Map - Salcombe

Salcombe is a popular resort town in the South Hams district of Devon, south west England. The town is close to the mouth of the Kingsbridge Estuary, mostly built on the steep west side of the estuary. It lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The town's extensive waterfront and the naturally sheltered harbour formed by the estuary gave rise to its success as a boat and shipbuilding and sailing port and, in modern times, tourism especially in the form of pleasure boats and yachting. The town is also home to a traditional shellfish fishing industry. The town is part of the electoral ward of Salcombe and Malborough, for which the 2011 census recorded a total population of 3,353.

Kingsbridge Estuary (actually a ria or drowned valley) lies between Bolt Head and Sharpitor on the west and Portlemouth Down on the east, and runs inland for some 8.6 km. The estuary was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in February 1987 and is also a Local Nature Reserve.

There are several shipwrecks off Salcombe. The oldest is of a Bronze Age ship, one of only three known in Britain, which had weapons and jewelry made in what is now France. The Salcombe Cannon Wreck is a 17th-century ship that contained 400 Moroccan gold coins and Dutch items. In 1936, a Finnish four-masted barque, Herzogin Cecilie, ran aground on the Ham Stone and was subsequently beached at Starehole Bay, near Bolt Head. Also off Salcombe is HMS Untiring, a World War II submarine, sunk in 1957 as a sonar target.

A description of the South Hams is given in the 9th-century charter S298. It does not refer to Salcombe but its area is part of Badestone (Batson). "Salcombe" first appears in the records in 1244, on the boundaries of Batson and West Portlemouth (Portlemore Barton). In 1570, there were 56 mariners, while two years later, another survey shows five ships under 60 tons at Salcombe.

In 1566, there were ten seine nets at Salcombe, while in the 1580s, Salcombe fishermen travelled to Padstow annually for the new herring fishery. While there, they rented cottages and storehouses.

The ruins of Fort Charles remain towards the south of the town. It was built for Henry VIII to defend the estuary. During the English civil war, the town sided with the Royalists. From January to May 1646, the fort held out against the Roundheads and was the last Royalist stronghold. It was slighted on the orders of Parliament.

There is little record of the town between 1650 and 1750, but it is thought that the inhabitants lived by fishing and smuggling. In 1764, the first holiday home, The Moult, was built in Salcombe.

In the 19th century, Salcombe was a major centre for shipping in the fruit trade. Salcombe vessels sailed to Iberia, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean as well as to the Azores and Newfoundland. The fruit cargoes were oranges and lemons from the Azores, and pineapples from the Bahamas and West Indies. Other cargoes brought back included sugar, rum, coconuts and shaddocks (pomelos). In addition, wood such as ebony and mahogany was brought for furnishing ships. Salcombe and Kingsbridge were busy ship-building locations, producing the Salcombe schooner, which was a fast boat that could be sailed with few hands. However, almost half the fleet was lost with all hands. A mutual marine assurance association had been established in 1811 to insure Salcombe ships.

The Salcombe fleet also was involved in the coastal trade, supplying coal from Wales and taking away cider, malt, grain and slates. A ferry to Brest was set up in 1870 but did not last.

By 1871, the central part of Salcombe, excluding the outlying districts, numbered 776 people, with 34 shipwrights and 13 ship's carpenters. There were also five sawyers, three block makers, two ship's riggers, three sail makers, a tin plate worker and four blacksmiths. However, in the 1870s, the fruit trade declined due to outbreaks of orange and pineapple disease, as well as the advent of steamships. Some work was found taking salt to Newfoundland and returning with cod but, by 1914, there were only three or four locally owned trading ships in the estuary. At that time, pleasure sailing began at Salcombe, with the yacht club being founded in 1894. One of the boats raced was the Salcombe Yawl for which an owner's association has been set up.