Horses and Carriages on the Starcross to Exmouth Ferry

 acknowledgements to the late Jim Shapter

An extract from
A GUIDE TO ALL THE WATERING AND SEA BATHING PLACES
dated 1815

Ferry from Exmouth to the opposite side of the Exe
         Passengers and horses may cross over at
 all times unless it be in a hard gale of wind.
 Carriages cannot be taken over without risk;
though they are seldom impeded more than a
few hours

Prices of the Ferry::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
For a four-wheeled carriage ::: 3s.  0d.
For a two-wheeled carriage ::: 1s. 6d.
For a horse :::: ::::  :::: ::::              4d.
Man, woman and child ::::  ::::      2d.
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
On Sundays and likewise on weekdays
 after sunset, these prices are doubled

Starcross station. Starcross - Exmouth Ferry under way

 The entire book, by John Feltham, has been digitized by Google and is FREELY AVAILABLE  on
THIS LINK
the reference above continues:
[digital page 284]
 Miles. Distance from Exmouth to Exeter - - - - 10 .
Sidmouth, over the Peak Hill 10
going round to avoid the Peak Hill - - 14
Dawlish, (crossing the ferry) 34
Teignmouth ----- 7.
Newton ------ 14
Totness ---.--- 22
From Exmouth, by water, to Powderham Castle, is a short and beautiful row.
 From Exmouth (crossing the ferry) to Ugbrook is about 10 miles but every four-wheeled carriage should go with 4 horses from Dawlish and back again on account of the Haldon Hills

[reference to Exmouth starts at page 237 which is digital page 281]

The annual Starcross to Exmouth swim

This event has been held every year, and still is, but, sadly, the carnival atmosphere which involved the whole village is no longer. Starcross used to send off the swimmers in woolly bathing suits from Starcross pier. A flotilla of boats from Starcross used to accompany the swimmers.  The Exmouth Swimming and Life Saving Society  tried  hard to find a way to keep the swim start on Starcross pier,  but today's scary Health and Safety regulations means that the swim now has to start from a boat moored near the pier.

BUT

After years of sorting out the necessary permissions, The Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club has just built a new pontoon. 

The Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club is amenable to trying to get the race started from their pontoon, if it's possible. But the same Health and Safety regulations will apply, except perhaps, it may be more feasible because the pontoon is owned and used by club members, rather than the general public. 

So, with a little help from the Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club, Starcross History, and a few other village organisations and businesses, perhaps the carnival atmosphere of this historic event can one day be revived?

Well done the Exmouth Swimming and Life Saving Society for keeping the tradition going.

The badges have arrived

The limited edition of our first badge has arrived from MBC Badges. When they have sold out, our next badges will depict other aspects of Starcross history, such as The Royal Western Counties Hospital, Brunel's Atmospheric Railway tower or the original Stairs Cross.

These badges are a high quality, hard enamel, 25cm diameter. The gold on brown colours (the same as the header on here)  are that of The Great Western Railway. The badges depict the iconic Swan of the Exe which was a 10-berth Victorian folly, commissioned by Captain George Peacock of Starcross. She was launched from Dixons yard, Exmouth in 1860, to the sound of the Exmouth Brass Band playing Rule Britannia. She was moored by Starcross pier until she was destroyed in a fire on a date unknown, between the wars. Thankyou Tony Dunlop for this information
 Tony Dunlop's website - Devon Perspectives

The badges are for sale at £10 each, or £15 for 2, or £20 for 4. They can be delivered locally for no extra charge; or posted to elsewhere in the UK at a cost of around £2. Postage to outside the UK will cost more. Please contact starcross.history@gmail.com

Please make loadsafeathers

Our project to recreate The Swan of the Exe

Image from http://www.archive.org/stream/devoncornwallnot111amer#page/166/mode/2up

  for the 2015  Teignmouth Trail Recycled Art in the Landscape needs more feathers

Here's 2 of them

How to make a feather

1. Take a plastic milkbottle and cut out long leafshapes as big as possible. Probably get 2 out of 1 milkbottle
2. cut 2cm slits all along the edges

The feathers will be attached to a wire netting swan. If we get loadsafeathers, the whole of the old rowing boat could be covered with them as well. We have until July to complete our sculpture.

Here's allabout  The Swan of the Exe
by Tony Dunlop on Devon Perspectives
This Victorian 10-berth folly  was designed by Captain George Peacock of Regent's House, Starcross, launched from Dixons yard at Exmouth in 1860 and moored by Starcross pier. It caught fire and perished between the World Wars. Her iconic tender, The Cygnet, is the prize exhibit in nearby Topsham Museum

Captain George Peacock 1805 - 1883

Captain George Peacock 1805 - 1883

If you have more information about Captain George Peacock, or you offer help with this research, please add your comment below. Thankyou

George Peacock was born at Regent's House in Starcross, in 1805.

The following is a précis of the short biography on the National Archives website

"

He served on his father's ships in the Mediterranean... and became a ship's master. He joined the Royal Navy in 1828. He was 2nd master of H.M. Steamship Echo. In 1840, he left the Navy and was appointed as the first Commander of the newly constituted Pacific Steam Navigation Company.

Shortly after leaving the PSNC in 1848, he formed a company to manufacture anti-fouling paint which he had invented.

He became Superintendant of Docks at Southampton. In 1858 he retired to Starcross. "

He commissioned Dixons of Exmouth to build a nautical Victorian folly The Swan of the Exe which was launched in 1860. 4 Cygnets were built. Just one cygnet was used as a tender to the Swan of the Exe. The other 3 were sold. 2 went to Paignton, and 1 to Bournemouth. (Dunlop,T internet, accessed Feb 20th 2015) Only the Exe cygnet remains, (unless anyone knows differently) and she was rescued and preserved by, and is the pride of, nearby Topsham Museum

The Swan of the Exe burnt out inbetween the 2 World Wars.

The story of   The Swan of the Exe has been written by Tony Dunlop on his website Devon Perspectives. The images and the content have generously been made available to all under a creative commons license

The Swan of the Exe Image courtesy of Tony Dunlop, http://www.devonperspectives.co.uk/swan_of_the_exe.html

Further biographical notes, details of his explorations and surveys, papers relating to Captain Peacock's inventions and ideas, papers relating to The Swan of the Exe, papers relating to the Exmouth Warren, printed works, photographs and papers relating to the Cookson family are held in the Liverpool Record Office

Biography of George Peacock by Peta Rée

This is available online by subscription to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Most UK public libraries subscribe to this online, which means that all you need is your library card to access this biography. How to access the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

Topsham Museum

have kindly sent us a wonderful diagram of  The Swan of the Exe, to help us with our project, Recreating The Swan of the Exe and invited us to see the documents they hold about our Captain Peacock. The museum opens again on April 1st.

Starcross to Exmouth Swim

The Starcross to Exmouth Swim used to be an annual village event. Starcross used to turn out to watch the spectacle as the swimmers lined up at the end of Starcross pier.

Does anyone have any photographs of this Village Event? When did it stop? and why?

Well, the swim still takes place every year, but not many people in Starcross are aware of it:


The Exmouth Swimming and Life Saving Society have an annual Starcross swim.  Here's the 2014 results
Read all about the swim HERE

HERE'S an article and some brilliant photographs of the 2012 swim; from the Exmouth Journal


The Exmouth Swimming and Life Saving Society's 2013 Starcross to Exmouth swim didn't take place from "Starcross Jetty"  for the first time in 2013, but went from a boat moored nearby.  Read all about that HERE

Perhaps the new Starcross History club could revive some of yesteryear's carnival atmosphere for this year's event? The date of the 2015 Starcross to Exmouth swim isn't yet published.