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......Next presentation Tuesday May 24th at 7-30PM in the Manor House, Dawlish. Saving the Sea Wall by Network Rail Sea Wall Team......

In person talks resumed at the Manor House in line with the UK GOV "Living With Covid-19". Details are available on www.gov.uk/coronavirus

For further information please e-mail enquiries@dawlishhistory.org.uk

Notes and Queries - do you know more? Updated 2 February 2022
A day at the races in Dawlish? - David Allanach presents the history in an article "Dawlish Races".

Notes and Queries

Item of interest: May 2022.
The popular pleasure boat My Queen which offered trips around the bay from the Dawlish breakwater in the summer has sunk at her mooring at Starcross. She had a long history being built in 1929 at Wivenhoe in Essex. She was originally named Gondolier Queen. In 1940 the Navy requisitioned her and she was used in the Dunkirk evacuation. She operated in Southend and on the Thames before being brought to Dartmouth and latterly used at Starcross and Dawlish. The pictures show her in her glory at Dawlish and her current sorry condition.
For summer 2022 it is expected that the Princess Marina will offer boat trips from Dawlish although this might also depend on Network Rail sea front works finishing on time.


Item of interest: February 2022 - In the 1890s 12 young horse chestnut trees were planted on the north side of the Lawn. After one was recently cut down only two of the original trees remain. The photo taken about 1865 shows that there were no trees on the Lawn but by 1875 shrubs abound. In 1904 three of the new horse chestnut trees can be seen in the foreground with the new bandstand and St Marks church in the background.



Item of interest: December 2021 - the old Coast Guard hut lives on as an impression in concrete and thanks to David Allanach a recently unearthed granite top of the 1846 colonnade will be saved and re-used somewhere on the new wall.



Welcome to the Dawlish Local History Group website. We are a well-established group of Dawlish residents who share an interest in all aspects of local history. This site is one of the best places for information on the history of Dawlish – please explore it.

We offer opportunities to discover and reflect on what life was like for residents and visitors to the local area in times past. This can be interesting and intriguing, and knowledge of the history of a place can provide a better understanding of the way it is now.

 

Membership - how to join.
New members are always welcome. You can come along to one of our meetings to get to know us and what we can offer. There is a charge of £3 per meeting for non members but the annual membership is only £10.

You can join at a meeting or alternatively fill in a membership form and send it to the Treasurer.

You can download the "membershipform.pdf" form by clicking here.

The form and a cheque should be sent to the Treasurer whose address is on the form. If you prefer to pay by Bank Transfer please contact the Treasurer for details.

Talks and Presentations
In normal times we meet on the first Tuesday of the month. Talks take place at the Manor House at 2.30pm, and are chosen to be both informative and entertaining. Due to Covid19 talks at present are via ZOOM. We plan to have a "limted numbers" walking tour in Teignmouth in July and a meeting in person in September 2021. After this we may alternate between zoom and live meetings.
The subjects of the talks are wide ranging from the very local to Devon-wide and beyond. Recent examples include ‘Old Shops of Exeter’, ‘Christmas in Devon’, ‘Dawlish Pier - why there isn’t one’, and ‘The Jurassic Coast’. We also plan to hold occasional evening meetings.

Outings
In May, July and September friendly outings are arranged to places of historical interest. Among the places we have been in the last few years are Torre Abbey, Topsham, Exeter Cathedral Library, Haccombe Church, and the Kelly Mine.

 

Events
In addition to regular meetings and occasional visits the Dawlish Local History Group displays local historic images and information at events such as the Dawlish Carnival, History Open Days and other one off events for the local community. Members will also lead a guided heritage walk during the Dawlish Walking Festival. Two self guided walks around Dawlish, which include the historical detail for many of the buildings in the town, can be found under MAPS.

 

Facebook
This is the link Dawlish History Facebook Group.

Research and Publications
The group undertakes research on the history of Dawlish and district, both as a result of enquiries received, and on subjects which interest individual members. To help with this research we maintain an archive of historical information collected by members over the past 20+ years, and we have close contacts with Dawlish Museum.

As a result of this research the Group has published over 30 booklets on a wide range of Dawlish subjects, and more are planned. They cover houses, notable residents, industry, shops, education, tourism, Dawlish Warren, the railway, and even Dawlish’s famous black swans.

Can you help us answer a question? Please have a look and let us know if you have any information. Unanswered Queries ?

Details of the graves at the Church of St Gregory the Great in Dawlish have been made available and include the name, date, inscription and plot number, as well as a map of the graveyard.Click here to view.

Click on the link to view a list of available publications. or this link to view subject titles in the Archive