The Francis Frith Collection.
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2008 Christmas Gift Guide - great gifts for your family and friends

Devonport

Devonport photos (28 available)

Old photo of Devonport

Devonport maps (2 available)

Old map of Devonport

Devonport books (12 available)

Devonport memories

George Henry Finch

Devonport, H.M.S. Royal Adelaide 1890

My Great, Great Grandfather served on this ship several times as a signalman ending in 1889 as 2nd Yeoman.

Ian Finch, Truro, Cornwall
ifinch@brannel.cornwall.sch.uk

Contributed by Ian Finch

Great Great Grandad was on HMS Royal Adelaide

Devonport, H.M.S. Royal Adelaide 1890

Amazed I've found this. My great great grandad Samuel Jeffery served on this ship as a Ward R steward (1871 Census). Seeing this ship really helps to bring history to life.
Contributed by Jenny Harrod

Grandfathers Ship

Devonport, H.M.S. Royal Adelaide 1890

My Grandfather John Collier served onboard, 6 different occasions between 1874 and 1886.
Contributed by Noel Crook

HMS Impregnable 1891

Devonport, HMS Impregnable 1893

My great grandfather, George Jarvis, served on HMS Impregnable in Devonport according to the 1891 census at the age of 16. He went on to become a petty officer in the Navy.

HMS Imgregnable

Devonport, HMS Impregnable 1893

My Great Great Grandfather Frederick George Rivers served and trained on this ship from 1886 to 1887, and trained on another 5 ships in Devonport between 1881 and 1891. Including HMS Duke of Wellington, HMS Rupert and HMS Northampton. He served on his first ship at the age of 16.
Contributed by David Phillips

Extracts From Devonport & Devon books

Devonport, Torpoint Ferry Bridge 1890

Plymouth and Devonport were served by a number of ferries, including these wonderful steam-powered, chain-guided floating bridges on the Torpoint service, which were capable of carrying wheeled vehicles. Services operated were Ferry Road to Torpoint (fares 1d and 2d); the Barbican to Turnchapel and Oreston; Admiral’s Hard to Cremyll (Mount Edgcumbe); and Mutton Cove to Cremyll.
An extract from from"Times Gone By".

Devonport, Torpoint Ferry Bridge 1890

Plymouth and Devonport were served by a number of ferries, including these wonderful steam-powered, chain-guided floating bridges on the Torpoint service, which were capable of carrying wheeled vehicles. Services operated were Ferry Road to Torpoint (fares 1d and 2d); the Barbican to Turnchapel and Oreston; Admiral’s Hard to Cremyll (Mount Edgcumbe); and Mutton Cove to Cremyll.
An extract from from"Countryside Poems".

Exmouth, the Esplanade 1898

This view was taken from the building at the very end of Morton Crescent. To the immediate left is the Imperial Hotel, seen in its original architectural design, changed now after the fire in the 1970s.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".

Exmouth, the Esplanade c1955

By the middle of the 20th century we see something resembling the modern scene. There is the more familiar red telephone box on the traffic island, a modern post box, and Belisha beacons to aid pedestrians wishing to cross the road. In the centre of the photograph is the white tower of the Pavilion Theatre. Much of the street furniture was removed by the start of the 21st century, leaving a more traffic-dominated Esplanade.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".

Exmouth, from the Pier 1906

The construction of a substantial sea wall, seen here in section to the right, led to Exmouth’s prosperity as a seaside resort. Before the wall was built, much of the sea front was marshland and sand dunes, and subjected to constant flooding. The first section of the wall was completed in 1842, paid for by the local landowner John Rolle. It was 1,900 feet long and constructed from Devon limestone. The designer was John Smeaton, a veteran engineer and the designer of London Bridge.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".