The North Devon Coast

Transcriber’s Note
Text on cover added by Transcriber and placed in the Public Domain.
THE NORTH DEVON COAST
WORKS BY CHARLES G. HARPER
The Portsmouth Road, and its Tributaries: To-day and in Daysof Old.
The Dover Road: Annals of an Ancient Turnpike.
The Bath Road: History, Fashion, and Frivolity on an OldHighway.
The Exeter Road: The Story of the West of England Highway.
The Great North Road: The Old Mail Road to Scotland. TwoVols.
The Norwich Road: An East Anglian Highway.
The Holyhead Road: The Mail-Coach Road to Dublin. TwoVols.
The Cambridge, Ely, and King’s Lynn Road: The GreatFenland Highway.
The Newmarket, Bury, Thetford, and Cromer Road: Sportand History on an East Anglian Turnpike.
The Oxford, Gloucester, and Milford Haven Road: TheReady Way to South Wales. Two Vols.
The Brighton Road: Speed, Sport, and History on the ClassicHighway.
The Hastings Road and the “Happy Springs of Tunbridge.”
Cycle Rides Round London.
A Practical Handbook of Drawing for Modern Methods ofReproduction.
Stage-Coach and Mail in Days of Yore. Two Vols.
The Ingoldsby Country: Literary Landmarks of “The IngoldsbyLegends.”
The Hardy Country: Literary Landmarks of the Wessex Novels.
The Dorset Coast.
The South Devon Coast.
The Old Inns of Old England. Two Vols.
Love in the Harbour: a Longshore Comedy.
Rural Nooks Round London (Middlesex and Surrey).
The Manchester and Glasgow Road; This way to GretnaGreen. Two Vols.
Haunted Houses; Tales of the Supernatural.
The Somerset Coast. [In the Press.

E. D. Percival
[Ilfracombe.
LYNMOUTH, FROM THE BEACH.
THE NORTH DEVON
COAST
BY
CHARLES G. HARPER
“Let us, in God’s name, adventure one voyage more,always with this caution, that you be pleased totolerate my vulgar phrase, and to pardon me if, inkeeping the plain highway, I use a plain low phrase;and in rough, rugged and barren places, rude, rustic,and homely terms.”—Thomas Westcote, 1620.

London: CHAPMAN & HALL, Ltd.
1908
PRINTED AND BOUND BY
HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.,
LONDON AND AYLESBURY.
vii
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I | |
PAGE | |
INTRODUCTORY | 1 |
CHAPTER II | |
LYNMOUTH | 9 |
CHAPTER III | |
LYNTON—THE WICHEHALSE FAMILY, IN FICTION AND IN FACT | 21 |
CHAPTER IV | |
THE COAST, TO COUNTISBURY AND GLENTHORNE | 35 |
CHAPTER V | |
THE NORTH WALK—THE VALLEY OF ROCKS—LEE “ABBEY”—WOODA BAY—HEDDON’S MOUTH—TRENTISHOE—THE HANGMAN HILLS | 44 |
CHAPTER VIviii | |
COMBEMARTIN, AND ITS OLD SILVER MINES—THE CHURCH—WATERMOUTH CASTLE—HELE | 71 |
CHAPTER VII | |
“’COMBE” IN HISTORY—MODERN ’COMBE—THE OLD CHURCH | 84 |
CHAPTER VIII | |
LUNDY—HISTORY OF THE ISLAND—WRECK OF THE “MONTAGU”—LUNDY OFFERED AT AUCTION—DESCRIPTION | 106 |
CHAPTER IX | |
CHAMBERCOMBE AND ITS “HAUNTED HOUSE”—BERRYNARBOR | 123 |
CHAPTER X | |
LEE—MORTE POINT—MORTHOE AND THE TRACY LEGEND—WOOLACOMBE—GEORGEHAM—CROYDE—SAUNTON SANDS—BRAUNTON, BRAUNTON BURROWS, AND LIGHTHOUSE | 131 |
CHAPTER XIix | |
PILTON—BARNSTAPLE BRIDGE—OLD COUNTRY WAYS—BARUM—HISTORY AND COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE—OLD HOUSES—“SEVEN BRETHREN BANK”—FREMINGTON—INSTOW AND THE LOVELY TORRIDGE | 155 |
CHAPTER XII | |
KINGSLEY AND “WESTWARD HO!”—BIDEFORD BRIDGE—THE GRENVILLES—SIR RICHARD GRENVILLE AND THE “REVENGE”—THE ARMADA GUNS—BIDEFORD CHURCH—THE POSTMAN POET | 177 |
CHAPTER XIII | |
THE KINGSLEY STATUE—NORTHAM—“BLOODY CORNER”—APPLEDORE—WESTWARD HO! AND THE PEBBLE RIDGE | 197 |
CHAPTER XIV | |
ABBOTSHAM—“WOOLSERY”—BUCK’S MILL | 205 |
CHAPTER XV | |
CLOVELLY—“UP ALONG” AND “DOWN ALONG”—THE “NEW INN”—APPRECIATIVE AMERICANS—THE QUAY POOL—THE HERRING FISHERY | 208 |
CHAPTER XVIx | |
MOUTH MILL AND BLACK CHURCH ROCK—THE COAST TO HARTLAND—HARTLAND POINT—HARTLAND ABBEY—HARTLAND QUAY | 224 |
INDEX | 245 |
xi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Lynmouth, from the Beach | Frontispiece |
PAGE | |
Map of North Devon Coast | 1 |
Headpiece | 1 |
Watersmeet | 6 |
Lynmouth and the Tors, from the Beach | 12 |
Lyndale Bridge | 17 |
Lynmouth, from the Tors Hotel | 18 |
Lynton | 24 |
The “Blue Ball” | 37 |
Glenthorne | 42 |
The Valley of Rocks | 47 |
Lee “Abbey” | 53 |
Wooda Bay | 59 |
Heddon’s Mouth | 62 |
“Hunter’s Inn” | 64 |
Trentishoe Church | 66 |
The “Pack of Cards,” Combemartin | 73 |
Combemartin Church | 77 |
Great Hangman Hill, and Entrance to Combemartin Harbour | 80 |
Widemouth Bay | 81xii |
Capstone Hill and the Concert Parties | 84 |
In the Harbour, Ilfracombe | 89 |
Lantern Hill, Ilfracombe | 90 |
Ilfracombe | 100 |
Ilfracombe Church-tower | 103 |
Lundy | 107 |
The Landing-place, Lundy | 111 |
The Montagu, on the Shutter Rock | 117 |
The last of the Montagu, August, 1907 | 118 |
Chambercombe | 125 |
The “Haunted House” of Chambercombe | 127 |
Morthoe | 135 |
Braunton Church | 147 |
Sir John Schorne and his Devil | 148 |
Braunton Burrows | 150 |
Braunton Lighthouse | 153 |
The Jester’s Head | 156 |
Pulpit and Hour-glass, Pilton | 157 |
An Old Door, Barnstaple | 165 |
Old Room in the “Trevelyan Arms” | 167 |
“Queen Anne’s Walk” | 168 |
Barnstaple Church and Grammar School | 170 |
The “Kingsley Room,” Royal Hotel, Bideford | 178 |
Seal of Bideford | 182 |
Bideford Bridge | 183 |
Bideford Quay | 191 |
“Bloody Corner” | 199 |
Clovelly, from Buck’s Mill | 206xiii |
Clovelly, from the Hobby Drive | 209 |
“Up-along,” Clovelly | 213 |
Sign of the “New Inn,” Clovelly | 216 |
A Clovelly Donkey | 218 |
“Temple Bar” | 219 |
The Quay, Clovelly | 220 |
Back of the “Red Lion,” Clovelly | 221 |
Clovelly, from the Sea | 225 |
Clovelly Church | 226 |
Black Church Rock | 227 |
Hartland Point | 229 |
Hartland Quay | 237 |
Speke’s Mouth | 238 |
At Marsland Mouth | 243 |

1

THE
North Devon
Coast
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
No one can, with advantage, explore the ruggedcoast of North Devon by progressing direct fromthe point where it begins and so continuing, withoutonce harking back. The scenery is exceptionallybold and fine, and the tracing of the actualcoast-line by consequence a matter of no littledifficulty. Only the pedestrian can see this coastas a whole, and even he needs to be blessed withpowers




