Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Salcombe History Society Chair Jasper Evans and the Committee wish all our members a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Christmas Lights outside Coleman’s Butchers
Christmas Lights in Kingsale Road
The Old Council Hall
History Society 2025 AGM: Tuesday 25th March 2025
The History Society’s 2025 AGM will take place on Tuesday 25th March 2025 at 7 pm at Salcombe Rugby Club, Twomeads, Camperdown Road, Salcombe TQ8 8AX.
Following AGM business, Dr Elaine Murphy will give a talk about Maritime Aspects of the Civil War with a focus on South Devon.
Dr Murphy is Associate Professor of Maritime and Naval History at the University of Plymouth and formerly Associate Head of School at the University for History and Art History. Dr Murphy’s research interests include early modern maritime history, the British Civil Wars of the 1640s and 1650s, and the writings and speeches of Oliver Cromwell. In 2018, Dr Murphy and Dr Richard Blakemore co-authored The British Civil Wars at Sea, 1638-53 (Boydell, 2018). Dr Murphy’s current research focuses on the experiences of women with the Royal Navy in the 17th Century.
King Charles I (1600-1649) by Daniel Des Granges, after John Hoskins, watercolour on vellum. Original painted c. 1645, just before the siege of Fort Charles
Robert Blake (1599-1657) by Samuel Cooper, early 1650s.
General at Sea Robert Blake was the greatest of the Parliamentary sea commanders. He was a merchant in Somerset until the Civil War. After the defeat of the Royalists, his naval service was in the Mediterranean, against Barbary corsairs and the Turks. In the First Dutch War (1652-1654) he fought ferocious battles against the Dutch in the Channel and the North Sea. Robert Blake died of fever off Portsmouth in 1657 after destroying a Spanish fleet at Santa Cruz, Tenerife
Seaside Parish Christmas Tree Festival
The History Society and Maritime Museum joined forces to exhibit a Christmas Tree at St Peter’s and All Saints, Malborough for this Festival which ran from 13th to 19th December 2024. Our tree was brilliantly created by Caroline Flage, Sadie Medway and the children of Salcombe Primary School. The decorations were inspired by the magnificent collection of ship paintings at the Maritime Museum and stories about Salcombe’s famous fruit schooners.
Lobster class made the three dimensional paper sloops, Starfish class drew schooners on layout paper, Prawn class drew pineapples and finished them off with glittery nail varnish! All drawings were laminated and lit. Blue lights at the bottom represented the sea, warm globe lights in the middle represented sailing round the globe, little white lights at the top represented stars. At the very top of the tree was ‘Polaris’ or North Star, for sailors to navigate.
A very fine tree indeed – one of many wonderful trees on display at the Festival.
The History Society-Maritime Museum Christmas Tree
A sloop made by Lobster class
A schooner made by Starfish class
A pineapple made by Prawn class, with an orange, perhaps from the Azores
Down Memory Lane – Salcombe 50 Years Ago
On 1st October 2024, the Society hosted a talk at Salcombe Rugby Club entitled ‘Down Memory Lane – Salcombe 50 Years Ago’. Roger Barrett and Geoff Foale took everyone through many old photos from Salcombe. The challenge was to name the people, places and events in the images – most were successfully identified!
Down Memory Lane – Salcombe 50 Years Ago
Roger Barrett hosting Down Memory Lane
Salcombe 2024 Citizen of the Year
Congratulations to Roger Barrett, History Society Archivist and Committee member, and Chair of Salcombe Maritime Museum, who was awarded Salcombe 2024 Citizen of the Year by Mayor Mark Goodey at the town’s Civic Dinner on 23rd November 2024.
The Civic Dinner marked the 80th anniversary to the day of the Thanksgiving Dinner in 1944, at the same place – the Assembly Hall at Cliff House – with the same menu. The U.S. Navy Commander wrote on his menu at the 1944 Dinner “I guess I didn’t miss out on anything they had at home but some of the others weren’t as fortunate.”
Salcombe’s Thanksgiving Dinner menu of 23rd November 1944
2025 Calendar – Last Chance to Buy!
Copies of our 2025 Calendar are on sale for £9.99 at Ashby’s of Salcombe, Bonningtons Salcombe, Salcombe Information Centre and at the Spar on Loring Road. Also available to buy online. Every month features beautiful historic large images of Salcombe. The perfect present for 2025!
History Society Photo Albums
The Society has a great selection of photos on display in its photo albums which you can view at Salcombe Maritime Museum and at events where the Society has a stand. These photos may be purchased, A3 size at £8 plus £4 P&P and A4 size at £4 plus £3 P&P. Contact us to find out more.
Contact us
Please do send us information, images, documents, and questions about Salcombe’s history to: info@salcombehistorysociety.co.uk.
Salcombe Field of Light
Salcombe Field of Light has been donated to the RNLI and Salcombe’s community in the RNLI’s 200th year by world renowned artist Bruce Munro to raise funds for RNLI Lifeboats and volunteer crews. To sponsor a light and for more information please visit: salcombefieldoflight.com
Field of Light, Salcombe in aid of the RNLI, ends on 10th January 2025
Image of King Charles I copyright National Portrait Gallery, licensed for reuse under Creative Commons. Image of Robert Blake copyright National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Caird Collection. Image of Thanksgiving Dinner menu courtesy of Salcombe Maritime Museum. Image of Field of Light copyright Bruce Munro.
0 Comments