Report No: 2013R026 Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey Kingsbridge Historic Environment Projects Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Kingsbridge ii Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Kingsbridge Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey Kingsbridge Client Devon County Council Report Number 2013R026 Date June 2016 Status Final report Report Catherine Parkes BA MIfA author(s) Checked by Andrew Young Approved by Andrew Young Historic Environment, Cornwall Council Kennall Building, Old County Hall, Station Road, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 3AY tel (01872) 323603 fax (01872) 323811 E-mail [email protected] www.cornwall.gov.uk iii Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Kingsbridge Acknowledgements This project was commissioned by Devon County Council for English Heritage and carried out by the Projects team of Historic Environment, Cornwall Council (HE, CC) in partnership with Devon County Council Historic Environment Service. Within the team, the project manager was Andrew Young. Peter Dudley contributed training and support for the GIS mapping, including the production of the maps used in this report. Kingsbridgian Adam Sharpe of HE Projects kindly provided much information on the town, including many photographs, several of which are reproduced in the report; and also made detailed comments on the draft text. Thanks to copyright holder the British Library Board for permission to use an image of the OS drawing of 1803 (Map 4, rear of report), and to Kingsbridge Town Clerk, Martin Johnson, for help with photographing the original town map of 1841 and for permitting reproduction of this in the report (Map 6). Thanks also to the staff of the Kingsbridge Cookworthy Museum and Local Heritage Resource Centre, and to Peter Herring (English Heritage), for help with accessing information; and to residents of the town who assisted the project fieldwork and photography and contributed discussions of its history and character. The views and recommendations expressed in this report are those of Historic Environment Projects and are presented in good faith on the basis of professional judgement and on information currently available. Freedom of Information Act As Cornwall Council is a public authority it is subject to the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which came into effect from 1st January 2005. Historic Environment, Cornwall Council is a Registered Organisation with the Institute for Archaeologists Cover illustration Buildings symbolic of Kingsbridge on the west side of Fore Street, at the historic heart of the town. This place is considered to represent the centre of the full extent of the medieval market street, and also the north, inland end of the first phase of the town. Beyond the Town Hall of 1850, with its giant clock of c1874, is the (rebuilt) Tudor market house or Shambles, standing in the former market place, in front of the Church. © Cornwall Council 2013 No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher. iv Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Kingsbridge Contents 1 Summary 1 2 Town context 3 2.1 Location 3 2.2 Geology, topography and climate 3 2.3 Previous archaeological work 4 3 Historical development 5 3.1 Prehistoric, and Roman (to AD409) 6 3.2 Early medieval (AD410 – 1065) 7 3.2.1 The King’s Bridge 7 3.2.2 Life on the creek in Saxon times 10 3.3 High Middle Ages (1066 – 1299) 12 3.3.1 A tale of two towns 12 3.3.2 Market on the ridgeway 13 3.3.3 Market on the valley side 15 3.4 Later Medieval (1300-1539) 17 3.4.1 ‘Where the abbot of Buckfast used to keep Lent’ 17 3.4.2 ‘Sumtyme a praty Town’ 20 3.5 Post Medieval (1540 – 1699) 21 3.5.1 ‘The Newe Byldyng’ 21 3.5.2 Water in the streets 23 3.5.3 A ‘quaint, foreign aspect’ 23 3.5.4 The town of sixteen religions 24 3.6 Eighteenth century 26 3.6.1 Modification of the markets, and decline at Dodbrooke 26 3.6.2 ‘Spirited improvements’ at Kingsbridge 26 3.6.3 ‘Considerable quantities of corn and cider are shipped’ 28 3.6.4 ‘The scenery is fine’; 29 3.7 Early 19th century 31 3.7.1 ‘Kingsbridge appears modern, Dodbrooke marked by age’ 31 3.7.2 A ‘picturesque appearance’ 34 3.7.3 Mills and markets 35 3.7.4 Barracks above the Bag 36 3.7.5 Quays and muddy beach 36 3.7.6 Turnpikes and the New Bridge 37 3.8 Later 19th century 38 3.8.1 ‘A clean and respectable town’ 38 3.8.2 ‘An active coasting trade’ 39 3.8.3 Distant railway, and river steamers 40 3.8.4 Apples, vines and magnolias 41 3.9 Twentieth century to the present time 42 3.9.1 A railway age of 50 years 42 3.9.2 Kingsbridge quadruples in size 42 3.9.3 Cattle out, grockles in 44 4 Historic Urban Character 46 4.1 HUCA 1; Ancient estuary head 47 4.1.1 Historic character 47 4.1.2 Above ground heritage significance 49 v Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Kingsbridge 4.1.3 Below ground heritage significance 49 4.2 HUCA 2; Ridgetop borough of Kingsbridge 51 4.2.1 Historic character 51 4.2.2 Above ground heritage significance 56 4.2.3 Below ground heritage significance 57 4.3 HUCA 3; Upper Fore Street 61 4.3.1 Historic character 61 4.3.2 Above ground heritage significance 63 4.3.3 Below ground heritage significance 63 4.4 HUCA 4; Knowle and Welle 65 4.4.1 Historic character 65 4.4.2 Above ground heritage significance 66 4.4.3 Below ground heritage significance 66 4.5 HUCA 5; Lower Union Road 68 4.5.1 Historic character 68 4.5.2 Above ground heritage significance 69 4.5.3 Below ground heritage significance 69 4.6 HUCA 6; Square’s Quay 71 4.6.1 Historic character 71 4.6.2 Above ground heritage significance 72 4.6.3 Below ground heritage significance 72 4.7 HUCA 7; West Cookworthy Road 74 4.7.1 Historic character 74 4.7.2 Above ground heritage significance 76 4.7.3 Below ground heritage significance 76 4.8 HUCA 8; Coombe Cross 78 4.8.1 Historic character 78 4.8.2 Above ground heritage significance 78 4.8.3 Below ground heritage significance 78 4.9 HUCA 9; Kingsbridge Station 79 4.9.1 Historic character 79 4.9.2 Above ground heritage significance 79 4.9.3 Below ground heritage significance 79 4.10 HUCA 10; Westville 80 4.10.1 Historic character 80 4.10.2 Above ground heritage significance 81 4.10.3 Below ground heritage significance 81 4.11 HUCA 11; Ropewalk 83 4.11.1 Historic character 83 4.11.2 Above ground heritage significance 83 4.11.3 Below ground heritage significance 84 4.12 HUCA 12; Tacketwood 85 4.12.1 Historic character 85 4.12.2 Above ground heritage significance 86 4.12.3 Below ground heritage significance 86 4.13 HUCA 13; Dodbrooke 88 4.13.1 Historic character 88 4.13.2 Above ground heritage significance 92 4.13.3 Below ground heritage significance 92 4.14 HUCA 14; Saltmill 95 4.14.1 Historic character 95 vi Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Kingsbridge 4.14.2 Above ground heritage significance 96 4.14.3 Below ground heritage significance 97 4.15 HUCA 15; Newquay 99 4.15.1 Historic character 99 4.15.2 Above ground heritage significance 99 4.15.3 Below ground heritage significance 99 4.16 HUCA 16; Southville 102 4.16.1 Historic character 102 4.16.2 Above ground heritage significance 103 4.16.3 Below ground heritage significance 103 4.17 HUCA 17; High House Point 104 4.17.1 Historic character 104 4.17.2 Above ground heritage significance 105 4.17.3 Below ground heritage significance 105 4.18 HUCA 18; New Dodbrooke 107 4.18.1 Historic character 107 4.18.2 Above ground heritage significance 108 4.18.3 Below ground heritage significance 108 4.19 HUCA 19; Bell Cross 109 4.19.1 Historic character 109 4.19.2 Above ground heritage significance 109 4.19.3 Below ground heritage significance 110 4.20 HUCA 20; Wallingford Road 111 4.20.1 Historic character 111 4.20.2 Above ground heritage significance 111 4.20.3 Below ground heritage significance 111 4.21 HUCA 21; Wallingford 113 4.21.1 Historic character 113 4.21.2 Above ground heritage significance 113 4.21.3 Below ground heritage significance 114 5 Suggestions for future research 115 6 Bibliography 116 Appendix; Kingsbridge Timeline 119 vii Devon Historic Coastal and Market Towns Survey: Kingsbridge List of Figures Illustrations in summary of historical development, Section 3 Fig 1 Carving of a seal featuring a royal bridge on Kingsbridge Church (in HUCA 2) Fig 2 Kingsbridge’s original market place (in HUCA 2) narrows, by the site of a residence of the abbots of Buckfast (behind scaffolding) to a bend (to left) at its foot Fig 3 Suggested early market infrastructure of Dodbrooke, from the north (HUCA 13) Fig 4 Font at Dodbrooke Church in HUCA 13 Fig 5 View from the west of St Edmund’s, Kingsbridge, dedicated in 1414 (HUCA 2) Fig 6 Later copy of 1586 bird’s eye plan of part of Kingsbridge’s historic core, in HUCA 2 Fig 7 Later structure on the site of Dodbrooke’s market house, HUCA 13 (centre photo) Fig 8 Baptist Lane, Kingsbridge, looking east towards Fore Street from the railings of the chapel of 1798, enlarged 1852 (right), past the meeting house of 1700 (HUCA 2) Fig 9 Grammar School of 1670 on Fore Street, now a museum (right), just outside medieval expansion plots north of the church, bounding HUCA 3 against HUCA 2 Fig 10 The King’s Arms of 1775, once one of a cluster of inns, looking south (HUCA 2) Fig 11 Revetment of old riverfront below a warehouse on Ebrington Street in HUCA 13 Fig 12 Quay House, built west of the estuary head in 1789, and remnant lawn (HUCA 6) Fig 13 A bank of 1808 with double front of local stone east of Fore Street in HUCA 2 Fig 14 Core of the Kingsbridge