Kingsbridge

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William Cookworthy (12 April 1705 - 17 October 1780) was an English chemist and a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) was born in Kingsbridge, Devon. He discovered china clay in Cornwall and devised a way of making porcelain, which previously had needed to be imported from China (see The Cookworthy Museum in Fore Street).

With the industrial revolution, Kingsbridge expanded and new industries developed. There were iron foundries, woollen mills, rope makers and a substantial ship building industry. Raw materials for the new industries and the growing population had to be brought in by boat. Road transport was very poor and it was not until 1893 that the railway finally reached southernmost Devon.

Kingsbridge expanded beyond its historic boundaries during the Victorian and Edwardian periods with new areas of the town 'Northville', 'Westville' and 'Southville' were developed. Within the town Victorian terraced housing and cottages filled back alleys and back streets. In Fore Street, shops spread into what was previously residential areas of the street. One of the shops, J. Donovan & Son, established during this growth period, still survives today, but many of those other family businesses survived into living memory.

History

Throughout pre-history the South Hams had active communites and there is siginificant evidence across many periods of settlement. There are many fine iron age forts (circa 400 BC to 400 AD) but these were situated on higher ground surrounding Kingsbridge. There is no evidence of early settlement on the site of Kingsbridge itself, apart from its possible strategic position at the head of a sheltered estuary or ria (drowned river valley). In recorded history, although there are several references to lands in Saxon charters, there is no mention of Kingsbridge in the Norman Domesday Book.

For much of its history Kingsbridge was actually two towns, Dodbrook (to the east) and Kingsbridge (to the west), separated by a stream. It was not until the end of the C19th that the separate identity of Dodbrook began to disappear and was then totally absorbed into the town of Kingsbridge during the C20th.

The manor of Dodbrook was the older and was mentioned in the Domesday Book. The lands of Kingsbridge were owned by the Saxon crown and were passed to the Abbot of Buckfast some time after the Norman Conquest. There would have been a small settlement here but nothing like the substantial borough of Totnes to the north. During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries the community expanded and in 1219 the Abbot of Buckfast secured the right to hold a market in Kingsbridge. This was the real beginning of the market town of Kingsbridge.

Kingsbridge did not have its own church, rather it was served by the church of St Mary's at Churchstow. Firstly a chapel was established at Kingsbridge but all rights for burial remained at Churchstow, so all funerals had to be 'carried up the hill' to the mother church. Eventually the church of St Edmund, king and martyr was established. This fine building, built by the Abbot of Buckfast was constructed during the boom years of medieval England, when sheep and wool production were producing substantial incomes. The church is in a fine position on the brow of Fore Street and has dominated the town (even more so before the Victorian town hall and town clock were built).

The alignment of Fore Street today follows that of the early medieval town. Although today not many of Kingsbridge's buildings appear old, they still retain the same plots and some contain medieval wooden beams and stonework. Building have been built and re-built over the centuries on the same plot and garden plots behind the buildings on both sides of the street (were they remain) retained the original burbage plots (inclosed fields extending the confines of a medieval town).

Kingsbridge's importance as a market town serving the southernmost area of Devon increased over the centuries but it was never as prosperous as the important port of Dartmouth to the east or the borough of Totnes to the north. It served a largely stable rural economy of villages, hamlets and farms, with few large houses or significant land owners, particularly after the dissolution of the monasteries. Kingsbridge moved from the Abbots of Buckfast in the medieval period to merchants and townsmen.

During the English Civil War there was support for parliament within the area and then a growing support for the new dissenting churches. Unfortunately it was during this period that the majority of the local established churches were badly damaged by those who sought to remove images and other signs of the older faith. Some fine screens do remain, which were a feature of Devon churches and most of these have been restored. During the C17th Quaker and Baptist churches were established in the town, some of the earliest in the country. Kingsbridge was host to many roving preachers and well known religious figures throughout this period.

William Cookworthy (12 April 1705 - 17 October 1780) was an English chemist and a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quaker) was born in Kingsbridge, Devon. He discovered china clay in Cornwall and devised a way of making porcelain, which previously had needed to be imported from China (see The Cookworthy Museum in Fore Street).

With the industrial revolution, Kingsbridge expanded and new industries developed. There were iron foundries, woollen mills, rope makers and a substantial ship building industry. Raw materials for the new industries and the growing population had to be brought in by boat. Road transport was very poor and it was not until 1893 that the railway finally reached southernmost Devon.

Kingsbridge expanded beyond its historic boundaries during the Victorian and Edwardian periods with new areas of the town 'Northville', 'Westville' and 'Southville' were developed. Within the town Victorian terraced housing and cottages filled back alleys and back streets. In Fore Street, shops spread into what was previously residential areas of the street. One of the shops, J. Donovan & Son, established during this growth period, still survives today, but many of those other family businesses survived into living memory.

Significant numbers of young men from the town and from the surrounding villages went off to fight in the WWI and did not return. There is a war memorial on the promenade in Kingsbridge and in most villages. The lost of this generation had a significant impact on the rural economy and on the older rural order.

During WWII, the town was bombed on several occasions in small day time raids, with planes flying up the estuary on surprise attacks. Many died in these attacks and signs of the damage, including the destruction of a congregational church remain. Kingsbridge was a key transport hub during the massive US army preparations for D Day. US armed services were stationed throughout the area, with practise landings and exercises in Start Bay to the east and special forces departing from Salcombe Harbour.

Kingsbridge has continued to expand and change during the last fifty years of peace. During the last twenty years there have been major changes with an influx on people moving into the area from other parts of England. Initially these were newly or semi-retired people but there has been a more recent trend for people to relocate their businesses or move to the area to start a family. The new population are seeking quality of life and bring expertise and wealth they have regenerated the town and the villages. Problems exist with housing as property prices are now beyond the reach of local families and this could present a threat to the longer term sustainability of the communities. Industry and employment and also changed, there is virtually no manufacturing industry in the South Hams and agricultural employment has been reduced to the smallest percentage. Agricultural barns and lands have been sold and developed to house the growing population. Tourism, hospitality, service industries, IT and small businesses are the most significant sectors.

Kingsbridge continues to a busy hub to the area of southernmost Devon normally called the South Hams. The town itself reflects the changes of society, with debate over supermarkets, farmers markets and local food, affordable housing, post office closures, youth crime and health services.

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