Tales & Tides - The Teign Estuary
An Exploration of the rich history and archaeology of the Teign Estuary, set to CITiZAN Themes ...
This series of maps set to the CITiZAN themes give us a unique cross-section of this historic estuary.
This legacy site takes you through the work CITiZAN conducted from 2019 -2020 as well as introducing and collating previous archaeological work and highlighting some of the amazing partners that we worked with in the area that you are able to get involved with.
General
The River Teign begins on the Dartmoor upland and runs 50km, meeting the ocean at Teignmouth. The river has been home to many generations of people dating as far back as prehistory. They were drawn to the river due to the fertile farmland found on it's banks, the natural resources extracted from the surrounding land and even the ease of transport up and down stream.
Such valuable land would have been well worth protecting and so along the banks of the Teign many forts and defences from successive eras of habitation can be found. But before looking at how the people of the Teign defended their land we must first look at what made the land so valuable to begin with.
Coastal Industries
Clay Ball Industry, Stover Canal and Hackney Canal
It would be impossible to tell the story of the River Teign without discussing the industry that brought people to the region and was a key driving force in the regions development. And perhaps the most important industry in the region was the ball clay trade. Ball clays are a type of clay that are highly valued due to their plasticity, unfired strength and the fact that they have a light colour when fired. Indeed, ball clay is only extracted in three relatively small areas in the UK all of which are in the South West and of the three the Bovey Basin found on the banks of the Teign remains the most important extraction zone in terms of qualities of the clay and in terms of the rate of extraction.
Clay Cellar - Teignmouth
Although the inhabitants of the Teign were most likely using the clay deposits to make pottery locally for millennia, extraction and exportation for commercial reasons began in the 1600s. Extraction continued to grow in scale moving from shallow trenches to larger pits all over the Bovey Basin. Clay was then moved from these extraction pits, either via cart down the 7 or 8 miles of the Teign valley to Teignmouth or across the river to Hackney near Kingsteignton, to be put on a barge and transported down the Teign again reaching Teignmouth. This was the case until construction began on Stover Canal in 1790 by James Templer, a local landowner. Stover canal would provide an easier waterborne route for the exportation of clay down to Teignmouth as opposed to moving the clay overland via cart.
https://www.stovercanal.co.uk/history.htm
The construction of Stover Canal helped the clay ball industry to flourish, and exports boomed in the early 19th century, thus there was an ever increasing demand to ensure that the supply lines between extraction pits, storage cellars and Teignmouth were as efficient as possible. In light of this, in 1841, Lord Clifford instructed his agent Henry Knight to construct a 0.6 mile long canal with a singular lock through his estate connecting the clay cellars in Hackney to the river Teign, thus increasing the efficient and ease at which clay could be exported from the cellar down to Teignmouth. Meanwhile the Stover Canal continued to thrive despite advancements in railway infrastructure. In 1862 the land the Stover Canal was built on was sold to a railway company to build the Moretonhampstead and South Devon Railway and the canal eventually ended up in the hands of the Great Western Railway company. Despite being owned by a rail company, the canal was leased to a local clay extraction company Watts, Blake, Bearne and Co., who continued to use the canal to transport clay and the canal continued to be run at a profit until the start of the 20th century.
However, the predominance of the canal as the most efficient form of transport would come to an end with the dawn of the motor vehicle. By 1928 the Hackey Canal was closed down as trucks became the most efficient way to move clay from the storage cellar to Teignmouth. Similarly, by 1937 no clay companies were using Stover Canal for transport of clay and in 1942, when the Watts Blake, Bearne, and Co.’s lease for the canal was up, they simply didn’t renew it and the Great Western Railway Company closed the canal to traffic.
Potential remains of Hackney Canal
The closure of the canals was not the end of the clay ball industry in the region, extraction and export of ball clay continues to be one of the predominant industries, though with much more advanced extraction techniques. The landscape of the Bovey Basin is littered with huge pits from which clay is still extracted. Indeed, some of the companies that were part of the early developments of clay extraction are still around today, such as Watts, Blake, Bearne and Co., who held the lease for the Stover Canal in the late 19th and early 20th century. Indeed, some government sources have described the clay ball industry as of national importance. The clay ball industry is inextricably linked with the history of the Teign River and to this day remains an important part of the fabric of the region and the dried up remains of both Stover and Hackney canals are permanent reminders etched into the landscape of just how far the industry has come and of its importance. Indeed, the canals are of such local importance that work is being done by the Stover Canal Trust to research, restore and hopefully one day re-flood the canal, thus once again letting boats traverse the canal, though this time for pleasure as opposed for commercial reasons.
Coastal Lives
Teignmouth
Near the Mouth of the river Teign lies the settlement of Teignmouth. Teignmouth is ancient, at least dating back as far as the Norman Conquest and possibly even earlier. With such a long period of continued habitation as well as a prominent position at the mouth of an estuary it is unsurprising that Teignmouth has such a long history; impossible to discuss it in full here, so much so that entire books have been written about Teignmouth alone. As a port Teignmouth was not ideal, at the mouth of the river is a sand bar that constantly shifts over time, just as Teignmouth’s importance ebbed and flowed over time as environmental, technological and even social factors effected the port’s popularity.
The early settlement of Teignmouth was most likely a small fishing village, and first recorded in 1044, though there is evidence the surrounding land was occupied much earlier on. It is likely the actual village of Teignmouth predates this and it is possible the inhabitants of Teignmouth watched as Viking raiders sailed up the River Teign to raid Kingsteignton in 1001. It is even conceivable that the village itself was attacked as it is recorded the Vikings raided the surrounding villages after the fall of the Burgh of Kingsteignton, though this is purely conjecture as no archaeological or written record can attest to this and at this point Teignmouth was only a small and relatively unimportant settlement.
By the early middle ages Teignmouth had grown to be a flourishing port, important enough that in 1340 it was a target for raiding by French pirates but wealthy and resilient enough that the port had seemingly bounced back by 1347 and was able to supply Edward III with seven ships and 120 men from for the raid on Calais. No doubt these sailors had memories of the previous attack by the French pirates relatively fresh in their minds as they joined the English fleet sailing across the channel. The fact that Teignmouth was able to furnish the English fleet with ships shows that by this point there must have been shipbuilding facilities in the port or on the estuary. Its importance waned in the 14th century and by 1577 it no longer appeared on official records, this may be related to increased silting of the harbour caused by tin mining further up the estuary on the moors.
(Pictured is an illustration from Jean Froissart's Chronicles depicting the battle of Cressy, part of Edward III's campaign to raid Northern France which the men and ships of Teignmouth were a part of)
Teignmouth once again bounced back from its 16th century decline though the following centuries were not without difficulty for the port; Teignmouth was subject to raids by the Dunkirkers (Flemish privateers) and perhaps even became a haven for smugglers. In 1690 England was once again at war with France and Teignmouth was again raided by the French as part of the 9 years war. In the 350 years since the last French raid much had changed in Teignmouth, and indeed the world, yet it seemed life in a port city directly opposite the coastline of your country’s greatest rival still remained a dangerous place to be; all though this 1690 attack would be the last time any foreign power landed troops in England. Many years later cannonballs from this attack would be found embedded in the walls of St Michael's church when it was rebuilt by the Victorians. Nowadays these cannonballs can be found on French Street (named after the event) along with plaques commemorating the 300 year anniversary of the event.
(Pictured are the three cannonballs found in the Victorian period and now embedded into the walls of French Street.)
Though these raids and illicit activities are exciting, and so often are what is most discussed when talking about places such as Teignmouth, it is important to remember that these events were relatively rare and life in a port city in this period was more likely to be defined by other aspects of port life as opposed to a life of smuggling, piracy and fighting off seaborne raiders. For example the cod fishing industry in Newfoundland was of significant importance to the port of Teignmouth. Fisherman would sail from Teignmouth to the cod fisheries off Newfoundland, in northern Canada, where one English captain said about the availability of cod that “they’re so thick by the shore that we hardly have been able to row a boat through them.” Although Teignmouth and Newfoundland seem very far apart and separated by a vast and often dangerous ocean, recently there has been a shift from viewing the ocean as a great barrier separating landmasses but as a connective force (for more info see Campbell, 2020). For those fishermen who set sail from Teignmouth to fish cod in Newfoundland this was certainly the case, although far from home the sea created a connection between two distance places and those who undertook the journey as part of daily life most likely had a very different view of the sea than the majority of us today.
As well as being a hub for interconnectivity by sea Teignmouth also developed into a popular sea-side resort. By the 1780’s it was believed that sea-bathing (and perhaps less accurately actually drinking the sea-water itself) was good for the health and Teignmouth became a popular resort that boasted many leisure facilities by 1821 including sedan chairs, donkeys, pleasure boats and bathing-machines (best described as a beach hut on wheels that the occupant could get changed in and then be directly wheeled into the ocean so that the occupant can disembark via stairs into the sea ensuring privacy from anyone on the beach). Concurrent with this growth in sea-side tourism the docks, warehouses and port infrastructure of Teignmouth continued to be expanded as industries further up the estuary continued to grow.
(Pictured is an example of a Victorian bathing machine that become popular in Teignmouth during this period.)
By the 17th century there were three shipyards in Teignmouth with a further three being found across the other side of the estuary in Shaldon. However, just like the rest of Teignmouth the history of shipbuilding is one of constant growth and decline. During the Napoleonic wars 68 ships were built on the Teign and the industry flourished until the end of the war where the demand for war ships massively decreased and shipbuilding declined. This was until the arrival of John Mansfield in 1849 who set up a ship building business in what became known as the Strand Shipyard where he produced mainly merchant ships and pleasure craft. After his death the yard was sold to Teignmouth Ship and Yacht Company who shifted the focus of the yard to refits and repairs building no more ships. There was a brief resurgence of shipbuilding under Gann and Palmer who bought the yard in 1903 to build yachts, however, by 1912 they were bankrupt and the yard lay abandoned throughout the First World War. Finally, shipbuilding came back to Teignmouth as the yard was bought by Frank Morgan-Giles in 1920 who constructed a number of pleasure craft, yachts and racing dinghies. At the outbreak of World War Two the yard constructed a number of ships for the war effort including eight Vosper class torpedo boats. After the war the yard continued to do some work for the admiralty but production mainly returned to non-wartime vessels including some canal boats. The yard finally closed in 1968 and although as a working port there remains various marine services in Teignmouth, boats are no longer built in Teignmouth itself, at least for the time being for as the history of Teignmouth has demonstrated decline is not necessarily the end.
(Pictured is the Morgan-Giles Shipyard (left) shortly after closing. The site nowadays (right) is occupied by flats with the historic slipway still being used.)
Today Teignmouth is still a working port with Quays capable of holding up to four ships. There is a dedicated tugboat, the Teign C, which helps ships into the harbour past the difficult to manage sand bar and helps to dredge the harbour. Although perhaps no longer as popular a port as it has been in history, Teignmouth is still a functional port, and just as its importance has risen and fallen in the past who knows what the future may hold.
Pictured (modern Teignmouth own picture)
Ships, boats and barges
Stover Canal Hulks
Stover Canal Hulks. Click to expand.
Archaeological excavations conducted by volunteers from the Stover Canal Trust from 2014 to 2016 uncovered a number of canal barges buried under silt in the Ventilford Basin of the Stover Canal which have been dated to the 19th century. According to the trust they uncovered four such barges and fully excavated and recorded one example, although the precise details of the other three boats remains unknown as the details of the excavation, including the fully recorded hulk, have not been fully published. Going from the photos published in the interim report, and on the Stover Canal Trust’s website, the barges all appear to be frame-built boats with flush outer planking held together by iron nails, as was standard for the 19th century. The exact dimensions also have not been published but judging by the pictures and when compared to similar vessels they appear to be around 15m long and 3m wide. There is no information in the reports about how the boats were caulked and it is very difficult to guess, as even regionally there could be incredible variety of materials and methods including plant fibres, coal or tree tar, animal fibres, or even a combination of different methods. One of the barges was uncovered upside down and so the flat-bottom of the boat can be seen as would be expected of a barge in order to allow movement through the shallow waters of the canal. These river boats would have had double planking lining the inside and outside of the frames which gave the boat its shape along with a hold for storing cargo. It was not just clay that these boats would be taking down the canal, found in the hold of one of these boats was a quantity of coal and nearby the excavations uncovered limestone which would have also been transported down the canal. While one of these boats was excavated, recorded, raised and unfortunately mostly destroyed with a few fragments surviving, the fate of the other three barges currently remains unknown and there is a possible fifth barge located further down the canal near Teigngrace Lock, they may still be reburied in situ as a hidden reminder of the canal’s rich history, while volunteers from the Stover Canal Trust continue their ongoing efforts to restore the canal above, attempting to bring water back to Ventiford Basin where those barges were abandoned over 100 years ago.
Zitherixon Quarry Medieval Clinker Boat
Zitherixon Quarry Medieval Clinker Boat. Click to expand.
In 1898 two workers in the Zitherixon Clay Quarry uncovered substantial remains of a boat around 150m from the current course of the river. The boat is recorded as being 6.4m in length and being caulked with hair and pitch. Some of the timbers were moved to the Torquay Natural History Museum where they are still stored today. Without any method of reliably dating the boat at the time it was assumed to be Viking, due to the fact the boat was clinker built (a method where the planks on the outer hull of the boat are overlapping), which was the same technique the Vikings also used for their vessels. However, more recent research and radiocarbon dating has revealed the vessel is actually medieval in origin and in fact could be a rare example of what medieval records from the Thames called a battelae, a boat smaller than the working barges (shoutae) and the even larger ships (naves) found on the Thames. The fact the boat is clinker built, and analysis suggests has a robust construction, showcases how local boat builders could adapt long lived traditions to create boats suitable for certain operational and economic needs. The long history of industry and mining in the region and it’s similarities to the flat bottomed working boats of the Thames suggests the boat was a working vessel used to transport goods up and down the river, perhaps even ball clay making it a much earlier version of the barges found in the bottom of the Stover Canal.
Church Rocks Wreck
Church Rocks Wreck. Click to expand.
About 150m from the shore and in 2-6m of water lies the remains of a ship, most likely Venetian in origin and often buried in up to 2m of sand. The Church Rocks Wreck was first discovered in 1975 when a protruding saker cannon was discovered poking through the sand and salvaged. Excavations were sporadically carried out from 1975 until 1983, with further work being done in the 1990s including work done for the popular archaeological TV show Time Team. The wreck was designated as a protected wreck in 1977. These excavations revealed a further 5 guns: 2 minion guns with gun carriages (one of which was loaded at the time of discovery) and 3 swivel guns, meaning an overall total of 6 guns were recovered from the wreck. The saker and 2 minion guns bear the initials SA and are believed to be the work of famous Venetian gunsmith Sigismundo Alberghetti II (1539-1610) which fits with pottery evidence which dates the vessel as no earlier than 1582. Along with the cannons, pottery and metal work has been found, the most interesting of which is porcelain from china, pottery most likely from Lisbon, a merchants bronze seal and a bronze weight with possible officially stamped control marks imprinted onto it which was may be from the same foundry that the cannons were made. These items allow us to reconstruct the likely origin and purpose of this vessel. Analysis suggests that this was most likely an armed merchant ship as shown by the porcelain, a highly valuable trade good in Europe (or alternatively owned by a rich merchant for private use) as well as the bronze seal and bronze weight, the tools of a merchant. It’s possible its last port of call was Lisbon, as shown by the discovered pottery. There is however, an alternative interpretation for the wreck, that of a Venetian merchant ship requisitioned by the Spanish for use in the Spanish Armada. Indeed documentary evidence might even support this as records show two Venetian ships, the Regazone and the Lavia, were impounded by Spanish authorities in Lisbon in February 1588. Furthermore, there is a similar Venetian wreck, the La Trinidad Valencera, which has similar finds to the Church Rocks Wreck including porcelain (implying it would have been for personal use) and at both wrecks alancia fire pots were found. The difference is however that the Trinidad was most certainly requisitioned by the Spanish for use in the planned invasion of England in May 1588, whereas the provenance of the Church Rocks Wreck is much less certain. For example the Trinidad had been retrofitted with additional guns whereas the Church Rocks Wreck is laid out in the standard pattern for Venetian vessels of the time. To suggest that this wreck is one of those impounded ships from Lisbon, which then three months later was utilised by the Spanish for the invasion of England, is simply not supported by sufficient evidence. But it is still interesting to imagine that this vessel may have been the Regazone, the Lavia or some other impounded Venetian ship requisitioned by the Spanish as a communications ship only to founder on or perhaps be sunk over the shallow reef off Teignmouth. Either as a symbol of international trade coming to the shores of England or as part of an invasion force the Church Rocks Wreck is a fascinating example of the how the ocean acted as a connecting factor between different groups of people across the globe, even as far away as China, and helps to highlight how ports such as Teignmouth acted as hubs of interconnectivity.
Stover Canal Hulks
Archaeological excavations conducted by volunteers from the Stover Canal Trust from 2014 to 2016 uncovered a number of canal barges buried under silt in the Ventilford Basin of the Stover Canal which have been dated to the 19th century. According to the trust they uncovered four such barges and fully excavated and recorded one example, although the precise details of the other three boats remains unknown as the details of the excavation, including the fully recorded hulk, have not been fully published. Going from the photos published in the interim report, and on the Stover Canal Trust’s website, the barges all appear to be frame-built boats with flush outer planking held together by iron nails, as was standard for the 19th century. The exact dimensions also have not been published but judging by the pictures and when compared to similar vessels they appear to be around 15m long and 3m wide. There is no information in the reports about how the boats were caulked and it is very difficult to guess, as even regionally there could be incredible variety of materials and methods including plant fibres, coal or tree tar, animal fibres, or even a combination of different methods. One of the barges was uncovered upside down and so the flat-bottom of the boat can be seen as would be expected of a barge in order to allow movement through the shallow waters of the canal. These river boats would have had double planking lining the inside and outside of the frames which gave the boat its shape along with a hold for storing cargo. It was not just clay that these boats would be taking down the canal, found in the hold of one of these boats was a quantity of coal and nearby the excavations uncovered limestone which would have also been transported down the canal. While one of these boats was excavated, recorded, raised and unfortunately mostly destroyed with a few fragments surviving, the fate of the other three barges currently remains unknown and there is a possible fifth barge located further down the canal near Teigngrace Lock, they may still be reburied in situ as a hidden reminder of the canal’s rich history, while volunteers from the Stover Canal Trust continue their ongoing efforts to restore the canal above, attempting to bring water back to Ventiford Basin where those barges were abandoned over 100 years ago.
Zitherixon Quarry Medieval Clinker Boat
In 1898 two workers in the Zitherixon Clay Quarry uncovered substantial remains of a boat around 150m from the current course of the river. The boat is recorded as being 6.4m in length and being caulked with hair and pitch. Some of the timbers were moved to the Torquay Natural History Museum where they are still stored today. Without any method of reliably dating the boat at the time it was assumed to be Viking, due to the fact the boat was clinker built (a method where the planks on the outer hull of the boat are overlapping), which was the same technique the Vikings also used for their vessels. However, more recent research and radiocarbon dating has revealed the vessel is actually medieval in origin and in fact could be a rare example of what medieval records from the Thames called a battelae, a boat smaller than the working barges (shoutae) and the even larger ships (naves) found on the Thames. The fact the boat is clinker built, and analysis suggests has a robust construction, showcases how local boat builders could adapt long lived traditions to create boats suitable for certain operational and economic needs. The long history of industry and mining in the region and it’s similarities to the flat bottomed working boats of the Thames suggests the boat was a working vessel used to transport goods up and down the river, perhaps even ball clay making it a much earlier version of the barges found in the bottom of the Stover Canal.
Church Rocks Wreck
About 150m from the shore and in 2-6m of water lies the remains of a ship, most likely Venetian in origin and often buried in up to 2m of sand. The Church Rocks Wreck was first discovered in 1975 when a protruding saker cannon was discovered poking through the sand and salvaged. Excavations were sporadically carried out from 1975 until 1983, with further work being done in the 1990s including work done for the popular archaeological TV show Time Team. The wreck was designated as a protected wreck in 1977. These excavations revealed a further 5 guns: 2 minion guns with gun carriages (one of which was loaded at the time of discovery) and 3 swivel guns, meaning an overall total of 6 guns were recovered from the wreck. The saker and 2 minion guns bear the initials SA and are believed to be the work of famous Venetian gunsmith Sigismundo Alberghetti II (1539-1610) which fits with pottery evidence which dates the vessel as no earlier than 1582. Along with the cannons, pottery and metal work has been found, the most interesting of which is porcelain from china, pottery most likely from Lisbon, a merchants bronze seal and a bronze weight with possible officially stamped control marks imprinted onto it which was may be from the same foundry that the cannons were made. These items allow us to reconstruct the likely origin and purpose of this vessel. Analysis suggests that this was most likely an armed merchant ship as shown by the porcelain, a highly valuable trade good in Europe (or alternatively owned by a rich merchant for private use) as well as the bronze seal and bronze weight, the tools of a merchant. It’s possible its last port of call was Lisbon, as shown by the discovered pottery. There is however, an alternative interpretation for the wreck, that of a Venetian merchant ship requisitioned by the Spanish for use in the Spanish Armada. Indeed documentary evidence might even support this as records show two Venetian ships, the Regazone and the Lavia, were impounded by Spanish authorities in Lisbon in February 1588. Furthermore, there is a similar Venetian wreck, the La Trinidad Valencera, which has similar finds to the Church Rocks Wreck including porcelain (implying it would have been for personal use) and at both wrecks alancia fire pots were found. The difference is however that the Trinidad was most certainly requisitioned by the Spanish for use in the planned invasion of England in May 1588, whereas the provenance of the Church Rocks Wreck is much less certain. For example the Trinidad had been retrofitted with additional guns whereas the Church Rocks Wreck is laid out in the standard pattern for Venetian vessels of the time. To suggest that this wreck is one of those impounded ships from Lisbon, which then three months later was utilised by the Spanish for the invasion of England, is simply not supported by sufficient evidence. But it is still interesting to imagine that this vessel may have been the Regazone, the Lavia or some other impounded Venetian ship requisitioned by the Spanish as a communications ship only to founder on or perhaps be sunk over the shallow reef off Teignmouth. Either as a symbol of international trade coming to the shores of England or as part of an invasion force the Church Rocks Wreck is a fascinating example of the how the ocean acted as a connecting factor between different groups of people across the globe, even as far away as China, and helps to highlight how ports such as Teignmouth acted as hubs of interconnectivity.
Coastal defences
Prestonbury Castle, Cranbrook Castle, Wooston Castle, Natterdon Hillfort and Hunter’s Tor Hillfort
Near the origin of the River Teign, up on Dartmoor, lies an area known locally as the Teign Gorge, near the village of Drewsteington. Here the river Teign is surrounded on both sides by hills. On the top of these hills, over 2000 years ago during the Iron Age, the inhabitants of the region constructed multiple hill forts overlooking the river.
Teign - Coastal Defences
Hill Forts are a type of enclosed settlement found in Europe during the Bronze and Iron Age and are usually built on higher ground. Their commanding presence on high ground and the enclosure surrounding them makes their defensive applications obvious, but it is important not to ignore the significant social function and even the symbolic meaning such an impressive structure could have to the inhabitants of the region. They may have served as a symbol of community or identity, especially as the number of man hours and resources needed to construct them would have brought many people together. Or hillforts may have acted as social/trading hubs for the people of the surrounding area? Or perhaps they even were the seats of tribal leaders from which they ruled the surrounding lands, a highly visible and impressive structure to assert their status? Of course, it is possible they served all these functions or any combination of them; indeed different hillforts may have been built for differing reasons, that may have even changed over time. Therefore, we can see the complexities behind why the ancient inhabitants of the Teign might have built these hillforts in the Teign Gorge. But what is most interesting of all is that of the five hillforts found in the Teign Gorge all of them are incomplete. While Wooston originally showed signs of being built in multiple phases it is now believed that it, along with the other four hillforts (Prestonbury Castle, Cranbrook Castle, Natterdon Hillfort and Hunter’s Tor Hillfort) are unfinished single phase constructions (with evidence of some minor secondary work at Wooston). At Cranbrook Hillfort there is even evidence of hut circles and cairns suggesting that the hillfort itself was occupied, just never fully completed. Meanwhile, at Prestonbury analysis suggests that the state the hillfort was left in when work ceased meant that it would actually provide only limited protection. The landscape around these hillforts was filled with evidence of prehistoric habitation including henges, earthworks, hut circles and cairns; all signs of prehistoric civilisation in the area. So why five hillforts were partially constructed but never fully completed currently remains a mystery. Why would the inhabitants of this area start five hillforts rather than reuse or complete previous constructions, especially within such a close proximity? There is evidence to suggest that from Prestonbury Castle you could see Cranbrook castle and vice versa (Murray, 2019, p.117), so it is possible that there two hillforts were active around the same time and constructed with the intention of being connected both visually and perhaps socially. Perhaps these hillforts were only ever intended to serve a symbolic or social function and so the defensive earthworks were never completed? Or perhaps social, economic, or even environmental factors led to their abandonment before completion? Although the question still remains: why did the people of this region decided to build five hillforts all in very close proximity and yet not complete a single one of them?
For more information about Woolston Castle, Prestonbury Castle, Cranbrook Castle, Natterdon Hillfort and Hunter’s Tor Hillfort please see below.
Murray, J., 2019, June. 7 A GIS-based investigation of morphological directionality at hillforts in Britain: the visual perspective. In Hillforts: Britain, Ireland and the Nearer Continent: Papers from the Atlas of Hillforts of Britain and Ireland Conference, June 2017 (p. 117). Archaeopress Publishing Ltd.
For more information about hillforts including the possible uses see
Harding, D. W. & Dennis W. (2012). Iron age hillforts in Britain and beyond. 334. https://books.google.com/books/about/Iron_Age_Hillforts_in_Britain_and_Beyond.html?id=5qNfa4v9I_oC
Coastal change, sea-level change & Climate change
South Devon Railway Line
Tunnel under the railway line - Teignmouth
The South Devon Railway line was constructed by British Civil Engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, famous for projects such as the SS Great Britain, the first tunnel under the Thames and the construction of a number of notable bridges and tunnels. The line was originally supposed to run as an atmospheric railway, which utilised pipes run down the middle of the track kept in vacuum, a piston attached to the train would thus be pushed along by the pressure differential of the atmosphere behind and the vacuum ahead.
The South Devon Railway was completed in 1846 and follows the River Exe down towards the coast and then south hugging the coastline down to Teignmouth before finally following the river Teign up to Newton Abbot. The atmospheric railway was plagued with problems however and by 1848 standard steam locamotives were running on the tracks instead. The route itself tunnels under headlands and perhaps most remarkably runs on top of a specially designed sea wall underneath looming cliffs with waves crashing against the seawall as trains go by in defiance of the power of the sea. Although the route may offer nice sea views for passengers, and certainly proved Brunel’s engineering skill, it has been plagued with problems since it’s opening, such as rockfalls from the cliffs onto the track below, erosion to the sea wall and flooding caused by storms; indeed even today at some high tides certain trains are not allowed on the tracks along the sea wall. Most recently in 2014 a large section of the seawall was damaged in a storm and subsided into the ocean, all these problems have meant the railway line is expensive to maintain and needs constant maintenance.
One such effort to keep the track running was a proposal to move parts of the line onto a newly construct sea wall between Teignmouth and Halcombe away from the unstable cliffs. This move, which received so much negative feedback from local residents, would have lead to the loss of up to a mile of beach, leading to Network Rail changing their plans in early 2020 to retain as much as the beach as possible. Although there is funding to protect and manage this piece of unique heritage it may ultimately be a losing battle as rising sea levels and increasing extreme weather events, caused by global warming, may create a situation where erosion of the seawall and railway line outpace attempts to conserve it and Brunel’s defiance of the ocean will be finally swallowed by the sea.
