Winter celebrations

Oh dear, it seems I didn’t press the vital button to post the November contribution, and have recently been bogged down in post Christmas clear up. Now I am now thinking about  the celebrations of the past when there was a more balanced and resident population. In addition to events at The Cottage there were parties…

November gales

The gales  have been fierce this November with wind speeds of 100mph recorded at Prawle Point, but in past years, there have been some more notable November storms  in Hope. The earliest I know of was one on the 7th November 1588 when The Armada hospital ship the San Pedro el Mayar was lost. The…

Ghosts and bonfires

Being the season of ghost stories and bonfires, I thought I’d look for stories involving the parish, but came up with virtually nothing.  There was a bonfire of course as part of the alarm system  to warn the Nation of the approach of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The bonfire was at the end of…

Motor cars in Hope Cove

As parking and the numbers of cars in the parish is currently a hot topic, this month I am looking at the situation years ago. Before piped water came, water was delivered by horse and cart, and butcher Adams also delivered meat on horse back into the 1940’s. Shoeing and repairs  were done at the blacksmith…

The breakwater

Everybody’s mental picture of Hope Cove must include the Breakwater, it is such a beautiful image,but it was not always like this. As long ago as 1823 the local fishermen wanted a breakwater to give shelter for their boats, and looked at building on to the the old Quay on Quay Sands. (see June blog)…

Local churches

There are four churches/chapels in the Parish. There was a fifth, the Neutral Plymouth Brethren chapel and school built in Galmpton in 1847, and functioning well into the twentieth century, after which it stood vacant for many years and has been a house since the 60’s. Of the four remaining, the Methodist chapel is in…

First history post

Hope History group is quite small, but we have gathered a lot of information over the years. As there are many second and holiday homes it is not easy to recruit members,  but we have a lot of interested friends, and we are eager to share the information we have, and to ask for more….