heritage harbour
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The 630 miles of the South West Coast Path from Minehead to Poole Harbour, including the north and south coasts of Devon and Cornwall was, until the opening of the King Charles III England Coast Path in 2026, the longest long-distance path in the UK. The route is said to have had its origins in…
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There are many fine houses in the Bideford and Northam districts, Victorian and older – although they have been much modified. Knapp House is one of the foremost. The placename Knapp is fairly common in Devon and refers to a hill or ridge. Bideford Archive has several documents relating to various sales or lettings of the…
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The seas around us have shaped our history and the harbours and ports along our coasts, rivers and canals are a key part of this story. The national Heritage Harbour scheme is organised by the Maritime Heritage Trust with input from National Historic Ships and Heritage England. Although there are now 14 Heritage Harbours in…
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Pollution of our waterways and seas has been much in the news recently and the television programme ‘Dirty Business’ has brought this to an even wider audience. The programme showed how heavy rainfall and inadequately maintained treatment systems have resulted in frequent pollution incidents. At the same time, policy changes regarding self-monitoring by water companies…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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‘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…
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From Sir Richard Grenville’s ill-fated attempts to set up a colony in the New World to the participation of North Devon ships in defending England against the Spanish Armada, Bideford’s role in key historical events of the sixteenth century is well recognised. But how much do we really know about what it was like to…
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With so much heritage surrounding us, it was disappointing that last year there were only two local organisations taking part in the annual celebration of England’s history and culture known as Heritage Open Days (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own). This year, Bideford and River Torridge Heritage Harbour has stepped in to ensure that more events…
