Chudleigh
Chudleigh maps (2 available)
Map of Devon
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Chudleigh books (26 available)
Barnstaple Town Walk Guide
Paperback
Torbay Photographic Memories
Paperback
Exmoor Photographic Memories
Paperback
Chudleigh memories
Read and share memories of Chudleigh and Devon inspired by Frith photos
Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers entertain at Chudleigh
Chudleigh hosts a wonderful Christmas late night shopping evening each year when the Christmas lights in Fore Street are switched on. The shops stay open until late evening and their windows twinkle with fairy lights and decorations. Shops, cafes and pubs are crowded and stay open late in the evening, and the place is transformed into a fairyland of old-fashioned entertainment and street traders.
My wife Elizabeth and I are part of the Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers and went along to provide part of this entertainment. We took our granddaughter Anna in a puchcahir and made sure she was well wrapped up to keep warm! There was a band of squeezeboxes and drums. The dancers looked magnificent ...read more here
Contributed by John Howard Norfolk
A little bit of Chudleigh history
When a boy, my father, Donald William Stevens, used to show visitors through the Pixie caves for 1/2d per person, with the light from a candle for illumination. After WWII he followed in his father's (William Henry Stevens) footsteps of being a Chudleigh shopkeeper, and opened a shoe shop at 7 The Square, (or Fore Street as some preferred). This shop was in business for 39 years, and sold all types of footwear from Wellies, plimsoles and brogues, although there was not much call for ballet shoes! Due to ill health the business was closed, and sadly he died in 1989.
My mother continued to live in Chudleigh until her death earlier this year at the age of 85 years. How ...read more here
Contributed by Richard Stevens
Devon memories
Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers entertain at Chudleigh
Chudleigh hosts a wonderful Christmas late night shopping evening each year when the Christmas lights in Fore Street are switched on. The shops stay open until late evening and their windows twinkle with fairy lights and decorations. Shops, cafes and pubs are crowded and stay open late in the evening, and the place is transformed into a fairyland of old-fashioned entertainment and street traders.
My wife Elizabeth and I are part of the Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers and went along to provide part of this entertainment. We took our granddaughter Anna in a puchcahir and made sure she was well wrapped up to keep warm! There was a band of squeezeboxes and drums. The dancers looked magnificent ...read more here
A memory of Chudleigh contributed by John Howard Norfolk
A little bit of Chudleigh history
When a boy, my father, Donald William Stevens, used to show visitors through the Pixie caves for 1/2d per person, with the light from a candle for illumination. After WWII he followed in his father's (William Henry Stevens) footsteps of being a Chudleigh shopkeeper, and opened a shoe shop at 7 The Square, (or Fore Street as some preferred). This shop was in business for 39 years, and sold all types of footwear from Wellies, plimsoles and brogues, although there was not much call for ballet shoes! Due to ill health the business was closed, and sadly he died in 1989.
My mother continued to live in Chudleigh until her death earlier this year at the age of 85 years. How ...read more here
A memory of Chudleigh contributed by Richard Stevens
Extracts From Chudleigh & Devon books
Skirts and hair were shorter than ever before in the new decade! A two hour horse-drawn
carriage ride for four people cost two shillings (10p). A Spanish Oak planted as a cen-
trepiece when Victoria became Queen in 1837 was felled to make way for 1920s public
lavatories. Electric street lighting was in its infancy. The Belgian Urn on the Triangle was
presented by refugees in recognition of the town`s hospitality during the Great War.
An extract from from"Teignmouth Photographic Memories".
A more casual style
prevails in 1955. Now
the tower of St Michael`s
Church is more obvious,
following the destruc-
tion of
numbers 1 and 2
Esplanade (the Berkeley
and Esplanade Hotels) in
September 1942.
An extract from from"Teignmouth Photographic Memories".
Holidays at British resorts were thriving in the 1940s.
Large stacks of deck chairs punctuated the prom-
enade. Ice cream was delivered in aluminium boxes,
some can be seen beneath the serving hatch.
An extract from from"Teignmouth Photographic Memories".
Sweden. Small fish rejected by Icelanders
were brought to Teignmouth in Pike Ward`s
boat Elise. In 1900, 100 tons were brought in
for local consumption.
Over 20 ships were wrecked in the bay
between 1850 and 1917. A contemporary sign
near the Yacht Club HQ explains the legal
protection of Church Rocks Wreck, which was
discovered by local teenager Simon Burton
Frith’s Teignmouth The Promenade
during a snorkling expedition in 1975. A sig-
nificant bronze cannon lifted from the site led
to years of serious archaeological excavation,
revealing the scant remains of a 15th century
vessel embedded deep in the sand. Channel 4`s
`Time Team` have investigated the site, which is
restricted to designated divers. A host of fascinat-
ing relics recovered from the wreck can be seen
in Teignmouth Museum.
An extract from from"Teignmouth Photographic Memories".
By the 1960s, the glory days of the pier were coming to an end, with few of the talent
competitions, fashion parades, afternoon tea dances, charity balls and gala dinners of
late 1940s and 50s.
The following photographs taken from the pier benefit from close comparison.
An extract from from"Teignmouth Photographic Memories".