H.M.S Weazle
H.M.S WEAZLE The coast of North Devon is well known for its history of shipwrecks, however the one that took place on the 11th February 1799…
Eliza Yeo 1840-1917
Eliza has often been described as ‘a real character of Mortehoe’. For those of you who have visited the Mortehoe Heritage Museum you will have seen…
Woolacombe & Mortehoe 1899 – A visitors review
Morte Point, with its stern beauty, and the slanting spur of rocks which is covered when the tide is full, then the suggestiveness of the name is seen,…
A look back at Woolacombe Weddings
With the wedding season in full swing, we take a look at some of the weddings that Woolacombe & Mortehoe have over the years. All were reported in…
Pte Herbert Dyer
Herbert was born on the 23rd August 1912 in North Devon. His parents were James and Mary Dyer, following their marriage they went on to have…
Rockham Bay Hotel, Mortehoe
The Rockham Bay Hotel, previously started its life as a smaller hotel, run by William and Andrea Charlesworth. In 1946 the the hotel was descried in…
Hall 70 Woolacombe
Woolacombe’s village hall can be found on Beach Road, and is available to hire by calling 01271 870247. The hall is the hub of the village…
Elizabeth Berry – Notorious Wrecker
The North Devon coast was often named “The Sailors Grave” it was said that sailors would rather drown at sea than come intothe shore’s of Mortehoe….
Mortehoe Post Office
The Royal Mail can date it’s history as far back as 1516, however it would not be until 1635 that the postal service would be opened…
Hotel Pandora
Pandora House Hotel was built in the 1930’s and is believed to have been the first purpose built boarding house in Woolacombe. It was built in…
Richard James Trebble (1926-1945)
Richard James Trebble was born in 1926 to Arthur and Minnie of Woolacombe. The family lived at WaveCrest. Richard along with his friends, Ray Easterbrook, Alf…
Olin Dows A United States Army artist who served during World War II in Woolacombe
“Images are my language” Olin Dows 1963 Olin Dows was born in 1904 in New York, educated at Harvard’s Department of Fine Arts and later at…
The lifeboat for Mortehoe, 1871
Morthoe Bay, Morte Point, Rockham Bay, and Bull Point, have an evil repute in the sailors’s log. It has been buoyed with such warning as might…
Sub-Lieut Derek Worth
The Worth family lived in Woolacombe, Frederick, Derek’s father, worked at the Woolacombe Bay Hotel during the second world war, as their own house had been…
Strange proceedings at Mortehoe
In 1887 an event took place in Mortehoe that would be later reported in the press as ‘The Strange Proceedings at Mortehoe’, it would be a…
Woolacombe, Mortehoe and The Chichester Family
The Chichester family had a strong and important connection with Woolacombe and Mortehoe. The family owned much of the North Devon Coastline including their home at…
The Woolacombe Bay Hotel
The Woolacombe Bay Hotel was constructed in 1887, and was initially called the “Shakespeare Hotel”, before it was renamed the Woolacombe Bay. Photographs of the Hotel…
Woolacombe Weavers (1938)
The girl weavers of Woolacombe find their craft slimming. “Weaving exercises so many muscles,” explained grey-eyed brunette Miss R. Woollan. “You are always moving legs and…
Dodge, Dunkeswell and Disaster
On May 8th 1945 Nazi Germany surrendered and the Second World War in Europe came to an end. With the fighting over, there was no longer…
The Grange, Mortehoe
Mr Thomas founded the Grange as a Ministers Seaside Home, he would be the first warden of the home, visiting The Grange whenever he could, but…
The Watersmeet Hotel
The Watersmeet Hotel by Sue Hill, Barricane Books Find this lovely, gracious hotel at the far end of Woolacombe’s Esplanade, facing due south, with its grounds…
Eating, Drinking & Dancing – The Chichester Arms (1841)
North Devon Journal – Thursday 07 January 1841 Offence against Ale House Licence – Rev. J. D. Ness, rector of Mortehoe, exhibited a complaint against George Irwin Keeper…
Barricane House
Barricane House in Mortehoe is believed to have been given it’s name as it was the closest a horse drawn carriage could get to Barricane Shell…
William John Cousins
William John Cousins was the eldest son of William and Charlotte Cousins, born in Mortehoe in 1884. William’s parents married in Lee on Christmas Eve 1878,…
Thomas Randall (1879-1916)
Thomas Randal was born on the 5th February 1879 to Richard and Jane Randall (nee Rose). Thomas was one of seven children, when he was born…
Victoria Tay
Chasing a kite across Woolacombe Beach is a childhood memory that is as clear as day to me. I had a Garfield kite, and my dad…
Mortehoe & Woolacombe As Seen by A Rambler (1886)
A wonderful depiction of Woolacombe & Mortehoe, as seen by a rambler travelling to the area in 1886. Arriving at Mortehoe Station, he tells of his…
Herbert Perryman (1885-1915)
Herbert Perryman was born in 1885 to Alfred and Mary Perryman. He would marry Ella Moule in 1908, where following their marriage they would live in…
Kelly Moss
We fell in love in Mortehoe. Our first real date involved a road trip to Mortehoe in 2009 (my now husband was a drinks delivery driver…
Mortehoe & Woolacombe Station
The London and South Western railway line was extended from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe in July 1874, when the Mortehoe railway station was opened. On Tuesday 9th…
Kenneth Vernon Dodgson (1891-1915)
Kenneth Vernon Dodgson was born in Harrow on the 25th June 1891 to Reverend Francis Vivian and Constance Mary Dodgson. His father, Reverend Francis Vivian, had…
Parade House, Woolacombe
Once the home of Rosalie Chichester, Parade House has been turned into luxury self catering holiday lets, John and Briony who have a deep affinity with…
Sam Kruger
My love affair with Woolacombe and Mortehoe began 40 years ago when my Grandad moved from London to Lapford, some way down the A377. Many holidays…
Thomas Henry Nicholls (1892-1917)
Thomas Henry Nicholls was born in 1892 in Worcestershire to Samuel and Eva (nee Butler) Nicholls. Samuel and Eva married on the 25th March 1886 in…
Woolacombe Housing Estate – Arlington Place (1948)
1st January 1948 WOOLACOMBE HOUSING ESTATE Mrs. J. E. Pile Performs Opening Ceremony An interesting Christmastide ceremony was the formal opening of Woolacombe’s new housing estate….
Mortehoe visit (1861)
17th January 1861 MORTHOE. Lady Bruce Chichester has paid her accustomed New Year visit to this place, and was gladly welcomed by the poor of the…
Mortehoe (1859)
Mortehoe – North Devon Journal – 14th July 1859 The native beaches of this delightful spot are attracting numerous and daily visitors from Ilfracombe and the…
Eustace Edward Faull
Eustace Edward Faull was born in Glamorgan, Wales his was the son of Joseph and Eleanor Faull. Eustace’s father Joseph would die when Eustace was just…
Ulysses & James Harris Mortehoe Brothers
The People behind the Names – Ulysses & James Harris Mortehoe Brothers Private James Harris and his brother, Sapper Ulysses Marfleet Harris, were from Mortehoe and both…
Caroline Delin
I’m not alone in my infatuation and fascination with Woolacombe, after all you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t feel the same. It’s a very…
Pam Bodimeade
My love affair with Woolacombe began one frosty morning in Spring 1981. My (now) husband Neale had spent many summers holidaying in Woolacombe in the 70s…
John Fielding
My love of North Devon goes back nearly as far as my love of flight. From the age of ten in 1971 until well after I…
William John Cowler (1897-1916)
William John Cowler was born in 1897 to John and Ellen Cowler (nee Hewitt). The family lived in Woolacombe at Holmesdale House, where they took in…
Frederick Howard Arnold Horsfall (1891-1916)
Frederick Howard Arnold Horsfall was born in Gravesend in 1891 to Frederick and Louisa Horsfall. His father, already a sailor travelled the world as part of…
Ellen Mooney
Hello everyone this is my story of wonderful North Devon, in particular, Woolacombe and Mortehoe. My mother was from Combe Martin and was one of two…
Woolacombe Girl Home from America (1947)
North Devon Journal Thursday 14th August 1947 6000 Miles for visit Woolacombe Girl home from America “I am glad to have the opportunity of speaking for…
Bungalow Cafe Restaurant – known today as the Red Barn (1906)
North Devon Journal – Thursday 31 May 1906 Bungalow Café Restaurant at Woolacombe Under this title a new refreshment room was opened at Woolacombe on Monday…
Woolacombe Soldier Killed in Action 1918. Pte James H Harris
Thursday 11th April 1918 Woolacombe Soldier killed in Action Sincere sympathy will be expressed with Mr. W. B. Harris, grocer, and Miss, Harris of Woolacombe in…
Ruth
My name is Ruth, I am now in my 20’s however, I have been coming to Woolacombe and Mortehoe since I was a child. It is…
Mortehoe Soldier in the Dardanelles Operations
Mr. A. H. Slee, Headmaster of Morte-Hoe School, has received an interesting letter from an “old boy” of the School – Sapper W. J. Cowler,…
Alfred Henry Toms (1866-1918)
Alfred Henry Toms was born on the 28th January 1866, he was the son of Samuel and Sally Toms of Barnstaple. Samuel Toms married Sally Gribble…
Gateway to Paradise Trickling stream that divides two world
Gateway to Paradise Trickling stream that divides two worlds Friday 25th Jan 1935 By S. P. B. Mains As I am for the greater part of…
Homecoming of Woolacombe Soldier – Driver Richard Tossell (1943)
Grand to be Back Homecoming of Woolacombe Repatriated Soldier Ambulance Driver Richard G. Tossell, of Glen Villa, Woolacombe was one of the service men repatriated from…
Corpl Walter Brown of Resthaven, Woolacombe PoW (1943)
North Devon Journal – Thursday 21st January 1943 Corpl. Walter Brown, of Resthaven, Woolacombe formerly of Georgeham who is a prisoner of war in Germany. Corpl,…
Gunner A. F. Bidgood writes from Italy (1944)
Thursday 31st August 1944 – North Devon Journal Gunner A. F. Bidgood of Woolacombe, who is serving with the 8th Army in Italy has written in…
Inauguration of Woolacombe’s Water Scheme (1905)
4th August 1905 Red Letter Day Morte Hoe and Woolacombe, two of the most popular watering places in the North Devon coast, were Tuesday given over…
Herbert Bale (1848-1917)
Herbert’s father Richard Bale was born in 1848 in Berrynarbor, he was described as having a genial personality which won for him many friendships. He was…
Woolacombe School Celebrates 100 years
January 13th 1916 Woolacombe New School Opened by Miss Chichester, of Arlington. On Monday 11th January, the staff and children of Woolacombe School celebrated its centenary….
John Dyer, Mortehoe Coast-watcher (1852-1941)
I didn’t know my great-great-Grandfather John Dyer (known as Granfer Dyer both inside and outside the family), but I’m very proud of him. He was born…
Robert Trebble (1899-1916)
Robert Hugh Trebble 1899 – 1916 Robert Hugh Trebble was born in 1899 to James and Ellen (nee Legassick) Trebble. Roberts’s Grandfather, John, a butcher by…
Nick Thatcher
Woolacombe has a special place in my heart and although I don’t feel I can visit again quite yet, it will be part of my future….
Tourist Brochure – 4,000 guides to be printed in 1951
Thursday 2nd November 1950 North Devon Journal New Publicity Committee for Woolacombe 4,000 guides to be printed in 1951 A publicity and guide committee for Woolacombe…
Woolacombe Improvements (1946)
22 August 1946 Woolacombe Improvements No “Miniature Blackpool” The recent announcement in the “Journal-Herald” that Messrs, Parkin Amusements were embarking on a £50,000 scheme for Woolacombe…
Woolacombe & World War 2
“I recall we could count nine rows of breaking surf, and would be lulled to sleep by the sound of that magnificent surf, the clouds would…
A Mortehoe Gospel, the recollection of a visitor to Mortehoe (1882)
Thursday 31st August 1882 North Devon Journal A Morte-Hoe Gospel The following sketch by a visitor to Morte-hoe appeared in a recent issue of the Echo….
Percy Robert Coles (1887-1916)
Percy Robert Coles was born on the 11th October 1887 to Charles and Charlotte Coles. Charles father came from a dairy farming background, however Charles took…
Mike Hunter
Well into the festivities at a New Year’s Eve party about 7 years ago, it was drunkenly suggested we should all go for a dip in…
Harry Howard Karslake (1880 – 1917)
Harry Howard Karslake 1880 – 1917 Harry Howard Karslake was the eldest son of Michael and Prudence Emily Karslake. He was born on the 8th February…
Debbie Finney
My Mortehoe, My Woolacombe By Debbie Finney It all started when my Mum and Dad came here for their honeymoon in the early 60’s. They fell…
What is the link between Mortehoe and Thomas Beckets Murder?
Thomas Becket was born around 1120; he was the son of a prosperous London merchant. At the time of Thomas’s birth, Medieval England was ruled by…
The Narracott – Steve Brown
Local estate agent, auctioneer and now writer Steve Brown is ‘Woolacombe born and bred’, representing the third generation of one of the oldest ‘boarding house’ families…
Shipwreck A.C.L (1894)
Heroic Conduct of a Coastguard – as reported in newspaper. Considerable excitement was caused at Ilfracombe about 9am yesterday to a signal being fired to launch…
The Official Holiday Guide – Steve Brown
Local estate agent, auctioneer and now writer Steve Brown is ‘Woolacombe born and bred’, representing the third generation of one of the oldest ‘boarding house’ families…
SS Priestfield Shipwreck
The S.S.Priestfield May 10th 1912 Devon and Exeter Gazette The Priestfield Refloated Considerable excitement was caused in North Devon the day before yesterday, when the news…
The Hill Brothers
North Devon brothers William John and Thomas Henry Hill (pictured below) were two young volunteers who would sadly become victims of the first world war. Both…
It’s Been Too Long – Paddy Rice Moule’s beautiful song of her memories of the area
Paddy Rice Moule sings about her love of Woolacombe and Mortehoe before she moved to New Zealand in the very touching song “Its’s Been Too Long”…
Woolacombe – A short history, by Sarah Prankerd
An area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance which it is desirable to preserve or enhance Woolacombe is one of these. When…
