96 A Brief History of Dartmouth


By The Dart has published nearly 100 articles over the past 10 years that describe Dartmouth’s rich and illustrious history. We are, however, concious that this magazine is always attracting new readers so, for them, here is a short but comprehensive guide to our local history provided by the Dartmouth History Group.


W


E KNOW FROM ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION that people came to


the hills overlooking the mouth of the Dart many thousands of years ago and made their stone tools by the riverbank. However, the earliest known histor- ical reference to Dartmouth is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which records that in 1049, Swein, son of Earl Godwin, ordered that his cousin Beorn should “be killed and buried deep” in Dartmouth. But in the Domesday Book, for 1066 and 1086, only the estate of “Dunestal”, or Townstal, is mentioned.


1049 ➜ E 1147 ➜


XACTLY WHEN IS UNCERTAIN, BUT


NEXT TO A TIDAL CREEK ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE RIVER, TWO SETTLEMENTS DEVELOPED – to the north, Hardness, and to the south, Cliſton. In May 1147, a large fleet (one source says 164 ships, another, 200) sailed from Dartmouth to take part in the siege of Lisbon, as part of the Second Crusade. Tey came from across Northern Europe, and the choice of Dartmouth as their final assembly point suggests there were already sufficient fa- cilities to supply them in the large, sheltered natural harbour.


B


Y 1327, DARTMOUTH BELONGED TO THE


CROWN, and in 1341 Edward III granted extensive rights of self-government to his “beloved burgesses of Clyſton, Dertemouth and Hardenasse”. In return, the town provided two fully manned and equipped warships for his service, whenever he needed them. In the late 14th


century,


Dartmouth contributed more ships for the war against the French than any other port in England. To its Common Seal, at first a single-masted ship afloat, the town proudly added the figure of a crowned King, and later, two lions on either side.


W


HEN HENRY II MARRIED ELEANOR OF ACQUI-


TAINE IN 1152, England and south-western France became closely linked within a cross-channel Empire. Dartmouth was well placed to take advantage of the profitable Bordeaux wine trade but a key stimulus for development was the Hundred Years War. Dart- mouth became an important embarkation point for troops, supplies and naval expeditions.


1152 ➜ 1341 ➜ P


NOTORIOUS, and Geoffrey Chaucer, who visited the town in 1373, made one of them a character in Te Canterbury Tales. From 1351, Dartmouth regularly sent two MPs to Parliament; ship owners were MPs, mayors, and royal office-holders. Teir business involved high risks, but high returns – ship owning meant wealth, success and political power.


T 1373 ➜


ROBABLY THE RICHEST OF DARTMOUTH’S SHIP OWNERS WAS John Hawley, who owned at least


twelve different ships but other Dartmouth burgesses also owned several. Along with other owners, he was licensed in 1379 by the Crown to attack and destroy enemy ships. Tereaſter, he was regularly involved in privateering, and sometimes, outright piracy. Te English Channel was a lawless place, and Dartmouth needed its own defences. As mayor in 1388, John Hawley was ordered by Richard II to “build a fortalice by the sea at the entrance of the port”. A chain stretched across the river to Godmerock. Remains of the fortification can still be seen within Dartmouth Castle.


HE “SHIPMEN” OF DARTMOUTH BECAME


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