Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey Dartmouth
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Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey Dartmouth Client Devon County Council Report Number ACD1170/1/1 Date April 2016 Status Version 2 (Final) Report author Peter Weddell Checked by Ann Marie Dick Approved by John Valentin Acknowledgements This project was commissioned by Devon County Council with funding provided by Historic England. The work was carried out by AC archaeology. The baseline data and mapping was kindly provided by Ann Dick, Graham Tait and Marrina Neophytou of Devon County Council Historic Environment Team (DCCHET). The project was co-ordinated on behalf of DCCHET by Bill Horner and for AC archaeology by John Valentin. This report was written by Peter Weddell and the preparation of figures and collation/inputting of data was undertaken by Sarnia Blackmore. The majority of photographs included within this report were taken by Marrina Neophytou, John Valentin and Ben Pears. The views and recommendations expressed in this report are those of AC archaeology and are presented in good faith on the basis of professional judgement and on information currently available. Cover illustration View west across Dartmouth towards St Saviour’s Church and the harbour, from Victoria Road © Devon County Council 2016 i Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Dartmouth Contents 1 Summary ................................................................................................................................ 1 2 Town context ......................................................................................................................... 3 2.1 Location and setting ..................................................................................................... 3 2.2 Geology and topography .............................................................................................. 3 2.3 Previous archaeological work ....................................................................................... 3 3 Historical development ......................................................................................................... 4 3.1 Prehistoric and Roman context ..................................................................................... 4 3.2 Early medieval estate: Townstal and Stoke (Fig. 4) ...................................................... 5 3.3 Medieval Borough and Port (Figs 4 and 5) ................................................................... 5 3.4 Post-medieval (Fig. 6) .................................................................................................. 9 3.5 The 19th century (Figs 7-9) ........................................................................................ 11 3.6 The 20th century (Figs 10 and 11) .............................................................................. 13 4 Historic Urban Character (Figs 12 and 13) ..........................................................................14 4.1 Western Outskirts and Milton Lane (HUCA 1) ............................................................. 14 4.2 North-west expansion (HUCA 2) ................................................................................. 16 4.3 Nelson Road/Collingwood Road (HUCA 3) ................................................................. 17 4.4 Ford Valley and Lower Victoria Road (HUCA 4) ......................................................... 18 4.5 Townstal (HUCA 5) ..................................................................................................... 19 4.6 Britannia Royal Naval College (HUCA 6) .................................................................... 21 4.7 Sandquay and Coronation Park (HUCA 7) ................................................................. 22 4.8 Ridge Hill and Mount Boone (HUCA 8) ....................................................................... 24 4.9 Hardness and Clarence Hill (HUCA 9) ........................................................................ 25 4.10 Mayors Avenue (HUCA 10) ..................................................................................... 27 4.11 The New Quays (HUCA 11) .................................................................................... 28 4.12 Victoria Road and the Mill Pool Reclamation (HUCA 12). ....................................... 30 4.13 South Ford (HUCA 13) ............................................................................................ 31 4.14 St Saviour’s/Smith Street (HUCA 14) ...................................................................... 32 4.15 Crowther’s Hill (HUCA 15) ...................................................................................... 34 4.16 East of Fairfax Place & Lower Street (HUCA 16) .................................................... 35 4.17 Lower Street (East side) & South Town (HUCA 17) ................................................ 37 4.18 Above Town (HUCA 18) .......................................................................................... 39 4.19 Above Town (South) and Swannaton Road (HUCA 19) .......................................... 40 4.20 Warfleet Road (HUCA 20) ....................................................................................... 41 4.21 Warfleet (HUCA 21) ................................................................................................ 42 4.22 Waterpool Road (HUCA 22) .................................................................................... 44 5 Suggestions for future research ..........................................................................................45 6 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................46 6.1 Primary sources ......................................................................................................... 46 6.2 Publications ................................................................................................................ 46 6.3 Information leaflets ..................................................................................................... 47 6.4 Websites (accessed April to May 2015) ...................................................................... 47 ii Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Dartmouth List of Figures 1. Location and setting 2. Roads and streets 3. Roads and streets (south part of town) 4. Historical development: Medieval 5. Map of the Waterfront, Dartmouth, 1619-20 (DHC R9/1/Z33) 6. Historical development: Post-medieval 7. Extract from 1835 Borough map, reproduced from report by J. Buckle 8. Historical development: Early 19th century 9. Historical development: Late 19th century 10. Historical development: Early 20th century 11. Historical development: Late 20th century 12. Historic Urban Character Types (HUCTs) 2015 13. Historic Urban Character Areas (HUCAs) 2015 Abbreviations AOD Above Ordnance Datum EH English Heritage EUS Extensive Urban Survey DCC Devon County Council DHC Devon Heritage Centre EDV Event Devon (prefix to Devon HER events) HE Historic England HER Historic Environment Record HLC Historic Landscape Characterisation HUCA Historic Urban Character Area HUCT Historic Urban Character Type MDV Monument Devon (prefix to Devon HER numbers) NA National Archives NGR National Grid Reference OS Ordnance Survey TNA The National Archives iii Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Dartmouth 1 Summary Dartmouth was assessed during April to June 2015 under the Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey (DHCMTS). Part of a national programme of Extensive Urban Surveys initiated and supported by English Heritage (now Historic England), DHCMTS is aimed at increasing understanding oF 17 medieval towns within the county, prioritised because of their high historical signiFicance, archaeological potential and the immediacy of development pressure. DHCMTS constitutes a deepening of Devon’s Historic Landscape Characterisation (HLC) project, completed in 2004. Standard, easily available sources are used to identify Historic Urban Character Types (HUCTs), which divide a town up on the basis of land use. Incorporating time- depth allows a town’s urban extent and uses to be mapped during the different periods of its history. The HUCTs are then grouped together to deFine distinct geographical areas – Historic Urban Character Areas (HUCAs) – distinguishable by their speciFic origins, historical development, plan-Form, buildings and degree of survival. HUCAs are the principal tool For describing the character of the historic towns included in the survey. The project results are held digitally in a GIS database (the main project output) as part oF the Devon Historic Environment Record and presented in a report For each town (together with a project synthesis to be published at the end of the project). Whilst the word ‘unique’ is sometimes over-used in historical analysis, Dartmouth is certainly very unusual. It is a town which was efFectively Formed From three settlements (CliFton, Dartmouth and Hardness, within three parishes (Townstal, Stoke Fleming and St Petrox). It is located on the Dart estuary, but developed across a creek, with high, steep land on three sides. The creek was harnessed as a tidal power source at an early period, which kept north and south areas apart. The natural qualities oF the harbour here and the strategic location oF the site however, led to a phenomenal growth in naval activities and trade which made Dartmouth one of the leading towns in the South West. The development of the town as