The Museum chronicles the history of Teignmouth and Shaldon and describes the interaction of the town and the sea.
Admiral Pellew, the first Viscount Exmouth, lived at Bitton House. There is a display on the top floor which contains many of his artefacts as well as a portrait of the great man himself and an audio recording giving details of the events of the Battle of Algiers.


Taking a slightly different slant, and a much more up-to-date look, at the sea, our new display for this season is all about "Beside the Seaside". We have a beautiful poster on loan to the museum which shows Teignmouth and Shaldon's Ness lit up at night time with young people of the day (or night) having a dip in the sea under the dark sky.

This figurehead is believed to have belonged to the sailing ship "Hero", which was wrecked off Teignmouth in 1864.

This is one of the many artefacts on the ground floor which displays the Maritime history of Teignmouth and Shaldon.


More Shipwrecks of course have occurred in Lyme Bay.

The Church Rocks Wreck is famous locally and its fame has spread.

The picture here shows various Church Rocks Wreck artefacts in a display case


Despite 20 years of historical and archaeological research, the origins and class of vessel on the Church Rocks Wreck site remains a mystery, although it certainly dates from the 16th Century.



These artefacts are an encrusted cannon ball and pewter mug and glass bottle top all of which are on display in the Museum.



In 1975 a 13 year old boy, Simon Burton, found a Venetian saker gun in shallow water about 150 metres off the Eastcliffe shore of Teignmouth. The ship appears to have been two-masted, carvel built of some 100 to 200 tons and not dissimilar to the small, fast, commuinications and service vessels that accompanied the Spanish Armada in 1805


This picture shows more Church Rocks Wreck artefacts these being a bronze steelyard weight and a branding seal.



This shows one of six cannon raised at the Church Rocks Wreck. This is a bronze minxion cannon bearing the crest and initials of the Venetian foundry of Sigismundo Alberg.





This copper caulking pitch pot is also one of the artefacts of the Church Rocks Wreck.






Channel 4's Time Team was interested and got involved in 1995 by televising their search of the sea bed not too far off the Teignmouth beach.






The museum also has amongst
many other artefacts a beautiful
snuff box which has been given to us by the descendents of Lord Nelson













Of course we mustn't forget the incredible disappearance of Donald Crowhurst who set sail in the Teignmouth Electron - a film having been made of the strange happenings of that time. However, the facts of this voyage are still shrouded in mystery.

There is a comprehensive
collection of artefacts
which belonged to Admiral Pellew (the first Viscount Exmouth) situated on the top floor of the Museum.
Here is shown a display case with Admiral Sir Edward Pellew's jacket, sword, medals and signal book.

 

We have a large portrait which was sat for by Admiral Pellew which sits alongside the above display case and lends a great presence to the exhibition.








The present Viscount Exmouth has kindly lent the Museum the Battle Flag which was flown at the Battle of Algiers.

In 1920 Francis Charles Morgan Giles purchased the ancient Teignmouth Shipyard when it then became Morgan Giles Limited. This shipyard, under his guidance, became known world-wide.
Mr Morgan Giles had been a highly respected racing yacht and boat designer, working at Hammersmith and then at Hythe, near Southampton. He had served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War I.
The high standard of workmanship, for which Morgan Giles Shipyard became known, was due not only to Mr Morgan Giles but also the shipwrights, engineers, joiners and other skilled tradesmen who worked for him.
When he bought the ancient Teignmouth Shipyard in 1920 the premises, having been shut down for a very long time, were in a poor state but over the years various buildings were added to make a total working environment.
To start with Morgan Giles built dinghies and rowing boats as well as motor launches and smaller cabin cruisers. From there the 'Big Shed' was used to build passenger launches, power craft and sailing yachts. One in-board launch 'Shush' was put on display at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich.
Francis Charles Morgan Giles, who was born in 1883, died in 1964. A Teignmouth legend of his time.

The Newfoundland Cod Trade

Sir Humphrey Gilbert landed at, what later became, St. Johns in Newfoundland in the year 1583 and claimed 600 miles in any direction for the Crown. This, the oldest of Britain's colonies, and the seafaring men from Devon, were to become closely linked because of the rich cod-banks to be found off the coast of Newfoundland.

Teignmouth, Shaldon and Ringmore have a rich maritime history and were well placed to take advantage of this rich abundance of fish. The fishermen would spend six months of the year braving the storms of the North Atlantic to fish the protein-rich cod banks off Newfoundland. They left Devon in spring, often carrying passengers, or cargoes of goods, and returned home in either October or November with their dried and salted cod, for sale, either at the home markets, or to trade at European ports. It was not unusual for these fishermen to have second homes, and families, in Newfoundland. The close links forged between these Devon villages and Newfoundland are there to be seen in records from these times, in such names as Codner, Warren, Bartlett, Bulley and Squarey, to name but a few.

The cod fishing trade continued until the end of the nineteenth century. By the early 1800s there were about 20,000 settlers living in Newfoundland, and much of the cod fishing was carried out, and consumed, by them. There was, however, still plenty for the local shipowners in Teignmouth and Shaldon. While elsewhere interest in the cod industry was in decline by the time of the Napoleonic wars, Teignmouth's actually increased. In 1820 there were 35 ships engaged in the trade compared to 20 in 1775.

The work was hard but reward-rich - for some. The drying and salting of the cod in Newfoundland was seasonal work relying mostly on a transient workforce. Responsibility for families left behind fell to the women. Ships and their crew suffered. They not only had to brave the vagaries of the North Atlantic but also of waters closer to home. The Maria with its consignment of salt was driven onto rocks when leaving Teignmouth harbour. Its owners were Thomas Bulley & Sons of Shaldon.

If you want to know more about this lucrative connection between the villages of the Teign estuary and Newfoundland, come and visit us at the Museum.

A Swivel Gun, made of bronze recovered from a 16th Century wreck at Church Rocks on display in the Burton Room. The gun was found already loaded and primed.

Over the years, many fascinating objects have been found including bronze cannon and shot, a cooking pot with animal bones found near it, a collection of iron chains, copper pots, pieces of pottery and the Elizabethan version of a petrol bomb.

Thomas Luny (1759 - 1837), renowned Marine Artist of Teignmouth.
In his younger days Luny was a pupil of Francis Holman, a major artist of his time, who lived and worked in London. After Holman's death Thomas Luny tried to mimic his teacher and his early works reflect that fact. In the following years Luny developed his own style and this is very obvious in his later works.
In his years in Teignmouth he found inspiration for his paintings and is remembered as a famous maritime artist. He had a love of the sea and of ships. The Teignmouth beach and Shaldon's Ness feature greatly in a large number of his paintings.  Luny built a house in Old Market Street, now Teign Street, in 1808 where he lived and worked. This house had a garden which ran down to the harbour, giving him fine views of the ships coming into the river.
Thomas Luny was buried in St James'Churchyard, the tomb being shared with his half-brother Captain James Wallace.
Some of Luny's work can be viewed in the Bolton Room on the top floor of the Museum. 

The founder of Teignmouth's Haldon Aerodrome was one William (Bill) Richard Parkhouse. He was born at Chulmleigh in 1891 and served as an apprentice with the Bath Engineering Company, which was a motor engineering firm.
In 1915 he joined the Royal Naval Air Service and qualified as a leading mechanic, later joining the HMS Ark Royal, a Seaplane Carrier, where he crewed as an unofficial observer. He transferred to HMS Empress another Seaplane Carrier, where, amongst other exploits, he participated in bombing raids.
After training as an observer at Great Yarmouth Air Station he flew on DH4s and DH9s, undertaking anti-submarine patrols over the North Sea. He was selected for pilot training, going solo for the first time in July 1918 in the DH6 5643.
He then went to Gosport and trained as an instructor and followed this by taking instructing duties with No. 36 Training Depot Squadron until returning to civvies in 1919.
He couldn't leave flying for very long though and this enthusiasm encouraged him to join the Reserve of Air Force Officers in 1923 as a Pilot Officer.
He had ambitions to run his own flying school and during 1928 he acquired the use of land at Little Haldon, which was approximately 770 ft. above sea level, for a peppercorn rent. In April 1928 he collected from A V Roe and Co. Ltd, an Avro Avian GEBXO which he landed safely on Teignmouth Golf Course, as Little Haldon airfield was still incomplete. Following some very hard work and having some thirteen student pilots under instruction, he was soon appointed as the new de Havilland agent for the Westcountry.
Haldon  soon became the home for summer weekend outings to the north Devon beaches, returning to Haldon Aerodrome and south Devon.
Towards the end of 1929 the first major air meeting was organised by Bill Parkhouse to be held at Haldon. This was Devon's first air display and attracted thousands of interested spectators, including well-known figures from the aviation world.
You can of course find out more at the museum which has a display that gives a greater insight into this fascinating part of Teignmouth's history and brings the story more up-to-date.

The World War II Collection is situated on the first floor of the Museum.

This includes gas masks and a ration book, as well as artefacts from that period including an official report of a soldier's home which had been so badly bombed that it was classified as uninhabitable.

Teignmouth was very badly bombed during World War II.

We have a picture of three ladies
at the Shaldon Lace School c.1911

The Museum has an exhibition of
lace and bobbins from the Lace
School of Shaldon.