What Happened at The Fair

![]()

![]()
Well, may be not quite, officially Old Masters were artists painting before 1800, but artists have been drawn to Hope Cove since the mid 1800’s. Thanks to research started by Mike Clark, we know about renowned artists who came to Hope Cove and Galmpton. In the mid 1800’s The Earl of Devon encouraged his tenants…
Welcome to the history page. We have had a good response to the first blogs, and feed back received means I am able to correct some information. Owen Masters tells me that the “green soap” was in fact, white Sunlight soap, It came from the SS Persier. She was en route from Swansea to Antwerp, with…
The title of this note is what in modern parlance is called click-bait. Something written to get attention. There was no gunfight. However, there was a gun; there was a fight; and it does feature the Hope and Anchor Inn. So, to paraphrase Eric Morecombe in his comment to Andre Previn – the words are…
When Emperor Haile Selassie was exiled from Ethiopia from 1936 to 1941, his presence in the UK was an embarrassment to the government, so he soon bought a house in Bath well away from London. He came with a big retinue of family and staff. He had two granddaughters who were sent to boarding school in…
The arrival of the actor Jim Broadbent in Kingsbridge last autumn to shoot some scenes for a film “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” prompted some old memories. Who remembers the 1950’s TV series Quatermass (which terrified me) and later the first series of “Maigret” in the early sixties both of which starred Rupert Davies? The…
This bumper apple year made me think of the time this area, and much of the south west was known for its cider apples and orchards. Most orchards have disappeared, but Reg Hall planted a new one in Galmpton abut 20 years ago using local cider apple varieties. There were hundreds of varieties, two local…