Cultural Devon / Devon's History and Heritage / Devon's Maritime History

Devon's Maritime History

Down the centuries the history of Devon has been inextricably bound up with the sea. Indeed, how to avoid it with two wonderful coastlines and dozens of safe harbours? Smuggling and piracy, trade and fishing - Devon has seen them all over the years.

Some of England's most famous seamen have hailed from Devon. Remember the dashing Sir Walter Raleigh and the piratical Francis Drake! Vice-Admiral Sir Richard Grenville, who with Drake guarded against the Spanish Armada, and John Hawkins, infamous for being the first English slave trader, were also Devon men.

In their time, Devon's ports have been among the foremost in the country. Bideford, Dartmouth, now home of the Naval College, and Brixham were all major bustling centres of trade. Plymouth, still a mighty naval port today, was the departure point for many a famous voyage: it was from here that the Pilgrim Fathers set out in the Mayflower in 1620, as did all three of Captain Cook's voyages to Australia and the southern hemisphere. Here too was the departure point for many of the transport ships to Australia in the 19th Century.

Inevitably at sea, tragedy has struck; in the wild seas many a ship has foundered over the years. Indeed, each fishing village would have its own pattern for its menfolk's sweaters, so that corpses could be readily identified. In the second World War, many US soldiers came to grief in Start Bay during a practice exercise for the D-Day landings.