Gittisham
Gittisham maps (2 available)
Map of Devon
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
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Gittisham books (12 available)
Gittisham memories
Read and share memories of Gittisham and Devon inspired by Frith photos
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You can also read memories of nearby places in Devon below.
Devon memories
Daffodils in June
Just a short note: I am writing my first novel due to be published in December. While travelling through Devon recently, I was still stuck for the name of the central character of the book, now I have it, her name is Fenny Bridges
Thank you for the inspiration.
Dorset Burroughs
A memory of Fenny Bridges contributed by Dorset Burroughs
My time with the army at Honiton 1968-1969
From 1968-1969 I was posted to Honiton with the Royal Welch Fusiliers. I was an army cook aged just 19 at the time. I thought that it was a lovely place, I got friendly with a few of the local girls, Vanessa stands out in my mind. I can't quite remember where she lived but we enjoyed a short time together before I was posted to Hong Kong. I also remember an old American guy who ran a cafe on the High Street, he settled there after WW2. We used to drink at the Volunteer pub. My camp was Heathfield camp, I expect it has been built on now? I must pay a visit some time to see what it like ...read more here
A memory of Honiton contributed by ROBERT FULLER
Our house!
How funny! We now own and live in this house. It has barely changed since this photograph, although it is no longer a guest house and its name is different. There are some barns and a coach house in the background which have been partly demolished; a small conservatory has been added to the left of the porch. We believe the people who ran it as a guest house were called Haywood, his first name being Cecil. He had been a manager at the factory in Ottery (since closed). Mrs Haywood was famous for her cooking. They rented it from Lord Coleridge (known as "Lordy"). It was called "The Cottage" because it had been Lady Devon's Cottage, a dower house for ...read more here
A memory of Ottery St Mary contributed by Robert Baker
The school
I think 1960 was the year my mother (Joyce Baxfield) was appointed headmistress at Offwell School. She had been head teacher at Cotleigh before this. I grew up riding my pony all around the area and have many fond memories, including taking a day off school to attend the hunt when it met right here in the picture!! It was a blissful childhood and I am sure many of the friends I made then are still living in the area.
A memory of Offwell contributed by Alyth Long
Extracts From Gittisham & Devon books
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".
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".
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".
This fine view looks across the
clock tower and Morton Crescent
to the estuary of the River Exe, with
Starcross and the Haldon Hills in
the distance.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".
The wall was designed to deflect the waves that so often come up the English Channel from the south-west on stormy days.
This scene has changed little in fifty years, though now a shelter from the wind stands on the position of the nearest bench
in the photograph. It was donated by local resident William Frederick Stokes in 1964.
An extract from from"Exmouth Photographic Memories".