NOTABLE HOUSES
moved out. robert, in protest at the loss of his family’s power in Dartmouth, resigned from the townstal parish and took up the Parish in Brixham. But he didn’t want to move from Brookhill to his new parish (and let’s be honest, if you had a palatial mansion in 48 acres of grounds with views across the mouth of the river Dart, you wouldn’t either.) It appears that the Parish changed the parish boundaries to include Brookhill in Brixham, which certainly underlines the power the family still held, despite the political tide turning against them both locally and nationally. there is no actual documentary con- firmation of this, but the tithe maps for the Brixham parish after robert became vicar do look a little strange: there’s the recognizable shape of Brixham up to Berry Head, and then, below it, is another map entirely, of the southerly stretch of Kingswear, containing the Brookhill estate – to allow robert to stay in his presidential abode seems the only explanation for the change. After robert died in 1861, just a year
after Arthur, the property was first rented out, and then sold to a succession of own- ers, many of whom added to the house’s estate.
In 1942 Brookhill took on its most
important role yet: it became home to the 23rd Flotilla of “the Forces navales
Francaises Libres” – or the Free French. Brookhill served as the headquarters and the home of the crews (although the officers were elsewhere). the group was an elite and privileged one, featuring none other than Philippe de Gaulle, son of the General who singlehandedly brought about the Free French movement following the creation of the Vichy Government, after it signed pacts with the nazis following the German invasion in 1940. the group also included a brave young man by the name of Francois Mitterrand, who would revisit the harbour when President of France in 1984. the flotilla conducted raids on the French coast in Mo-
tor torpedo Launches, picked up intelligence and downed fighter pilots and dropped off supplies for the French re- sistance. Many a man sailed out of the harbour late at night, never to return. the group won numerous medals for bravery during their time in the village.
De Gaulle himself visited the flotilla and
Brookhill now divided into apartments
Kingswear was awarded a special silver medal by the French nation in 1967 in recog- nition of the hospitality shown to its people during the war. Brookhill is now apartments, offering some of the most beautiful views in england – and those who live there must marvel at the lives lived by their predecessors. •
stain resistant anti slip surface
uv protected
low maintenance long Lasting
07794 072910 01803 712737
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