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Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,932 at the 2021 census.
From the 1800s onwards, the town grew rapidly in size from a fishing port associated with the Newfoundland cod industry to a fashionable resort of some note in Georgian era times; there was further expansion after the opening of the South Devon Railway in 1846. Today, its port still operates and the town remains a popular seaside and day-trip holiday location.
There were originally two villages, East and West Teignmouth, separated by a stream called the Tame, which emptied into the Teign through marshland by the current fish quay. Neither village is mentioned in the Domesday Book but East Teignmouth was granted a market by charter in 1253 and one for West Teignmouth followed a few years later.Griffiths 1989, p.24 The Tame now runs under the town in culverts and is visible only higher up the town as Brimley Brook, joined by smaller streams such as the Winterbourne (an intermittent stream, which flows only in winter or after heavy rain).
Documents indicate that Teignmouth was a significant port by the early 14th century, second in Devon only to Dartmouth.Trump 1986, p.1 It was attacked by the French in 1340 and sent seven ships and 120 men to the expedition against Calais in 1347. Its relative importance waned during the 15th century, and it did not figure in an official record of 1577. This may have been due to silting up of the harbour caused by tin mining on Dartmoor.Trump 1986, pp.2–3
During the 17th century, in common with other Channel ports, Teignmouth ships suffered from raids from Dunkirkers, who were from Flemish ports. It is possible that smuggling was the town's most significant trade at this time, though cod fishing in Newfoundland was also of great importance.Trump 1986, p.3
In July 1690, after the French Admiral Anne Hilarion de Tourville defeated an Anglo-Dutch fleet at the Battle of Beachy Head, the French fleet was anchored in Torbay and some of the galley fleet travelled the short distance up the coast and attacked Teignmouth. A petition to the Lord Lieutenant from the inhabitants described the incident:
After examining 'creditable persons' the Justices of the Peace concluded that:
As a result, the Crown issued a church brief that authorised the collection of £11,000 for the aid of the town. Churches from as far afield as Yorkshire contributed, and the collections enabled the further development of the port.Trump 1986, pp.5–6 This was the last invasion of England, and French Street with its museum is named in memory of the occasion.
In the 1600s and 1700s there are records of a windmill on the Den – an area that was then a large sand dune, and is now a grassy public open space near the seafront. By 1759 this windmill was demolished.
The Newfoundland fisheries continued to provide the main employment into the early 19th century (e.g. Job Brothers & Co., Limited). With the men in Newfoundland for most of the year, the women did the local fishing and rowed the ferries across the estuary. Early tourists, such as Fanny Burney, referred to the women as the "Amazonians" of Shaldon and Teignmouth, and wrote of their strength, health and tendency to wear trousers or hitch their skirts up to their knees to fish. (2025). 9781903356593, Mint Press. ISBN 9781903356593
As the fisheries declined tourism increased. A tea house was built on the Den in 1787 amongst the local fishermen's drying nets.Gray 2003, p.96 By 1803 Teignmouth was called a "fashionable watering place", and the resort continued to develop during the 19th century. Its two churches were rebuilt soon after 1815 and in 1827 the first bridge across the estuary to Shaldon was built; George Templer's New Quay opened at the port; and the esplanade, Den Crescent and the central Assembly Rooms (later the cinema) were laid out. The population in the 1841 census was 4,459 inhabitants. The railway arrived in 1846 and the pier was built 1865–7. (1989). 9780140710502, Penguin. ISBN 9780140710502
A version of the legend of the Parson and Clerk dating to 1900 tells the tale of the Bishop of Exeter visiting Teignmouth and whilst being guided by a local priest, the devil turns them both to stone, which is seen in the form of two stacks. The First World War had a disruptive effect on Teignmouth: over 175 men from the town lost their lives and many businesses did not survive. In the 1920s as the economy started to recover, a golf course opened on Little Haldon; the Morgan Giles shipbuilding business was established, and took employees and their families for annual outings to Dartmoor and elsewhere. By the 1930s the town was again thriving, and with the Haldon Aerodrome and School of Flying nearby, Teignmouth was advertised as the only south coast resort offering complete aviation facilities.
During the Second World War Teignmouth suffered badly from "tip and run" air raids. (Text available online at the Devon Libraries Local Studies Service. ) It was bombed 21 times between July 1940 and February 1944 and 79 people were killed, 151 wounded, 228 houses were destroyed and over 2,000 damaged in the raids.Trump 1986, p.108 Teignmouth's hospital was bombed during a raid on 8 May 1941, killing three nurses and seven patients. It was rebuilt and reopened in September 1954, making it the first complete general hospital in the country to be built after the formation of the National Health Service.
A US Navy plan existed which proposed to dam the harbour and set up a seaplane base, but it was abandoned as the war turned in favour of the allies.
The Old Quay was built in the mid-18th century on land leased from Lord Clifford. The opening of the Stover Canal by James Templer in 1792 provided a boost to the port due to the ease with which ball clay could be transported from the mines north of Newton Abbot. After travelling along the canal the barges continued down the estuary to the port. By 1820 this trade was supplemented by granite from the quarries near Haytor on Dartmoor carried via the unique granite-tracked Haytor Granite Tramway which was linked to the Stover Canal. The granite to build the new London Bridge came via this route and was sent from the New Quay, which had been built for this traffic in 1821–25 by George Templer, James's son.
The Old Quay was sold to George Hennet in 1850 and became the centre of his trading network. It was connected to the South Devon Railway the previous year.
Until 1852 Teignmouth was legally part of the Port of Exeter. In September of that year, after many years of campaigning (latterly under the leadership of George Hennet), the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury agreed that Teignmouth should be independent which was the cause of much celebration.Trump 1986, pp.46–48
Teignmouth has a tradition of shipbuilding from the 17th century. By the turn of the 19th century there were three shipyards in Teignmouth, and three in Shaldon and Ringmore on the opposite side of the estuary.Trump 1986, p.27 The industry declined in the early 20th century, but in 1921 Morgan Giles bought the last derelict shipbuilding yard and gave the industry a new stimulus. His shipyard became a major employer, building pleasure craft in peacetime and small craft such as torpedo boats during World War II. The business failed in 1968 not long after Donald Crowhurst's attempt to sail around the world.Griffiths 1989, p.129
The Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society sent a lifeboat to Teignmouth in 1851 and kept it in a boathouse on the beach near the Custom House. In 1854 the society transferred its lifeboats to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI). A new boathouse was provided on The Den with doors facing the harbour which was used until 1940. After a gap of fifty years, on 3 November 1990, the RNLI reopened Teignmouth Lifeboat Station with an inshore lifeboat.
Teignmouth's lighthouse was erected in 1845 to guide ships into the harbour.
After eleven years, on 27 June 1838 the centre arches of the bridge collapsed, the timbers had been eaten through by shipworms.Gray 2003, p.126 It was rebuilt in wood and reopened in 1840, but it partially collapsed again in 1893. The bridge was completely rebuilt between 1927 and 1931, using steel for the piers and main girders and concrete for most of the deck, except for the opening span which used timber.Hawkins 1988, p.78
On 28 October 1948 Devon County Council bought the bridge from the Shaldon Bridge Company for £92,020 and tolls were abolished. The original paintwork was inadequate to deal with the environment, and repairs were required in 1960 and in 1980.Hawkins 1988, p.95 In 1998 it was discovered that the bridge had severe structural defects and work to correct this continued until 2002, the bridge remaining open throughout. After this work was completed, residents nearby noticed that in certain wind conditions the bridge "whistles". the problem had not been solved.
In February 2016 Devon County Council announced that the moveable, lifting section of the bridge will be raised later in 2016, for the first time since 2002. This is in order to satisfy a condition in the Act that permitted construction, that the opening section be maintained.
The station is served by two train operating companies:
In December 1852, a large landslip from the cliffs east of the town caused the railway to close for four days;Mitchell Smith 2000, caption 77 and, in 1855 and 1859, the sea broke through the line at Teignmouth.Gray 2003, p.128 There have been many more closures since, caused both by landslips from the cliffs and breaches by the sea, especially in winter. In 2010, the sea walls and adjoining estuaries were costing Network Rail around £500,000 per year to maintain. In 1936, the Great Western Railway surveyed an inland deviation between Exminster and Bishopsteignton and a shorter route starting near Dawlish Warren; however, the advent of World War 2 brought these projects to an end.Mitchell and Smith 2000, "Diversions" p.4 (unnumbered)
In the harbour area was the Salty, a small flat island created through dredging operations but levelled, supposedly to improve natural scouring of the main channel for shipping, in recent years to leave a large tidal sand bank frequented by seabirds and cockle-collectors. Salmon nets are still employed by locals, especially near Shaldon Bridge.
The estuary seems disproportionately large for the size of the river flowing through it, this being especially apparent at low tide, because it is a ria caused by a relative rise in sea level following the last Ice Age.
Owing to its proximity to the sea, Teignmouth has warmer winters with less frost and snow, as well as slightly cooler summers compared with inland areas of southern England. January is usually the coldest month in Britain; however, sea temperatures usually reach their minimum temperature in late February, which affects Teignmouth's climate, making February its coldest month. The first frost in Teignmouth usually occurs in late November or early December, whereas Midlands sometimes have frosts as early as September.
Snow is rare during the start of the winter season in December. Late autumn and early winter is the wettest time of the year, because sea temperatures are still relatively high and deep Atlantic depressions bring moist air across the South West. On average, July is the driest month, but summer thunderstorms can occasionally deposit more than the month's mean rainfall in one day. Teignmouth has average daily sunshine totals of over 7 hours in summer and around 2 hours in winter. Sunshine totals reflect the hours of daylight and the fluctuations of the Azores High, which is most powerful in summer. The climate patterns also implicate a less pronounced cooler Mediterranean climate ( csa/ csb) influence which is due to the decrease in precipitation centred over the summer period and surplus rainfall during the winter.
The Teignmouth weather station is located in an area of the town exposed to sea breezes, resulting in lower temperature extremes compared to more sheltered parts of the town and surrounding area. Temperatures at the station have increased in every month between the 1981–2010 and 1991–2020 climate periods, with notable warming in spring and autumn, along with a small overall increase in rainfall during this time.
Over the years, the building was used as a theatre, a dance hall, a conference centre and a billiards hall. In 1934 it was converted into the Riviera Cinema, in which guise it continued until 2000; part of the building has now been converted into flats. In 2016 the lease for the historic auditorium was taken over by the Mars Hill Church with the intention of restoring it as both a cinema and a music and arts facility.
The town's parish church, dedicated to St. James is unusual, being octagonal in shape. A story from Cornwall suggests why these churches are rounded, for the villagers of Veryan built several circular houses so that the Devil had no corners in which to lie in wait for unsuspecting occupants and these buildings were therefore 'Devil-proof.' The AA Book of British Villages. Drive Publications. 1980. p.394. The church of St Michael the Archangel is in the east of the town. St. Scholastica's Abbey (now converted to flats), on the road to Dawlish, built in 1864 by Henry Woodyer is a notable Gothic Revival building, and the Roman Catholic Church, on the same road, is a late work by Joseph Hansom, the inventor of the hansom cab.
In 1894, there were 26 public houses in Teignmouth.Gray 2003, p.41 Pubs today include the Blue Anchor Inn on Teign Street and the Devon Arms on Northumberland Place. The River Beach is home to a varied selection of seasonal and permanent beach huts, one of which (now removed to the town's museum) was a Georgian bathing machine, minus wheels. These huts have enjoyed the boom in popularity of such properties in recent years and now change hands for figures approaching £100,000.
Teignmouth and Shaldon museum was completed in 2011. It comprises an architecturally iconic extension of the existing 18th century museum building, with new roof terrace looking over the town, glass tower and community facility. Some of the exhibits include a restored bathing machine; artefacts from the Church Rock wreck, such as cannons; exhibits from the nearby Haldon aerodrome, plus film footage including the Beatles' visit to the town and the 2009 homecoming concerts by Muse. The new build cost almost £1.1m and was enabled by a major community fund-raising effort, in combination with Lottery and UK government funding and other sources such as local grant funders and Devon County Council. The Church Rock wreck was found when a Zuanne Alberghetti cannon was located on the site of a 16th-century wreck, followed by further discoveries. A Tribute to Dr. Margaret Rule, CBE, FSA ; HMS Victory--1744
The town's newest public building is the Pavilions Teignmouth, a community arts and enterprise centre on the Den, opened in April 2016.
In May 2010, Teignbridge District Council put forward for consultation A Vision for Teignmouth. This was a plan consisting of 21 regeneration projects for the town. A skatepark was opened on the seafront in July 2010 and flood defences at the Fish Quay were completed in October 2012.
Two films, The Mercy starring Colin Firth with Rachel Weisz and Press for Time starring Norman Wisdom, have extensive sequences shot in Teignmouth.
Apart from its sea beach and Teignmouth Pier with amusement arcade and rides, the beach wraps around the spit at the head of the river Teign providing a river beach, commonly known as the Back Beach (dogs are allowed all year on this part of the beach), on the estuary side which overlooks the harbour with its moorings for many pleasure craft, and has views up the estuary to Dartmoor. An long waymarked route known as the Templer Way has been created between Haytor on Dartmoor and Shaldon. It closely follows the route of George Templer's granite tramway, his father James's Stover Canal and finally the estuary to Teignmouth.
Teignmouth Carnival is held during the last week of July with the procession on the last Thursday, and since 1999 the town has hosted a summer folk festival. In 2005 Fergus O'Byrne and Jim Payne from Newfoundland were the 'headline' artists at that year's festival which celebrated the town's links with that region.
In 2014, Teignmouth and Dawlish Community Interest Group commissioned a website to promote the town to tourists visiting.
Since 2018 Teignmouth has hosted the annual Teign Shanty Festival, a folk music festival with a focus on Sea shanty, with over 40 groups performing in 2021.
Also present in the town is Trinity School, which is independent with a preparatory department and boarding facilities, for children from ages 2 to 18. It was formerly known as The Convent of Notre Dame.
Other primary schools include Our Lady & St Patrick (OLSP), being a Roman Catholic School, and Hazeldown.
The seafront benefits from Teignmouth Lido, a public open-air heated swimming pool. This is one of four outdoor pools operated by Teignbridge District Council. The others are at Buckfastleigh, Ashburton and Buckland.
Teignmouth is home to the River Teign Rowing club, the largest rowing club in the UK with almost 400 members, the club competes internationally in Cornish Pilot Gig rowing, Locally racing Seine boats and Nationally in Sea Skiffs and Sculls. Members have competed recently as far afield as Russia.
Teign Corinthian Yacht Club was founded in 1886, and organises racing and training for sailing dinghies, yachts and powerboats. It has two centres: a clubhouse on Teignmouth seafront built in 1995 and a dinghy park on the River Teign estuary at Coombe Cellars, with a new clubhouse being built there in 2020.
In spring 1818 the poet John Keats spent several weeks in Teignmouth and completed his epic poem Endymion here. His arrival coincided with a period of wet weather and he wrote to a friend of "the abominable Devonshire Weather ... the truth is, it is a splashy, rainy, misty, snowy, foggy, haily, floody, muddy, slipshod county."
George O. May (born 1875), who made significant contributions to the field of accounting, and rose to senior partner of Price Waterhouse's American firm in the early 20th century, was born and raised in Teignmouth.
From 1812 until his death in 1833, Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth had his home at Bitton House, which was then called West Cliff House. Meanwhile, Thomas Luny, the painter of seascapes, lived in the town for thirty years until his death in 1837 and executed over 2,200 paintings while living here. Shortly afterwards George Hennet, the railway engineer and contractor who was closely involved with Brunel's railway, moved to the town and took a close interest in local affairs. He died here in 1857.
Charles Babbage (1791–1871), the mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, who originated the idea of a programmable computer, also lived here for some years and was married in St Michael's church in the town.
Sir John Smyth (1893–1983) was a recipient of the Victoria Cross and was made 1st Baronet of Teignmouth in 1956.
The Belgium footballer Charles Vanden Wouwer was born in Teignmouth in 1916, while his parents were staying there as World War I refugees.
The Canadian Second World War pilot Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner settled in the Teignmouth area in 1930, his brother and sister studying in Teignmough whilst he was a cadet at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. He went on to be one of the few naval pilots of the Battle of Britain, was a test pilot and given the freedom of Teignmouth and Exeter after leading the audacious attack on the German battleship . He was lost in July 1944 and remembered on the Shaldon War Memorial and at the Teign Heritage – Teignmouth & Shaldon Museum.
During the Second World War Clive Sinclair was evacuated to Teignmouth as a child and lived there for some years.
The businessman and musician Danny Thompson was born in the town in 1939, and the writer and environmentalist John Bainbridge (born 1953) spent his teens and early adulthood here and was educated at West Lawn School. The Norman Wisdom film, Press for Time, in which Norman becomes a reporter at the seaside town of "Tinmouth", was shot largely on location in Teignmouth in 1966.
A bus and bicycle chase shows many scenes of the town centre and sea front as it was at the time.
The next year, on 31 October 1968, Donald Crowhurst, competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, started his ill-fated attempt to sail round the world single-handed from the town. His boat was a trimaran named the Teignmouth Electron after the town and his electronics company. The town featured in the film of this tragic event The Mercy released in 2018, starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz.
The three members of rock band Muse (Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard) attended Teignmouth Community College in the early 1990s. They started the band in the town and based their song "Falling Down" on their teenage years living there. The band performed two homecoming concerts entitled A Seaside Rendezvous there in September 2009.
Singer-songwriter Patrick Wolf wrote a song called "Teignmouth" for his 2005 album Wind in the Wires, which focuses primarily on the view of the town and the River Teign when taking a train along the coastline.
England rugby union and Exeter Chiefs player Sam Simmonds lives in Teignmouth, as does his brother and fellow Exeter Chiefs first team player Joe Simmonds. Sam helped the Chiefs win the Aviva Premiership in 2017. He has currently scored two tries for England and has one Man of the Match award.
The triple jump world record holder Jonathan Edwards lived in Teignmouth in his early years. He went to school at the Inverteign Juniors site (now Mill Lane). His world record has stood since 1995.
Composer Laura Rossi grew up in Teignmouth and attended school in the town.
21st century
On 27 July 2005, Teignmouth received status as Devon's first Fairtrade Town. Also in 2005, the volunteer Teignmouth Regeneration Project in association with the town, district and county councils published a strategic plan that identified issues to be dealt with by 2015. Among the issues listed are to develop quality tourism, alleviate the danger of flooding to the town and provide affordable housing.
Tourism
Although reduced from its heyday, Teignmouth still receives considerable numbers of holiday makers, in particular day-trippers. It is town twinning with the French town Perros-Guirec.
Schools
The main schooling presence in the town is that of the Ivy Education Trust, which has a primary, secondary, and sixth form there. The primary school is known simply as Teignmouth Primary School (also stylised as Teignmouth Primary). This was previously known as Teignmouth Community School, Mill Lane, and before this was known as Inverteign. Incorporating a sixth form college, the main secondary school is Teignmouth Community School, Exeter Road, stylised as Teignmouth Secondary and sometimes simply Teignmouth Community School. Formerly Teignmouth High School, then Teignmouth Community College, it was created as a merger in 1979 of Teignmouth Grammar School, which occupied the Westlawn and Winterbourne buildings of the school, and Teignmouth Secondary Modern School. More recently this has merged further with Inverteign Community Nursery and Primary School to form Teignmouth Community School (TCS).
Media
Local TV coverage is provided by BBC South West and ITV West Country. Television signals are received from the Beacon Hill and Stockland Hill TV transmitters and from one of the two local relay transmitters, depending on which part of the town (Teignmouth and Coombe). Local radio stations are BBC Radio Devon on 104.3 FM, Heart West on 96.4 and 103 FM Greatest Hits Radio Devon on 105.5 FM, Radio Exe on 107.3 FM and East Devon Radio, a community based station which broadcast on 106.4 FM. The town is served by the local newspaper, Teignmouth Post, a sub edition of the Mid Devon Advertiser which publishes on Fridays.
Sport
The town is the home of Teignmouth A.F.C., whose first team currently play in the South West Peninsula League and reserves play in the South Devon League division two. The town is also the home of Teignmouth R.F.C. with the 1st XV playing in the South West 1 league. The Den Bowling Club situated on the sea front is the home of the Teignmouth Open Bowls Tournament. Teignmouth Shotokan Karate Club was established in 1984 and trains twice weekly at the Teign Heritage Centre and Pavilions Teignmouth.
Notable people
Fanny Burney, the diarist and novelist, visited Teignmouth several times in the late 18th century. She took her first dip in the sea here in 1773, as she recorded in her journal. Elias Parish Alvars, the harpist, was born in East Teignmouth in 1808, and three years later Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt, vice-admiral, hydrographer and geologist, was born at Woodway House.
(1993). 9780875843193, Harvard Business School Press. ISBN 9780875843193
In Art and Literature
Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poetical illustration A Legend of Teignmouth, in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1834, accompanies an engraving of a view of Teignmouth from the Ness by Thomas Allom.
Notes
Sources
(2025). 9781901706499, Middleton Press. ISBN 9781901706499
Further reading
External links
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