From “Down Devon Way’ by S. P. B. Mais

I spent a happy evening at the “Chichester Arms” at Mortehoe, a white-washed inn of great antiquity.  Tom Parker, who year after year looks after the two donkeys on Woolacombe beach, told me that one of them, Mary, had died on her legs at the age of twenty-seven just a month before. “And my poor father,” he went on, “who died last autumn, said to me with his dying breath, “Mary’ll not live twelve month’

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Woolacombe 1st Brownie Pack

The museum was honoured to be loaned a collection of photograph albums of the Woolacombe 1st Brownie Pack, the album’s had once belonged to much loved Alice Trebble who had been the Brown Owl for many years. The collection will be scanned and shared online as well as forming part of a display in the museum. It is wonderful to keep these memories alive and we would love to hear from you if you have

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A short history of the Barnstaple and Ilfracombe Railway

There were a great many schemes to build a railway line between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe and in the end the two main rival companies, the ‘London and South West Railway’ (LSWR) and ‘Devon & Somerset”, made an agreement in 1864 for a joint mixed gauge railway to be built. The agreement collaspsed when the Devon and Somerset were unable to contribute their share of the money. A new plan was made by the “Barnstaple and

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Schermuly Pistol Rocket Apparatus

Lost ships can be replaced but lives are gone forever William Schermuly left his career as a seamen in 1880 and began working on ways to save the lives of men who were in distress or in trouble at sea. In 1897 following a decade of experimenting with various ideas and methods, Schermuly developed a practical ship line throwing appliance, however it would not be until 1920, with his son that Schermuly would invent the

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