1000 Guided walk Westward Ho! Starting at Holy Trinity Church front gate EX39 1LB learn about the early development of Westward Ho! and the history of some of the remaining buildings. Walk will end opposite car park in centre of Westward Ho! Max distance 2 miles, time 1.5 hours. Some steps and hills not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. Well behaved dogs only. Wear sensible shoes and coat if bad weather. Booking essential 12 persons max. – book here. Bookings open. Organised by Bideford and District Community Archive. 

1430 Guided Walk East the Water – the industrial history of Bideford. Start at Tarka the Otter Statue on The Quay EX39 2HW. Max distance 2 miles, time 1.5 hours. Some steps and hills not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. Well behaved dogs only. Wear sensible shoes and coat if bad weather. Booking essential 12 persons max. – book here. Bookings open. Organised by Way of the Wharves.

1100 – 1500 Open Day on Bideford Station EX39 4BB – free guided talk in the Signal Box and history of the railway. Cab rides on Planet are charged £4. The railway came to Bideford in 1855 originally terminating on the quay. The current station was built in 1872 when the line was extended to Torrington. A victim of the 1960s ‘Beeching Cuts’ the last train ran in 1982. After the track was lifted in 1985 the line was turned into a linear park and renamed the Tarka Trail in 1994. No booking required. Organised by Bideford Railway Heritage Centre

1130 Elisabeth Deneys Memorial Bideford Station EX39 4BB – memorial plaque to be unveiled by Mayor of Bideford Councillor Peter Lawrence. Bideford has a long history as a place of sanctuary: French Huguenots escaping religious persecution in the 1600s, Belgian refugees in WW I, evacuees in WW II and today those escaping conflict in Eastern Europe and around the world. This new plaque; in memory of 11-year-old Belgian Refugee Elisabeth Deneys, killed by a train while playing on the station in 1917; remembers those who have and continue to find safety here and the compassion of local people who support them. Organised by Bideford & River Torridge Heritage Harbour together with Bideford Town Council.

1000-1300 Trio and Bond Hair Studio EX39 2HW – once the Three Tuns pub. The overmantel on the chimney breast has at its centre a man in late Stuart costume, and the Grenville coat of arms with its three clarions. This was earlier believed to have been Sir Richard Grenville’s grandson, Bevil Grenville, who owned property on Bideford Quay and died fighting for the royalists in the Civil War. However, it is now believed that it was originally made to sit above a fireplace in the Grenville’s house at Stowe, near Kilkhampton, built by Bevil’s son, John, in the late 1670s. Stowe was demolished after little more than sixty years and its contents used in other buildings, so it may have come to Bideford then. Trio and Bond Hair Studio First Floor, 8A The Quay EX39 2HW. This is a busy hair salon and will have clients, please be considerate of the working environment. Stairs to first floor, no lift. No booking required. Thank you Trio and Bond.

1100 – 1800 Rosie and Red Art and Leather Nutaberry Yard, East the Water EX39 4EA – on the site of a jail for Napoleonic prisoners and from 1853 The Gas Works, East the Water. Rosie and Red specialise in heritage illustration, parchment, and (by hand) leather work. Essential to heritage shipping, shipbuilding and illustration for plans, maps, woodcut printing. Rawhide for protecting oars, sewing, binding and caulking the deck, wrapping block n tackle, braided hoops to hoist sails, leather buckets, drinking vessels, wads for bilge, and dive pumps. The Captain’s log, bound in leather, paged with parchment, Quilled with Oak Gall ink, illustrated with drawings of discovery, leafed with gold. Here be dragons!  Visit the studio and learn about the rich heritage of Art and Leather. No 2, Nutaberry Yard East the Water Bideford EX39 4EA Ground floor micro tannery and leather studio. Steps up to Gallery and Art Studio. No booking required. Organised by Rosie and Red.

1000 – 1800 Royal Hotel Barnstaple Street EX39 4AE – visit this Grade 1 listed building with its long complex history. It has been a high-class residence, tobacco warehouse, prison, workhouse and hotel. The earliest building on the site was Colonial House, built in 1688 for tobacco merchant John Davie. The hotel, opened in 1889, was built by the Heard family with its own railway platform, large refreshment room and stabling for 55 horses. Visit the Kingsley Room on first floor to see the ornate plaster ceiling created by John Abbott. In the bar, known in WWII as the green room, during the build-up to D-Day it was said ‘more secrets have been discussed in this room than any other hotel in England’. No pre-booking required. Stairs and lift to first floor. Thank you to Royal Hotel for hosting.

1100 Tarka Valley Railway Torrington Station/Puffing Billy EX38 8JD – guided walk around Torrington Station road and rail memorabilia. Duration 1 hour mostly level but some steep slopes. No booking required but 15 people max. Organised by Tarka Valley Railway. http://www.tarkavalleyrailway.org

1100-1600 Steamship Freshspring Open Day Landivisiau Walk EX39 2BX – visit this historic steamship, built in 1946 by the Lytham Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, the last of the ‘Fresh Class’ water carriers that served the navy, delivering water used to replenish steam turbines. Welcome aboard and discover what life was like in a steam ship of the 1940s – Crew’s Quarters, Master’s Cabin, Engine Room, Galley, Wheelhouse and a Teddy Bear Hunt. Exhibition on foredeck. Restricted accessibility to some areas, trip hazards, and low head room. Freshspring has been moored in Bideford since 2016 and is being restored by Steamship Freshspring Charity

1130-1230 The Burton at Bideford EX39 2QQ – Talk ‘Ceramics and Trade’ A talk about the mini-exhibition of ceramics selected from its archive, displaying works not typically accessible to the public. Focus will be placed upon the relationship between the town’s history of ceramics and international maritime trade, both of which saw Bideford’s influence stretch across the globe. Pre-booking required. To book call the gallery on 01237 471455 or book via Eventbrite HERE. If Eventbrite is showing the event as sold out please call the gallery as there may still be spaces. Organised by The Burton at Bideford.

1100-1500 Lifeboat Jane Hannah MacDonald III EX39 3HN – Open day showcasing the renovation work on the lifeboat Jane Hannah Macdonald III. Talk to the boatwright and learn about the maritime boat building skills needed to renovate and maintain old wooden vessels. Come and learn about the history of the last non-motorised lifeboat to serve in Appledore 1911-1920. She has had many adventures!  There will be coffee and tea available. Unit 4, Clovelly Industrial Estate, EX39 3HN (Turn off Clovelly Road by BJs, and follow signs, second on the right.) What 3 words: gravy.effort.honey. Uneven ground in workshop, may not be suitable for wheelchairs. Pre-booking would help with numbers – BOOK HERE. Organised by Appledore Maritime Heritage Trust

1000-1300 Bideford Bridge Trust Offices EX39 2PS – It is 100 years since Bideford Long Bridge was last widened in 1925. On the office walls are large architectural drawings of the bridge and maps of bridge land holdings from end of 19^th century. Bideford Bridge Trust maintained Bideford Long Bridge until 1968, when responsibility transferred to the Ministry of Transport. As a charity Bideford Bridge Trust provides thousands of pounds in annual grants, from its income as a significant property owner in the town, to Bideford based organisations and individuals. Bideford Bridge Trust Offices 4 Bridgeland Street, EX39 2PS. Stairs to first floor offices – no lift. No booking required. Organised by Bideford Bridge Trust.

1000-1300 Bideford Amateur Rowing Club (The Reds) EX39 2EY  – The Club has been in existence in Bideford for 143 years and the current Club/Boat house has been open for approaching 100 years.  Apart from it’s prominent position on The Quay and alongside Rope Walk the inside of the building reflects how it has changed over they years to meet the demands of an active rowing club that still competes at local and national levels.  Inside the building are trophies and cups celebrating rowing achievements from the early 1900’s to the present day along with a number of historical photographs of the club and it’s members that illustrates both the Quay and the club buildings from pre war years to now. Bideford Amateur Rowing Club, The Quay, Bideford EX39 2EY Boathouse is on ground floor and stairs to first floor rooms  – no lift. No booking required. Organised by Bideford ARC 

1100-1500 Pannier Pantry Bridgeland Street EX39 2PS – event run by MOLA Coasts in Mind researching memories of Bideford. The Old Customs House, Bideford has a history tracing back to 1695 when Nicholas Gascoyne constructed a fine house on the site. For around 60 years from 1832 it was the HQ of the local Customs Officers. More recently it has been a dry cleaner, Public House (Tequila Jack’s, Quigley’s, Custom House) and today is home to The Pannier Pantry café. As part of their National Lottery Funded Coasts in Mind project the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) will be holding a drop in event and asking for your memories of the changes to the wharves and quays around Bideford and East the Water. Please bring any pictures and stories and meet the team. No booking required, level access, stairs to first floor. Thank you to Pannier Pantry for hosting the event.

1400-1500 The Pocket 75 High Street, Bideford EX39 2AA – talk about the Heritage Harbour Transformed by War exhibition. Organised by Bideford & River Torridge Heritage Harbour. No booking required. Thank you to The Pocket for hosting.

1100 – 1800 Rosie and Red Leather Nutaberry Yard, East the Water EX39 4EA – on the site of a jail for Napoleonic prisoners and from 1853 The Gas Works, East the Water. Rosie and Red specialise in heritage illustration, parchment, and (by hand) leather work. Essential to heritage shipping, shipbuilding and illustration for plans, maps, woodcut printing. Rawhide for protecting oars, sewing, binding and caulking the deck, wrapping block n tackle, braided hoops to hoist sails, leather buckets, drinking vessels, wads for bilge, and dive pumps. The Captain’s log, bound in leather, paged with parchment, Quilled with Oak Gall ink, illustrated with drawings of discovery, leafed with gold. Here be dragons!  Visit the studio and learn about the rich heritage of Art and Leather. No 2, Nutaberry Yard East the Water Bideford EX39 4EA Ground floor micro tannery and leather studio. Steps up to Gallery and Art Studio. No booking required. Organised by Rosie and Red.

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Elisabeth Deneys Press Release

Newsletter Heritage Open Days September 2025

NDJ 11/09/25