Dartmouth Through Time

Situated within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Dartmouth is a popular tourist destination on the River Dart. As Ginny Campbell’s beautifully illustrated pages show, it has an abundance of history. Its port was the sailing point for the Crusades of 1147 and 1190, and the Pilgrim Fathers visited in 1620 to repair the Speedwell.

The area boasts many picturesque medieval and Elizabethan buildings, including the Butterwalk, where Charles II once dined, and Dartmouth Castle, which has guarded the mouth of the river for over 600 years. The admiralty began officer training on the river in 1863 and, in June 1944, 485 ships departed from the river carrying American servicemen to Utah Beach for D-Day.