Heritage Harbour Blog

North Devon Journal

The River Torridge Heritage Group has been contributing this column in the North Devon Journal since December 2023. The column was previously written by the late Peter Christie, who did so much to research and promote the history and heritage of Bideford and North Devon.

The column follows a similar style with historical themed stories mixed with local politics and community interest.

The River Torridge Heritage Group is a partnership of local heritage organisations led by Way of the Wharves

Columns are copied here after publication

  • History Day NDJ 16/04/2026

    Bideford welcomed in the spring with a special History Day, held at the Amateur Athletic Centre on The Pill, organised in conjunction with the South West Maritime History Society.  Ninety people packed into the hall, some from as far away as Birmingham, Bristol, and Gloucester, to hear a programme of talks focusing on the Tudor…

  • Bone Hill NDJ 09/04/2026

    Researchers at Bideford Archive have been investigating the story of Northam’s Bone Hill monument as reported in the local press in 1897. The initiative came from William Blakeney, who had retired to Westward Ho! after a career as a Navy hydrographer drawing up maps of the coast, mainly in the Far East. He belonged to…

  • Heritage and Communities NDJ 02/04/2026

    Bideford and River Torridge Heritage Harbour get more things done by partnering with others. At national level that’s by being part of the Maritime Heritage Trust. Locally, other heritage organisations are obvious collaborators, and the River Torridge Heritage Group brings together twelve local organisations from along the estuary with a common interest in heritage.  For…

  • Local Government Reorganisation and Heritage NDJ 26/03/2026

    Today at midnight the Government’s consultation on Local Government Reorganisation will close. The Government is seeking views on proposals that will see the end of district councils like Torridge and North Devon, as well as Devon County Council. Instead of two tiers of local government, with a different council responsible for collecting the rubbish from the one that…

  • Fountains NDJ 18/03/2026

    ‘I switched them on’, said the little boy in the blue anorak proudly to his class mates from the Muddy Paws preschool group. Standing against the harbour wall, just tall enough to see over, they were all watching the newly recommissioned fountains on Bideford Quay sending jets of water high into the blue sky on…

  • The Red House NDJ 12/03/2026

    In August 1925 the Bideford and North Devon Gazette reported that the Red House, ‘noted for Its catering’ had removed from Bridgeland Street to the Quay. What, and where, was the Red House? Researchers at Bideford and District Community Archive have found some answers. Today, numbers 25 and 26 Bridgeland Street, Grade II listed buildings,…

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