At the age of five it was time for me to go to school and along with most children in the village I went to Malborough School. My near neighbour Tricia Yeoman, being the same age, joined at the same time. I think we were the only new children at that time from Hope Cove…
I have written before about how most people these days have still and video cameras on their phones and how we have all unwittingly become recorders of history. We spend time worrying about new additions to the village but little – it would seem – to what we have lost. Below is listed a few…
Devon and Cornwall are like brothers. There is nothing the inhabitants like better than getting one over the other county. However there is more that unites them rather than dividing them and a look back in history gives clues as to why. After the Romans left Britain Devon and Cornwall existed as a single entity…
Hope and the surrounding areas in the 1920s From time-to-time conflict arises on social media regarding the shortage of social or affordable housing and the increasing number of holiday homes. It is a thorny subject. One side claiming that has always been much the same and it is true that census returns for the late…
The essay below was written in 1974 by a young woman called Hazel Leslie. Hazel was born in the village in the 40s. Her uncle was Bill Thornton a member of a well-known fishing family. Her family moved away in the 50s. Somehow the notes came into the possession of the wonderful local resident Elaine…
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…
Snow at Christmas never really happened but the very dark nights and brilliant starry skies helped the Christmas feeling along. Curtains were drawn so room decorations could not be seen from outside and fairy lights outside the house were not a thing. Indoors trees were decorated with the usual stuff but also with clip-on candles….
Within the space of a lifetime the old road along the cliff from Outer to Inner Hope above Harbour Beach has been eroded away. In 2014 the Mouthwell Beach cliff path was claimed by the sea necessitating major work for repair. These are reminders that Hope Cove is under constant attack and it is sobering…
The origins of the names of the three villages in the parish are all ancient. Hope comes from the old Norse “Hop” meaning a small bay or inlet. South Huish is Old English for “southern household” and the name Galmpton has had many variations over the centuries, but the root of all the variations concerns rent-paying…
The 1841 census shows that only The Hope and Anchor, and the Bird in Hand (now the Cove) offered accommodation, but before the end of the 19th century, and before the Earl Devon of was forced to sell his property here, he encouraged local people to take in paying guests. The history group has copies of wonderful comments…