Newton Abbot timeline: neolithic to 2009

Key dates in Newton Abbot history – a work in progress

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Introduction

The map above shows a small extract from the 1888 Ordnance Survey town map of Newton Abbot centred on the Golden Lion pub – click on the image to view full-screen. The Market House Inn is also shown at top left and is now the Market Gate. Directly north of the Golden Lion is the Bradley Hotel, now known as the Jolly Farmer pub. The Passmore Edwards Library – corner of Bank Street and Market Street – had not yet been built. Click on the image for a full-screen view.

This is a ‘work in progress’ that I will add to from time to time. The timeline is condensed, written in note form and meant as a reference. I will develop some of the historical events in future articles.

On geography & place-names

In my experience there exists in the present day some confusion over place names, which is perhaps not really surprising. In a nutshell the original ‘Teignwick’ is now known as Highweek but for a long time was called Newton Bushell. Wolborough is still known by that name today but became the New Town of the Abbot of Torre – or Newton Abbot. The ‘twin towns’ of Newton Bushell (north of the river Lemon) and Newton Abbot (south of the Lemon) were eventually merged, with the old Newton Bushell being increasingly referred to as ‘Highweek’.

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Early history

Neolithic: flint tools found at Berry’s Wood Hill Fort nr. Bradley Manor.

1st Century BCE: Milber Down Camp (excavated 1937-38) – bronze ornaments & pottery found.

47-48: following the Roman advance into Devon the Romans used the defensive position of Milber Down Camp. Roman coins & part of a Roman pavement have been found.

11th century

Domesday Book: Manor of Wolborough (various spellings) mentioned. A Mill in the Manor of Wolborough was listed as having the value of 5 shillings.

1086: (or soon after) both Teignwick and Wolborough Manors fell to the Crown. Teignwick (north of the Lemon) was in the Hundred of Teignbridge; Wolborough Manor (south of the Lemon) was in the Hundred of Haytor.

1087-1100 (reign of William II) coin minted during reign of Conquerer’s son found in town, close to site of Castle Dyke, a Norman castle probably of timber. The village of Teignwick grew up around the castle and the old chapel. The chapel became the site of All Saint’s Church, perhaps in 13thC.

12th century

1196: William Brewer (who was granted Wolborough by Richard I) granted Wolborough (& the advowson of the church) to Torre Abbey – which he had previously founded.

13th century

1205: the Manor of Teignwick (granted by Henry II to his butler Lucas) was reverted to the Crown by King John, who granted it to the widow of Lucas’s grandson, Eustachia de Courtenay. Lucas had sided with the Norman Barons in their revolt against the Crown.

1216-1272 (reign of Henry III): Wolborough became property of William Brewer, founder of Torre Abbey; gained the name of the New Town of the Abbot and remained property of Abbot of Torre.

1220: Henry III granted Abbots of Torre a charter for a weekly market to be held on Wednesdays and the right to hold an annual fair on the eve, feast and morrow of St Leonard – 5th, 6th, & 7th. November. Weekly market held on land to the west of the church.

c.1220: St.Leonards Chapel founded.

1234: Henry III granted Teignwick to Theobald de Englishville, a Norman Knight.

1246: Theobald de Englishville given a charter to hold a weekly market in Teignwick on Tuesday’s, to be held on a triangular shaped piece of land on a hill behind St.Mary’s Chapel that became known as Triangle Hill and ultimately Treacle Hill.

1262: the Manor of Teignwick was inherited by the nephew and adopted son of Theobald de Englishville, Robert Bushell.

1269: Robert Bushell died and the manor was inherited by his son, Theobald Bushell.

1269: Royal Charter to hold a Market and Fair (actually two: one in NA and one in NB); fair held in honour of St.Leonard on 5, 6, 7 November. Chief commodities were onions and cheese with people from Dorset & Somerset visiting to stock up for the year.

13th century: Teignwick was renamed Newton Bushell (after Robert Bushell, Lord of the Manor). The two new towns were distinguished by their owners, the Abbots and the Bushells. The Manor House at Bradley dates from the 13C.

14th century

1309: the Bushells were granted a charter for two great fairs, each to last four days, on the feasts of Ascension (traditionally a Thursday, the 40th day of Easter) and of All Saints (1st November). Lords of the Manor were granted the right to control the price of bread and ale and to sentence convicts to death.

1350: the existence of a small chapel attached to St.Leonard’s Tower was mentioned in a document dated 29th.May.

15th century

1402: Bradley Manor ceased to be in the Bushell family and was passed through the female line to the Yardes.

1428: Richard Yarde built All Saints Church, Teignwick (Highweek).

1442: Richard Yarde was appointed Sheriff of Devon in 1442-43.

1467: Bradley Manor was inherited by Gilbert Yarde; the estate had four mills; Gilbert added a further two, giving three fell mongering and three corn mills.

16th century

1534: Manor House (of Wolborough Manor) built in Wolborough Street (possibly on the site of Wolborough Barton). This was the site of the Civil Court of the Abbot’s of Torre; the other Ecclesiastical Court was near the parish church at Wolborough.

1538: John Gilbert of Compton Castle endowed Gilberd’s in Exeter Road to house lepers. The five houses are said to have sloping floors to facilitate washing them out. The site now has 8 flats administered by the Feoffees of Highweek.

1539: Torre Abbey dissolved

1540: (or thereabouts) Forde House built.

1545: Manor of Wolborough sold (by King) to John Gaverock for £592.14s.2d. John Gaverock was previously the Dissolution Steward of Torre Abbey – a kind of medieval property manager – in this case for the Abbot’s; his annual salary was £3. John Gaverock started building a new Manor House at Forde, with the former Manor House in Wolborough Street being used as servants quarters.

1576: Hayman’s almshouses endowed by Robert Hayman “for better maintenance and relief of poor people” (block of four grey limestone houses opposite old hospital in East St.). They were rebuilt in 1640.

1583: Newfoundland – Britain’s first colony – founded by Sir Humphrey Gilbert (of Compton Castle), landing at what is now St.John’s and claiming land 600 miles in every direction, starting a long association with Devon & Cornwall fisheries, including Newton Abbot, where ships bound for Newfoundland frequently set off from Newton Quays. Local men congregated in the Dartmouth Inn and Newfoundland Hotel hoping to be hired for a season’s work. The Newfoundland Hotel was later demolished and gave its name to the new Newfoundland Way. Ships returned in autumn with cargoes of dried cod, stored in depots in the town (East St and St.John’s Street).

17th century

1610: Forde House sold to and extended by Sir Richard Reynell. It had been inherited by John Gaverock’s three daughters, who sold it.

1625: King Charles I stayed at Forde House; 15th September for some days, which included a visit to Plymouth to review the fleet. On 21st September he returned to Forde House and attended a service at Wolborough Church. Richard and his brother Thomas Reynell were knighted by the King on his return from Plymouth.

1633: Newton Abbot & Newton Bushell markets merged, having been purchased by Richard Yard of Bradley. The site of Newton Bushell’s market at Treacle Hill was abandoned in favour of Wolborough Street.

1633: Sir Richard Reynell died.

1640: Reynell’s almshouses built beside Torquay Road and housed four clergy widows (“the relicts of preaching ministers, left poor, without a house of their own”). Rebuilt in 1845.

1646: Sir Thomas Fairfax & Oliver Cromwell stayed at Forde House during the Civil War (24th January).

1684: Gilbert Yarde built a Butcher’s Market (the cattle market continued in the street).

1688: Prince William of Orange arrived to stay at Forde House with his 30,000-strong army; the owner – Sir William Courtenay – was diplomatically ’not at home’. Prince William stayed in a room that has since been known as the Orange Room.

1697: Baptist Chapel built in East Street, the oldest ‘dissenting’ place of worship in Newton Abbot.

18th century

1747: the Newton Bushell wool business founded by Richard Vicary

1751: Bradley Manor sold to wealthy lawyer Thomas Veale, having been in the Yard family since 1402. He also acquired Newton Abbot Market. By this time a small weekly market was held on Saturdays, in addition to the old Wednesday market. There were three annual fairs: (1) Cattle Fair 24th June; (2) Cheese & Onion Fair 1st. Wednesday in September; (3) Cloth Fair, 6th November.

1762: The Courtney family stopped living at Forde House and instead let it out. It remained in the Courtney family estate until 1936.

1791: Henley’s Cyder, one of the first commercial cider makers in Devon, established. Prior to that most cider was made on farms as a side-line. Teign Cider Company formed in the same year, with cider press at Netherton.

1792: Stover Canal constructed; Hackney Clay Cellars constructed at the canal terminus.

19th century

1816: Rendells Estate Agents established.

1817: Bradley Manor and Newton Abbot Market inherited by Rev. Richard Lane (grand nephew of Thomas Lane). The buildings behind St.Leonard’s Church in Wolborough Street were becoming inadequate for the expanding market; Rev. Lane set about building a new market on land at Lydes Meadow, site of the present-day Butter Market.

1826: combined NA/NB markets moved from Wolborough Street to present site. New market buildings completed at a cost of £3,000.

1834-5: St Leonard’s Chapel erected at a cost of £2,614; consecrated 24th. November 1836.

1836: the small chapel attached to St.Leonard’s Tower demolished.

1839: the new Workhouse built in East Street and ultimately became a hospital. Some of the original buildings remain today.

1841: Bradley Manor sold by Richard Lane to the Rev. Frederick Wall. Prior to that Thomas Veale left it to his nephew Thomas Veale Lane, who in turn left it to his son Richard Lane, who was responsible for the rebuilding of Newton Abbot market and alterations to St.Mary’s Chapel.

1842: Devon Arms built in Courtenay Street by the Earl of Devon as a coaching and posting house, which became the Globe Inn and then Globe Hotel.

1843 Town Survey: there were two breweries in the town: (i) The Palk & Pinsent Brewery and (ii) The Old Brewery.

1843: Hackney Canal constructed to ship clay from Hackney Clay Cellars to Teignmouth.

1846: railway arrived in Newton Abbot.

1848: The South Devon Railway opened the original railway station 30th December.

1848: Branch line from Newton Abbot to Torquay built.

1848: Wesleyan Chapel built in Courtney Street, also housing Newton Abbot Town Council. Some 20 years later a new Wesleyan chapel was built on the other side of the road, the old chapel being used exclusively for the Council.

1862: a second Baptist Chapel erected in East Street (near the original) at a cost of £1,500.

1864: 1st. meeting of the Local Board for the Parish of Wolborough (constituted under the Local Government Act, 1858)

1866: Branch line from Newton Abbot to Moretonhampstead opened.

1867: the Market and market buildings were purchased from Rev.Lane for £8,000 by Wolborough Local Board (i.e. the council).

1871: Newton Abbot Corn Exchange built, but instead of its intended use it became a meeting hall for the community. (now Alexandra Theatre). Market rebuilding scheme completed by the Wolborough Board at a cost of £15,000, including covering over the river Lemon, various new buildings and a road linking the market to Courtenay Street.

1871: Catholic church built in Queen Street at a cost of £360; dedicated to St.Joseph. Priest house & school adjoining.

1874: Mackrell’s Almshouses erected & endowed by Mr.Mackrell.

1876: Railways purchased by the Great Western Railway; built the repair and maintenance sheds emptying 600 people. (By 1930 1,000 men employed).

1879: Highweek Board School (for boys) opened.

1883: A major upgrade to the meeting hall included construction of a stage, dressing rooms and an orchestra pit, becoming the Alexandra Theatre.

1894: The Local Government Board sanctioned the change of name from Wolborough Local Board to Newton Abbot Local Board. The Urban Sanitary District became the Urban District Council of Newton Abbot.

1897: Newton Abbot Hospital & Dispensary erected in East Street.

20th century

1901: The Local Government Board confirmed an Order made by Devon County Council in 1900 that the boundaries of the Urban District Council of Newton Abbot would be extended to include the parish of Highweek (Newton Bushell) and the parish of Milber ( a new parish taken out of the parish of Haccombe-with-Coombe.

1901: Newton Abbot became lit by electricity at a cost of c.£15,000.

1901: The name of Newton Bushell gradually gave way to Highweek; new coat of arms (still used today) came into effect.

1904: The new Passmore Edwards Library opens. Built in memory of his mother, born in Newton Abbot, designed by Cornish architect Silvanus Trevail.

1906: in June St.Mary’s Church Abbotsbury was consecrated by the Lord Bishop of Exeter. It had been announced in 1903 and building started in 1904.

1909: Bradley Manor sold to Cecil Firth, the Egyptologist – who was descended from a Yarde.

1911: Hackney Goods Yard built, the GWR’s largest marshalling depot west of Bristol.

1920: first performance of the Newton Abbot Repertory Company – The Importance of Being Earnest – at Alexandra Theatre.

1922: Newton Abbot War Memorial unveiled 23rd July, designed by the NAUDC borough surveyor Coleridge Dingley White.

1924: Austin’s department store opens.

1927: the present Railway Station built; designed by Chief GWR Architect P.V.Culverhouse. The large clock was a gift from the people of the town.

1933: Newton Abbot cider company Henley’s sold to Whiteway’s of Whimple.

1938: Bradley Manor given to the National Trust by daughter of Egyptologist Cecil Firth). She (the current owner) can claim to be a descendent of the Yard family.

1959: Newton Abbot to Moretonhampstead branch line closed.

1960: Forde House sold to become a base for an antiques business.

1970’s

1972: Keyberry Mill demolished. Reputedly built in Saxon times and likely to be the mill worth 5/- in the Manor of Wolborough – Domesday Book.

1972: Multi-storey car park built, with sheep and pigs market below.

1974: Teignbridge District Council created.

1974: Newton Abbot Town Council created with councillors from Bradley, Buckland, Bushell, College and Milber wards.

1977: Newton Abbot Town Hall in Courtney Street – redundant since the creation of Teignbridge DC in 1974 – was demolished to make way for the new Market Walk. The public lavatories and slipper baths were also demolished (these had previously been the fish market).

1978: New Court House built in Newfoundland Way.

1979: Forde House and grounds purchased by Teignbridge District Council.

21st century

2009: New Community Hospital in Jetty Marsh Lane opened 12th January.