Devon History

Bret Hawthorne has created a book which fans of Agatha Christie will find adds so much to their appreciation of her writing, while for others it simply provides an exciting means of exploring the area and coming across little known gems in the Devon countryside. The book will also delight the many visitors attracted to the region through their love of Agatha Christie, not only from England but from all over the world: Japanese,American and French being the most numerous. Agatha Christie's Devon is a beautifully illustrated guide to help readers in their search of the places mentioned in Christie's autobiography and in the settings of the novels. It is also a superb souvenir of Devon and its countryside.

Ray Hollands has walked the north and south Devon coastlines to capture their unique atmosphere through his eye-catching photography. Set alongside these stunning images are informative captions giving historical background to the places he features, from the bracing and dramatic surfers' beaches of the north coast to the elegant holiday resorts of the English Riviera in the south. The contrasting beauty of these two very different coastlines is shown to great effect here and Along Devon's Coasts is sure to capture the imagination of anyone who knows and loves the county.

The sea wall at Dawlish is one of the most picturesque stretches of the railway network and has always been a popular site for railway enthusiasts and photographers for many generations. This book includes details about the route, the surrounding area, the trains, operations and the railway's development over the years.

More and more people are interested in their homes, especially if they happen to be a little out of the ordinary - and Devon has more than its share of exceptional buildings, from the ancient longhouses of Dartmoor to the elegant town houses of Topsham. The natural landscape of Devon is so attractive that we often neglect to appreciate the built heritage of the county. Look no further than this book to find the jewels of every type of building, from cottage to castle, from the most modern architectural creation to Exeter's ancient cathedral. Not a book for experts, more a reminder of how rich is the heritage of our county - and how much we need to cherish it. This beautifully illustrated book combines the expert commentary of Philip Knowling with the incomparable photography of Lee Pengelley.

ISBN: 9781841142791

Devon's churches are famous for their craftsmanship, particularly their wood carving; they also feature the finest collection of mediaeval screens. "Devon's Churches" includes double-page features on 80 major churches with 100 further churches listed in lesser detail. In researching this book author John Lane and photographer Harland Walshaw visited well over 200 Devon churches, with John providing detailed descriptions and Harland the stunning black and white photographs of their details - everything from bench ends to stained glass windows. The history of Devon is told in its churches, including the chapels and aisles built by the wool trade. Church visiting takes you deep into the parts of rural Devon you might never otherwise visit, not only into the wilds of Exmoor and Dartmoor, but into the heart of rural East Devon, and deep into the banked lanes and steep river valleys. This is a pilgrimage through the landscape, as well as a guide to the churches. "Devon's Churches" gives advice about which churches are worth a special detour. The author, photographer, designer and publisher all live in Devon.

ISBN: 9781903998960

Following the Modernisation Plan of 1955, the process of dieselisation proceeded rapidly with large numbers of new designs appearing, many of which were destined to be relatively short-lived. Just as the steam era had seen considerable regional variation in the locomotives operated, so too did the diesel era with specific classes being built for operation in different parts of the country. Whilst there were classes, such as the ubiquitous Brush Type 4 (later Class 47), which could be seen widely across the network, there were countless classes that required considerable effort on the part of the enthusiast to record them. The Western Region was one part of Britain that saw a remarkable variety of locomotive design, largely the consequence of the decision to concentrate upon diesel-hydraulic transmission to replace the region's steam locomotives. These locomotives, some of which survive in preservation, are now as much a part of railway history on the main line as the steam locomotives they were designed to replace. In the second of the new 'Diesel Days' series, John Vaughan pays tribute to the first generation of diesel locomotive that operated in the far southwest. Although inevitably featuring a significant number of the hugely popular hydraulic classes - the 'Westerns', 'Warships' and 'Hymeks' - the book also features many of the other classic designs of diesel locomotive, such as the 'Peaks' and Class 50s, that were also to be a feature of diesel traction in the area before the arrival of the High Speed Trains in the mid-1970s. Drawing upon his own remarkable collection and those of other notable photographers, the author has put together a stunning collection of some 280 images portraying diesel operation in Devon and Cornwall between the mid-1950s and the mid-1970s all of which are supplemented by detailed and well-informed captions. With interest in the early diesel locomotives growing apace, as evinced by the huge success that Ian Allan publishing has had with its colour albums featuring the various diesel-hydraulic classes, this new volume covering Devon and Cornwall will be much sought after by all those interested in early diesel traction as well as those who know and love the region covered.

ISBN: 9780711030404

Eighth-century martyr St Boniface, tennis player and TV presenter Sue Barker, painter Sir Joshua Reynolds, scholar Sir Thomas Bodley, actor Sir Donald Sinden, Boer War commander Sir Redvers Buller, radio and TV presenter Ed Stewart and round-the-world yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester are among personalities through the ages who have been born in Devon. The county can claim many more who were either born or lived here for a major part of their lives, including Scott of the Antarctica, Agatha Christie, Parson Jack Russell (of terrier fame) and Wayne Sleep. The Elizabethan explorers Sir Francis Drake, Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh were all Devonians, as were party leaders Michael Foot and David Owen. This book, by renowned local author John Van der Kiste, features mini-biographies of all these and many more.

Over 200 photographs show just how much has changed in the intervening years, not only in Devon's countryside but how much change there has been in our towns and villages too. Anyone who has a passion for
the county's past, or who has a love of old photographs and local history,will find much to entertain and interest them. Author, PeterThomas, has also included a chapter on the history and use of the magic lantern. In Discovering Lost Devon he records how he came across the exceptional series of photographs which comprise the Tremlett Collection of magic lantern slides.

This book is part of the Images of England series, which uses old photographs and archived images to show the history of various local areas in England, through their streets, shops, pubs, and people.

Devon's colourful past may still be visible in its street names and pub signs, but in fact much of the region's history has been obliterated - through necessity, social change and demands of outside world. This book provides insight into Devon's history. It includes photographs, maps and etchings from county's museums and art collections.

The rich deposits of ball clay in north Devon have been known for many centuries but were too out of the way to be exploited until the coming of the railway age. In 1881 the owner of the Marland clay works had a private railway built, of three foot gauge, to reach the main line system. Remarkably, he employed the internationally known J. B. Fell as engineer and Fell used it to demonstrate his patented ideas on light railway construction, resulting in spectacular timber viaducts spanning the Devon valleys. An eclectic collection of locomotives worked this six mile line, the Torrington & Marland Railway, for over forty years, and within the works until 1971.
Attempts to bring standard gauge main line railways to the area were unsuccessful until H. F. Stephens proposed the North Devon & Cornwall Junction Light Railway, from Torrington to Halwill Junction. This was delayed by the Great War but, after much political involvement, eventually opened in 1925 with government backing to support agriculture and relieve unemployment. It was one of the last branch lines to be built in Britain but was immediately struggling to meet the bourgeoning competition from road transport. This book describes the development and growth of both the ball clay industry, at Marland and Meeth, and of the railways that made the industry possible. Whilst the clay industry thrives, the railways have all been superceded and their full stories are recorded. First published in 1982 the book has been fully revised and expanded as a result of much additional research and information. Advantage has also been taken of the expansion of photographic archives and many new photographs are included. Also included are many maps, diagrams and scale drawings of the narrow gauge locomotives and rolling stock.

ISBN: 9780906294659

The railway development of Devon and Cornwall was dominated by the activity of the London & South Western and Great Western railways and this local rivalry persisted through the era of the 'Big Four' to the early days of Nationalisation; it was only after the redrawing of the regional boundaries, which saw the ex-LSWR 'Withered Arm' transferred to the WR, that the process of rationalisation took hold and left towns like Padstow, Wadebridge and Launceston devoid of railway services.This volume in the critically acclaimed and popular "British Railway Pictorial" series focuses on the counties of Devon and Cornwall. As with the previous books, the author's own photographic collection has recorded services over the myriad of lines built to serve the area. It contains over 175 black and white images, many have never been published, featuring the final years of steam operation in the South West. The book will be of interest to the countless thousands of holidaymakers to the area, to locals and to those seeking reference material for the construction of model railways based on the many attractive branch lines from the area.

ISBN: 9780711032989

In this book the author has gathered together a fascinating selection of colour images from the end of steam through to the modern age recalling the operation of railway services along the Dawlish seawall over the past five decades. The railway through Dawlish is undoutedly one of the finest railway routes in the country. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the line provides an essential-but-threatened link between the south west and Exeter. It will be of interest to the countless railway photographers who have spent their time recording the changing railway scene of the area.

ISBN: 9780711032538

Invented between the great Georgian and Victorian manias of canals and railways to promote and maintain essential turnpike communication across estuaries; fixed to land but never leaving the water; five floating bridges at Dartmouth, Saltash, Torpoint, Southampton and Portsmouth were born of necessity where land bridges, for reasons of navigation or lack of finance, failed to materialise. Devonian James Meadows Rendel was their reluctant inventor. Six times he tried and failed to build a major suspension bridge, so created instead the floating bridge as a cheap, temporary, substitute. Fourteen further floating bridges were established in the United Kingdom after Rendel’s death. Eight survive today, including Rendel’s Torpoint floating bridge; the largest operation of its type in the world. Happily Rendel was an inveterate social networker and climber so this history is a veritable who¹s who of famous engineers and local nobility. But we also meet unsung heroes: local engineers and shipbuilders working in the brand new steam, iron and chain technologies, attempting to realise the demands of a new breed; Civil Engineers.

ISBN: 9780906294673

The iconic South Devon line runs for 7 miles through some fine riverside scenery alongside the River Dart in Devon. Formerly known as the Dart Valley Railway, until taken over by volunteers from its previous commercial owner in 1991, the line has steadily built on its strengths and has now gathered an excellent fleet of GWR locomotives and carriages creating an almost unrivalled atmosphere of the classic Great Western branch line.
The line follows the course of the fast flowing River Dart throughout its 7 miles, with many fine views of the river to be had from passing trains, from the mainline junction at Totnes through Staverton to Buckfastleigh on the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. Don Bishop has captured the line through many visits and photographic charter events over the last 14 years.A number of the scenes he depicts are so close to the line in the 1950s that even the same engines are shown still at work today.A particular emphasis of the book is Don's liking for
"steam in the landscape" photographs showing the railway going about its business with the wonderful Devon scenery around it.Through around 150 magnificent pictures included in the book Don portrays The South Devon Railway at its best with the aim of encouraging the reader to visit the line if they have not already done so and contribute towards its ongoing success.

From the 1920s to the 1970s the firm of W. J. Reynolds Ltd was the largest employer of civilian labour in the Cornish town of Torpoint, situated across the River Tamar opposite Plymouth. They have the dubious distinction of operating the last fleet of coal fired steam tugs in Great Britain and were one of the last companies in Devon and Cornwall to use heavy horses on a full commercial basis. In this book author Captain Stephen Carter, a marine pilot and tug master, has unearthed the history of the firm and its subsidiaries from its inception in Victorian England to its final demise in the early 1970s. Included are many previously un-published photographs, and the activities of the company are traced in detail with reminiscences of family members and former employees.

ISBN: 9780906294666

Presents railway history.

ISBN: 9780954485979

Peter Gray lives in Torquay in Devon. A highly successful photographer and author, he has compiled some winning titles for Ian Allan Publishing including Steam in Cornwall, Steam in Devon and most recently, Steam around Devon and Cornwall.

ISBN: 9780711029507

Whilst the LSWR's acquisition of the Barnstaple line from under the clutches of the GWR was controversial, from this small foundation the LWSR's network extended to provide an alternative route to Plymouth as well as reaching to places such as Bude and Bodmin. Inherited by the Southern Railway at Grouping, it was under the SR that the final sections of the network were completed. In 1948 these lines passed to BR intact but, as changing traffic patterns developed and control was ceded to the Western Region, much of the ex-LSWR network was to be closed. Its neglect and decline under the management of the Western Region led to this part of the BR network being referred to by railway enthusiasts as the 'Withered Arm' though the origins of this term is believed to date back to the 1930s. This book covers all of the classic locations in the area such as Padstow, Wadebridge, Bude, Halwill Junction, Barnstaple and Ilfracome. Always a popular area with enthusiasts the 'Witheren Arm' possessed a fascinating network of lines that are explored in the pages of this book.

ISBN: 9780711032217