And what about the river Taw?

The River Taw rises high on the slopes of Dartmoor and runs through the north Devon countryside and Barnstaple before entering the Taw / Torridge estuary that flows into Bideford Bay and the Bristol Channel.

The maritime history of the River Taw is closely linked with that of the Torridge. In the Middle Ages the port was important, especially with a prosperous trade in wool and cloth. In the 16^th century Richard Grenville, Lord of the Manor of Bideford, commanded the whole of Barnstaple Water – the Elizabethan name for the Taw / Torridge estuary. Both Barnstaple and Bideford supplied vessels and crews that went to fight the Spanish Armada.

By the 1600s navigation up the Taw to Barnstaple had become difficult due to the silting up of the river and a number of fishing weirs that were further hazards to navigation. Larger vessels moored in Appledore pool and goods were transhipped on barges. 

Nevertheless, there was shipbuilding in Barnstaple and Westacotts were a significant company who launched a number of vessels in the mid 19^th century. Some of the last launches from Barnstaple, at the end of World War 1 when steel was at a premium, were of experimental concrete vessels – unfortunately not a great success. 

Braunton was a significant port for trading schooners up until the early 20^th century and barges from Barnstaple continued to extract sand from the estuary mouth up until the 1970s. Fremington Quay with its associated railway yard was used for the import of coal and timber and export especially of clay. Coal for the power station at Yelland arrived by sea from south Wales from 1955 until its closure in 1984. 

The Taw (like the Torridge) was a significant salmon river for commercial and sport fishermen. Leisure boating was also popular well into the 1960s. At one time there was a plan to build a lock across the river to ‘allow for year round pleasure boating’.  

On Crow Point, lying at the tip of Braunton Burrows, there is a modern, automated lighthouse. An ancient settlement and St Anne’s chapel, associated with the site of an ancient ferry link between Braunton and Appledore, are alleged to be buried in the sands here. 

Links

Museum Barnstaple and North Devon: https://barnstaplemuseum.org.uk

Katy Lee Going on Taw: https://www.local-devon-biochar-charcoal.co.uk/project/going-on-taw/

Going on Taw podcasts: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/courage-copse-creatives

Home Farm Marsh Nature Reserve:  http://www.gaiatrust.org.uk/home-farm-marsh.html