fireworks. A [[Royal Navy]] guard ship is often present at the event.
Other cultural events include beer festivals in February and July (the latter in Kingswear), a music festival and an art and craft weekend in June, a food festival in October and a Christmas candlelit event.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.discoverdartmouth.com/whats-on|website=Discover Dartmouth|title=What's on in Dartmouth|publisher=Visit South Devon Community Interest Company|access-date=16 January 2018}}</ref>

The Flavel Centre incorporates the public library and performance spaces, featuring films, live music and comedy and exhibitions.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Flavel Arts Centre & Cinema |  website=Discover Dartmouth|url=https://www.discoverdartmouth.com/things-to-do/the-flavel-arts-centre-and-cinema-p1518263|publisher=Visit South Devon Community Interest Company|access-date=16 January 2018}}</ref>

Bayard's Cove has been used in several television productions, including ''[[The Onedin Line]]''<ref name="onedin">{{cite web|url=http://dartmouthmuseum.org/things-to-do/#bayardscove|title=Things to Do – Indoor – Outdoor – Dartmouth Museum|publisher=[[Dartmouth Museum]]|access-date=19 August 2011|quote=Bayards Cove was used in the BBC period drama The Onedin Line to represent the wharves and buildings of Liverpool Docks.|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710073830/http://dartmouthmuseum.org/things-to-do/#bayardscove|archive-date=10 July 2012}}</ref> a popular [[BBC television]] drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. Many of the scenes from the BBC's popular series ''[[Down to Earth (2000 TV series)|Down to Earth]]'', starring [[Ricky Tomlinson]], were filmed at various locations around the town.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.dartmouth.tv/ig-dartmouth/dmi-0005.htm| title=Ricky Tomlinson on Bayard's Cove| website=Dartmouth dot TV| access-date=9 April 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118041447/http://www.dartmouth.tv/ig-dartmouth/dmi-0005.htm| archive-date=18 January 2017| url-status=dead}}</ref>

Notable [[tourist attraction]]s include the [[Dartmouth Royal Naval College]], [[Bayard's Cove Fort]], [[Dartmouth Castle]] and the [[Dartmouth Steam Railway]] which terminates at [[Kingswear]] on the opposite bank of the river.

Boat cruises to nearby places along the coast (such as [[Torbay]] and Start Bay) and up the river (to [[Totnes]], [[Dittisham]] and the [[Greenway Estate]]) are provided by several companies. The paddlesteamer [[PS Kingswear Castle]] returned to the town in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/Paddlesteamer-Kingswear-Castle-returns-home-Dart/story-17531723-detail/story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505075808/http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/Paddlesteamer-Kingswear-Castle-returns-home-Dart/story-17531723-detail/story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=5 May 2013|title=Paddlesteamer Kingswear Castle returns home to the Dart after 50 years|date=8 December 2012|work=[[Western Morning News]]|access-date=18 December 2012}}</ref> The [[South West Coast Path]] National Trail passes through the town, and also through extensive [[National Trust]] coastal properties at Little Dartmouth and Brownstone (Kingswear). The Dart Valley Trail starts in Dartmouth, with routes either side of the River Dart as far as [[Dittisham]], and continuing to [[Totnes]] via [[Cornworthy]], [[Tuckenhay]] and [[Ashprington]]. The area has long been well regarded for yachting, and there are extensive marinas at Sandquay, Kingswear and Noss (approximately one mile north of Kingswear).

==Climate==
The nearest Met Office weather station is [[Slapton, Devon|Slapton]], about 5 miles south-south west of Dartmouth and a similar distance from the coast. As with the rest of the [[British Isles]] and [[South West England]], the area experiences a [[maritime climate]] with warm summers and mild winters—this is particularly pronounced due to its position near the coast—extremes range from a record low of just {{convert|-8.0|C|F}} in January 1987<ref>{{cite web | publisher = [[KNMI (institute)|KNMI]] | url= http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=7&year=1987&indexid=TNn&stationid=1815 | title = 1987 temperature}}</ref> up to a record high of {{convert|30.5|C|F}} during June 1976.<ref>{{cite web | publisher = [[KNMI (institute)|KNMI]] | url = http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=12&year=1976&indexid=TXx&stationid=1815 | title = 1976 temperature | access-date = 13 November 2011 | archive-date = 2 December 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201202071114/http://eca.knmi.nl/utils/monitordetail.php?seasonid=12&year=1976&indexid=TXx&stationid=1815 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

{{Weather box|location = Slapton, elevation: {{convert|32|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1960–present
| collapsed    = y
| metric first = y
| single line  = y
| Jan record high C = 14.6
| Feb record high C = 16.2
| Mar record high C = 19.5
| Apr record high C = 20.5
| May record high C = 24.0
| Jun record high C = 30.5
| Jul record high C = 28.0
| Aug record high C = 28.5
| Sep record high C = 25.0
| Oct record high C = 21.9
| Nov record high C = 17.7
| Dec record high C = 15.7
| Jan high C = 9.2
| Feb high C = 9.1
| Mar high C = 10.8
| Apr high C = 12.8
| May high C = 15.7
| Jun high C = 18.6
| Jul high C = 20.7
| Aug high C = 20.7
| Sep high C = 18.5
| Oct high C = 15.2
| Nov high C = 12.0
| Dec high C = 9.8
| year high C = 14.5
| Jan mean C = 6.5
| Feb mean C = 6.3
| Mar mean C = 7.8
| Apr mean C = 9.2
| May mean C = 12.1
| Jun mean C = 14.6
| Jul mean C = 16.8
| Aug mean C = 16.9
| Sep mean C = 15.0
| Oct mean C = 12.3
| Nov mean C = 9.2
| Dec mean C = 7.1
| year mean C = 11.1
| Jan low C = 3.8
| Feb low C = 3.5
| Mar low C = 4.8
| Apr low C = 5.6
| May low C = 8.4
| Jun low C = 10.6
| Jul low C = 12.8
| Aug low C = 13.0
| Sep low C = 11.4
| Oct low C = 9.3
| Nov low C = 6.4
| Dec low C = 4.4
| year low C = 7.9
| Jan record low C = -8.0
| Feb record low C = -6.8
| Mar record low C = -6.5
| Apr record low C = -2.5
| May record low C = -0.1
| Jun record low C = 2.5
| Jul record low C = 6.2
| Aug record low C = 6.0
| Sep record low C = 3.9
| Oct record low C = 0.2
| Nov record low C = -2.7
| Dec record low C = -6.0
| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 123.5
| Feb precipitation mm = 94.0
| Mar precipitation mm = 90.0
| Apr precipitation mm = 70.4
| May precipitation mm = 67.0
| Jun precipitation mm = 60.9
| Jul precipitation mm = 63.8
| Aug precipitation mm = 66.1
| Sep precipitation mm = 71.9
| Oct precipitation mm = 114.3
| Nov precipitation mm = 118.6
| Dec precipitation mm = 133.5
| year precipitation mm = 1074.0
| unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 14.7
| Feb precipitation days = 11.5
| Mar precipitation days = 12.7
| Apr precipitation days = 10.5
| May precipitation days = 9.9
| Jun precipitation days = 8.2
| Jul precipitation days = 8.6
| Aug precipitation days = 9.2
| Sep precipitation days = 9.7
| Oct precipitation days = 13.7
| Nov precipitation days = 14.5
| Dec precipitation days = 14.6
| year precipitation days = 137.7
| Jan sun = 57.5
| Feb sun = 76.4
| Mar sun = 118.5
| Apr sun = 180.7
| May sun = 210.7
| Jun sun = 213.9
| Jul sun = 215.6
| Aug sun = 198.0
| Sep sun = 154.9
| Oct sun = 102.3
| Nov sun = 74.8
| Dec sun = 48.3
| year sun = 1651.6
| source 1 = [[Met Office]]<ref name="Met Averages">{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gbvqhgmt7 |title= Slapton 1981–2010 averages |access-date=24 September 2019|publisher=Met Office}}</ref>
| source 2 = [[Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute|KNMI]]<ref>{{cite web| url =https://eca.knmi.nl//download/millennium/millennium.php| title =Indices data – Slapton station 1815| access-date =24 September 2019| publisher =[[KNMI (institute)|KNMI]]| archive-date =9 July 2018| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20180709010608/https://eca.knmi.nl//download/millennium/millennium.php| url-status =dead}}</ref>

}}

==Transport==
Dartmouth is linked to [[Kingswear]], on the other side of the River Dart, by three ferries. The [[Dartmouth Higher Ferry|Higher Ferry]] and the [[Dartmouth Lower Ferry|Lower Ferry]] are both vehicular ferries. The [[Dartmouth Passenger Ferry|Passenger Ferry]], as its name suggests, carries only passengers, principally to connect with the [[Dartmouth Steam Railway]] at [[Kingswear railway station]]. The nearest bridge across the Dart is in [[Totnes]], some {{convert|11|mi}} away by road.<ref name=dhrgf>{{cite web | url = http://www.dartharbour.org/harbour-river-guide/ferries/ | title = Dart Harbour : Ferries | publisher = The Dart Harbour and Navigation Authority | access-date = 18 September 2008 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081019034117/http://www.dartharbour.org/harbour-river-guide/ferries/ | archive-date = 19 October 2008 }}</ref>
[[File:Dartmouth station building.jpg|thumb|left|Dartmouth station building, now a restaurant.]]
The [[A379 road]] runs through Dartmouth, linking the town to [[Slapton, Devon|Slapton]] and [[Kingsbridge]] to the southwest and to [[Torbay]] to the east across the Higher Ferry. The [[A3122 road|A3122]] connects Dartmouth to a junction with the [[A381 road|A381]], and hence to both Totnes and a more direct route to Kingsbridge.
[[Stagecoach South West]] provides local town bus services and links to [[Plymouth]], [[Totnes]] and [[Exeter]], and Kingsbridge. In addition it provides links to the [[Torbay]] resorts of [[Brixham]], [[Paignton]] and Torquay from [[Kingswear]] via the ferry.

No railway has ever run to Dartmouth, but the town does have a [[railway station]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.southdevonaonb.org.uk/text.asp?PageId=200 |title=Heritage, Landscape & Wildlife: Dartmouth Town Trail |publisher=South Devon AONB |access-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226023813/http://www.southdevonaonb.org.uk/text.asp?PageId=200 |archive-date=26 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> opened on 31 March 1890 to replace the original facility on the pontoon,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Potts|first1=C.R.|title=The Newton Abbot to Kingswear Railway|date=2014|publisher=Oakwood Press|location=Usk|isbn=978-0-85361-733-4|pages=339|edition=2nd}}</ref> although it is now a restaurant. In fact Dartmouth Railway Station was built while the line from Paignton to the River Dart was still being built, anticipating a bridge across the river being built near the present Greenway Halt.   The railway line to Kingswear was opened in 1864. As a result of shortage of capital, a deviation from the original scheme to run the line from Churston to Greenway with a steamer service to Dartmouth was proposed, but defeated in Parliament. It had been suggested that this could, at a later date, be used as a jumping off point for a bridge to the west bank of the Dart and a line direct to Dartmouth.<ref>Potts (2014), pp. 36–40</ref> In 1900, a Light Railway scheme was proposed for a crossing of the Dart near Maypool to join another line from Totnes and then proceed to Kingsbridge and [[Yealmpton]], with a branch to [[Salcombe]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Williams and Reynolds|first1=Ken and Dermot|title=The Kingsbridge Branch|date=1977|publisher=Oxford Publishing Co.|location=Oxford|isbn=086093-001-7|pages=27, 28}}</ref> This was also defeated by lack of funds. The railway terminated at a station called "Kingswear for Dartmouth" (now on the [[Dartmouth Steam Railway]]) and a ferry took passengers across the river to the station at [[Dartmouth railway station]], which had a dedicated pontoon. [[British Rail]]ways formally closed the line to mainline passenger trains in 1973, but it immediately re-opened as a heritage line and has run as one ever since.

[[File:dartmouth.boats.750pix.jpg|thumb|right|Kingswear seen from Dartmouth]]

==Media==
Local TV coverage is provided by [[BBC West]] and [[ITV West Country]]. Television signals are received from the [[Beacon Hill transmitting station|Beacon Hill]] TV transmitter and the local relay transmitter situated south east of the town.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ukfree.tv/transmitters/tv/Dartmouth|title=Freeview Light on the Dartmouth (Devon, England) transmitter|date=1 May 2004|website=UK Free TV|accessdate=16 March 2024}}</ref>

Local radio stations include [[BBC Radio Devon]] on 104.3 FM, [[Heart West]] on 96.4 FM, [[The Breeze (South Devon)|Greatest Hits Radio South Devon]] on 105.5 FM, and [[Radio Exe]] on 107.3 FM.

''[[Dartmouth Chronicle and Advertiser|The Dartmouth Chronicle]]'' is the town's local weekly newspaper.

==Education==

===Britannia Royal Naval College===
The town is home to the [[Royal Navy]]'s officer training college ([[Britannia Royal Naval College]]), where all officers of the Royal Navy and many foreign naval officers are trained.

===Schools===
Dartmouth has one [[primary school]]—St John the Baptist R.C. Primary School, and one [[all-through school]]—[[Dartmouth Academy]]—for those aged 3–16. Dartmouth also has a pre-school in the centre of town, established for over 40 years and based in the old Victorian school rooms at South Ford Road. It provides care for 2- to 5-year-olds and is run as a charitable organisation.

==Sport and leisure==
Dartmouth has a [[Non-League football]] club [[Dartmouth A.F.C.]] who play at Long Cross.

Dartmouth also hosts the annual "World Indoor Rally Championship", based on [[slot car racing]] in the late summer.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.slotforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=56804 |title=World Indoor Rally Championship 2011| website=SlotForum International|date=15 August 2012 | access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSaiaCDqIvs | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/rSaiaCDqIvs| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live| title=WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SCALEXTRIC RACE 2010 DARTMOUTH UK| via=YouTube |access-date=9 April 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

At the end of August and early September there is the annual [[Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta]].

Since 1905 Dartmouth has had a greenhouse as part of the Royal Avenue Gardens.<ref name="DinBGreenhouse">{{cite web|url=http://dartmouthinbloom.org/greenhouse/history/|title=History of Dartmouth Community Greenhouse|publisher=Dartmouth in Bloom|access-date=17 May 2013|quote=The Dartmouth Greenhouse was built in 1905. This Greenhouse is part of the history of Royal Avenue Gardens and part of the heritage of the town of Dartmouth.}}</ref><ref name="NLTGreenhouse">{{cite news|url=http://www.northlondon-today.co.uk/Sport.cfm?id=8854&headline=Keeper’s%20heroics%20enable%20Town%20to%20overcome%20promotion%20rivals|title=Bloom team bid to restore greenhouse|date=15 March 2013|work=North London Today|publisher=Tindle Newspapers|access-date=17 May 2013|quote=The greenhouse, built in 1905, was an original feature of the New Ground, which became Royal Avenue Gardens, and remains the oldest surviving feature of the gardens, six years older than the bandstand.}}</ref> In May 2013 this building, used for the previous 10 years by Dartmouth in Bloom,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dartmouthinbloom.org|title=Dartmouth in Bloom, horticultural achievement, environmental responsibility, community participation Dartmouth in Bloom|publisher=Dartmouth in Bloom|access-date=6 October 2013}}</ref> a not-for-profit organisation affiliated with [[Britain in Bloom]], was closed as structurally unsound.<ref name="DCGreenhouse">{{cite news|title=Bloom contest fear over gardening cut|date=3 May 2013|work=Dartmouth Chronicle|publisher=Tindle Newspapers|access-date=17 May 2013|quote=... the local bloom team has had to cope with the closure of its community Greenhouse which has been deemed too structurally dangerous to use.|url=http://www.kingsbridge-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=608&headline=Bloom%20contest%20fear%20over%20gardening%20cut&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2013|archive-date=17 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817090045/http://www.kingsbridge-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=608&headline=Bloom%20contest%20fear%20over%20gardening%20cut&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> There are proposals to restore the greenhouse to its prior Edwardian style.<ref name="DCRestoregreenhouse">{{cite news|title=Bloom team bid to restore greenhouse|date=15 March 2013|work=Dartmouth Chronicle|publisher=Tindle Newspapers|access-date=17 May 2013|quote=Dartmouth in Bloom has big plans to rescue one of the town’s greatest assets, the community greenhouse, and restore it to its former Edwardian glory. The move comes at a time when the future of the community greenhouse is at risk, with controversial proposals from South Hams Council, which owns the building, to flatten it to extend the Mayor Avenue car park.|url=http://www.kingsbridge-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=345&headline=Bloom%20team%20bid%20to%20restore%20greenhouse&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2013|archive-date=17 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817072435/http://www.kingsbridge-today.co.uk/article.cfm?id=345&headline=Bloom%20team%20bid%20to%20restore%20greenhouse&sectionIs=news&searchyear=2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Notable residents==
* [[George Parker Bidder]] (1806–1878), the [[civil engineer]] and [[calculating prodigy]], notable for his work on railways over much of the world, as well as the docks of the [[East End]] in the [[Port of London]]. Bidder died at his home at Paradise Point near [[Warfleet Creek]] and is buried at nearby Stoke Fleming.
* [[Simon Drew]] (born 1952), a commercially successful cartoonist and illustrator, lives in Dartmouth and runs a shop on Fosse Street.
* [[John Flavel]] (ca.1627–1691), an English Puritan Presbyterian minister and author.
* [[Gordon Onslow Ford]] (1912–2003), a leading British [[surrealist]] painter, attended the Royal Naval College.
* [[Sir John Harvey Jones]] (1924–2008), businessman and television presenter, attended the Royal Naval College.
* [[Rachel Kempson]] (1910–2003), stage and film actress, was born in Dartmouth. She was the wife of Sir [[Michael Redgrave]] and mother of [[Vanessa Redgrave|Vanessa]], [[Lynn Redgrave|Lynn]] and [[Corin Redgrave|Corin]], and published her autobiography, ''Life Among the Redgraves'', in 1988.
* [[Christopher Robin Milne]] (1920–1996), son of [[A. A. Milne]], after whom the character [[Christopher Robin]] in the [[Winnie-the-Pooh]] books was named, used to own the Harbour Bookshop. The bookshop closed in September 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-14563889 |title=Christopher Robin's Dartmouth bookshop to close |publisher=BBC News|date=19 August 2011 |access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref>
* [[Thomas Newcomen]] (1664–1729), the inventor of the [[atmospheric engine]] – the first successful steam-powered pumping engine—was born in Dartmouth in 1663. An 18th-century working [[Newcomen steam engine]] is on display in the town.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Newcomen, Thomas |volume= 19 |page=475 |short=1}}</ref>
* Sir [[Nicholas Harris Nicolas]] (1799–1848), an English antiquary.<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Nicolas, Sir Nicholas Harris |volume= 19 |page=662 |short=1}}</ref>
* [[Mary Nightingale]] (born 1963), ITV newscaster, lived in Dartmouth for much of her childhood.
* [[Jack Russell (priest)|John "Jack" Russell]] (1795–1883), an English parson, an enthusiastic fox-hunter and dog breeder.<ref>{{Cite DNB|wstitle= Russell, John (1795-1883) |volume=49|pages=464-465|short=1}}</ref>
* [[Flora Thompson]] (1876–1947), lived in Above Town between 1928 and 1940, writing ''[[Lark Rise]]'' and ''[[Over to Candleford]]'' during this time. The books were later published as ''[[Lark Rise to Candleford]]''. She is buried at Longcross Cemetery.
* [[Theodore Veale]] (1892–1980), recipient of the [[Victoria Cross]] during the [[First World War]].
* [[John L. Wimbush]] (1854–1914), landscape and portrait painter.
* [[Stephen Beresford]], BAFTA winning screenwriter and playwright grew up in the town and has written several plays set in Dartmouth, including [[The Last of the Haussmans]] first performed at the [[Royal National Theatre]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Dartmouth, Devon}}
{{Wikivoyage|Dartmouth (Devon)|Dartmouth}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212507/http://www.britannia.com/history/devon/castles/dartmouthcast.html Charles Oman, "Dartmouth and Kingswear Castles: Twin Dart estuary defenders]
* {{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Dartmouth |short=x}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle= Dartmouth (England) |volume= 7 |page=838 |short=1}}

{{Devon}}

{{South Hams parishes}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Dartmouth, Devon| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Devon]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns in South West England]]
[[Category:Seaside resorts in England]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in South Hams]]