Appledore, North Devon
Encyclopedia
Appledore is a village at the mouth of the River Torridge
, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Barnstaple
and about 3 miles (5 km) north of Bideford
in the county of Devon
, England
. It is home to Appledore Shipbuilders
, a lifeboat
slipway
and Hocking's Ice Cream, a brand of ice cream only sold in North Devon
. The local football club is Appledore F.C.
settlement, and a Viking
raid in 878 AD. The settlement prospered as a port in the Elizabethan period, and some cottages date from this period. The construction of a quay in 1845 further developed the port, and as a result Appledore has a rich maritime heritage from the second half of the 19th century. Shipowner Sir William Reardon Smith
was born in Appledore and went to the Wesleyan school there.
The Richmond Dry Dock was built in 1856 by William Yeo and named after Richmond Bay in Prince Edward Island
, where the Yeo family
's shipping fleet was based. From 1882 until the 1930s it was owned by Robert Cook, and continued in use until the 1960s. It is a Grade II* listed building. There is a maritime museum in the village chronicling the history of shipbuilding and seafaring in the village.
A lifeboat
service for the area around the mouth of the River Taw
was introduced in February 1825. The boat was kept in the King's Watch House at Appledore for six years until a new boat house was built at Watertown, half a mile nearer the sea. From 1848 a second lifeboat was stationed at Braunton Burrows
on the opposite side of the estuary but its crew always came from Appledore. A third station was built at Northam Burrows
to the west of Appledore in 1851 and the Appledore boat moved there. A new station at Badsteps allowed Northam Burrows to close in 1889 and Braunton Burrows closed in 1918 as it was difficult to find men and horses to launch the boat. Appledore Lifeboat Station
was rebuilt in 2001 and is home to an inshore lifeboat; a larger all-weather boat is kept moored just off shore.
(B,WH&A,R) was most unusual amongst British railways in that although it was built as a standard gauge line (4 ft 8½in) it was not joined to the rest of the railway network, despite the London and South Western Railway
having a station at Bideford
, East-the-Water, meaning on the other side of the River Torridge
from the main town. The line was wholly situated on the peninsula made up of Westward Ho!
, Northam
and Appledore with extensive sand dunes, at the mouth of the Torridge
and Taw
estuary. Appledore railway station
and the whole line closed in 1917 having been requisitioned by the War Office
(Stuckey 1962).
) stayed at a holiday let for six weeks in Appledore while searching for a house to buy in the area. The project was filmed for a Channel 4 documentary The Jacksons are Coming, which was aired on 27 November 2008 at 9pm.
describes Appledore as a "little white fishing village".
River Torridge
The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England. It was the home of Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson's book. The Torridge local government district is named after the river....
, about 6 miles (10 km) west of Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
and about 3 miles (5 km) north of Bideford
Bideford
Bideford is a small port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is also the main town of the Torridge local government district.-History:...
in the county of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is home to Appledore Shipbuilders
Appledore Shipbuilders
-History:The Appledore Yard was founded in 1855 on the estuary of the River Torridge. The Richmond Dry Dock was built in 1856 by William Yeo and named after Richmond Bay in Prince Edward Island, where the Yeo family's shipping fleet was based....
, a lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
and Hocking's Ice Cream, a brand of ice cream only sold in North Devon
North Devon
North Devon is the northern part of the English county of Devon. It is also the name of a local government district in Devon. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth...
. The local football club is Appledore F.C.
Appledore F.C.
Appledore F.C. is a football club based in Appledore, near Barnstaple, Devon, England. They were established in 1912. After playing for most of their existence in local North Devon football, they joined the South Western League in 1978 under the name of Appledore & B.A.A.C. after a merger with the...
History
The name Appledore is usually considered to be Celtic in origin. There was a SaxonSaxons
The Saxons were a confederation of Germanic tribes originating on the North German plain. The Saxons earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein...
settlement, and a Viking
Viking
The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...
raid in 878 AD. The settlement prospered as a port in the Elizabethan period, and some cottages date from this period. The construction of a quay in 1845 further developed the port, and as a result Appledore has a rich maritime heritage from the second half of the 19th century. Shipowner Sir William Reardon Smith
William Reardon Smith
Sir William Reardon Smith, 1st Baronet was a British shipowner.Reardon Smith was born in Appledore, Devon, and educated at the Wesleyan School there. He went to sea and obtained his master mariner's ticket before going into the shipping business...
was born in Appledore and went to the Wesleyan school there.
The Richmond Dry Dock was built in 1856 by William Yeo and named after Richmond Bay in Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, where the Yeo family
James Yeo (shipbuilder)
James Yeo was an Cornish-born shipbuilder, merchant, farmer and political figure in Prince Edward Island.He was born in Kilkhampton, Cornwall, UK, the son of James Yeo. Yeo married Mary Francis in 1812. He married Damaris Sargent in 1819 after the death of his first wife...
's shipping fleet was based. From 1882 until the 1930s it was owned by Robert Cook, and continued in use until the 1960s. It is a Grade II* listed building. There is a maritime museum in the village chronicling the history of shipbuilding and seafaring in the village.
A lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
service for the area around the mouth of the River Taw
River Taw
The River Taw rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor. It reaches the Bristol Channel away on the north coast of Devon at a joint estuary mouth which it shares with the River Torridge.-Watercourse:...
was introduced in February 1825. The boat was kept in the King's Watch House at Appledore for six years until a new boat house was built at Watertown, half a mile nearer the sea. From 1848 a second lifeboat was stationed at Braunton Burrows
Braunton
Braunton is situated west of Barnstaple, Devon, England and is claimed to be the largest village in England, with a population in 2001 of 7,510. It is home to the nearby Braunton Great Field and Braunton Burrows, a National Nature and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve....
on the opposite side of the estuary but its crew always came from Appledore. A third station was built at Northam Burrows
Northam, Devon
Northam is a small town in Devon, England, lying north of Bideford and south of Westward Ho!. It is thought to have been the site of an Anglo-Saxon castle, and is said to have been where Hubba the Dane attacked Devon and was repelled . A little over a mile away along the coast is a town called...
to the west of Appledore in 1851 and the Appledore boat moved there. A new station at Badsteps allowed Northam Burrows to close in 1889 and Braunton Burrows closed in 1918 as it was difficult to find men and horses to launch the boat. Appledore Lifeboat Station
Appledore Lifeboat Station
Appledore Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution search and rescue operations at Appledore, Devon in the United Kingdom. The first lifeboat was stationed in the town in 1825 and the present station was opened in 2001...
was rebuilt in 2001 and is home to an inshore lifeboat; a larger all-weather boat is kept moored just off shore.
Railway
The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore RailwayBideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway
The Bideford, Westward Ho! and Appledore Railway was most unusual amongst British railways in that although it was built as a standard gauge line, it was not joined to the rest of the railway network, despite the London and South Western Railway having a station at Bideford East-the-Water, just...
(B,WH&A,R) was most unusual amongst British railways in that although it was built as a standard gauge line (4 ft 8½in) it was not joined to the rest of the railway network, despite the London and South Western Railway
London and South Western Railway
The London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
having a station at Bideford
Bideford railway station
The first Bideford railway station was opened on 2 November 1855 as the terminus of the Bideford Extension Railway from Barnstaple. This was taken over by the London and South Western Railway about ten years later....
, East-the-Water, meaning on the other side of the River Torridge
River Torridge
The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England. It was the home of Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson's book. The Torridge local government district is named after the river....
from the main town. The line was wholly situated on the peninsula made up of Westward Ho!
Westward Ho!
Westward Ho! is a seaside village near Bideford in Devon, England. The A39 road provides access from the towns of Barnstaple, Bideford and Bude...
, Northam
Northam, Devon
Northam is a small town in Devon, England, lying north of Bideford and south of Westward Ho!. It is thought to have been the site of an Anglo-Saxon castle, and is said to have been where Hubba the Dane attacked Devon and was repelled . A little over a mile away along the coast is a town called...
and Appledore with extensive sand dunes, at the mouth of the Torridge
River Torridge
The River Torridge is a river in Devon in England. It was the home of Tarka the Otter in Henry Williamson's book. The Torridge local government district is named after the river....
and Taw
River Taw
The River Taw rises at Taw Head, a spring on the central northern flanks of Dartmoor. It reaches the Bristol Channel away on the north coast of Devon at a joint estuary mouth which it shares with the River Torridge.-Watercourse:...
estuary. Appledore railway station
Appledore (North Devon) railway station
Appledore railway station was a railway station in North Devon close to the village of Appledore; a community within the peninsular that is formed by the sea, the River Torridge and the River Taw.- History :...
and the whole line closed in 1917 having been requisitioned by the War Office
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...
(Stuckey 1962).
Jackson family visit
In summer 2008, the Jackson family (including Tito JacksonTito Jackson
Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson is an American singer and lead guitarist and original member of The Jackson 5. He is the older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.-Early life and rise to stardom:...
) stayed at a holiday let for six weeks in Appledore while searching for a house to buy in the area. The project was filmed for a Channel 4 documentary The Jacksons are Coming, which was aired on 27 November 2008 at 9pm.
Charles Kingsley
In Westward Ho! novelist Charles KingsleyCharles Kingsley
Charles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...
describes Appledore as a "little white fishing village".
Transport
Appledore is served by First Devon and Cornwall service 2, and Stagecoach Devon service 21A which both run between Appledore, Northam, Bideford, East the Water, Instow, Fremington, Bickington, Barnstaple station, Barnstaple, Chivenor, Braunton, Knowle, Mullacott Cross and Ilfracombe.See also
- HMS AppledoreHMS AppledoreHMS Appledore was a Hunt class minesweeper of the Royal Navy from World War I. She was sold 15 August 1920 and was renamed Kamlawti....
- South West Coast PathSouth West Coast PathThe South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
- St Mary's Church, AppledoreSt Mary's Church, AppledoreSt Mary's Church is the parish church of Appledore. It sits on the Quay overlooking the River Torridge. The foundation stone of the church was laid in 1836, the church being dedicated two years later. The sailing ship Marco Polo was used to create the wooden screen...
(Church of England)