Dartmouth History

In the Dark Ages there was no Dartmouth, only the hilltop village of Dunstal, now Townstal, set far enough inland for its inhabitants to be safe from Viking raiders. But the Norman Conquest in 1066 ushered in a period of security that enabled the hamlets of Clifton and Hardness on the banks of the Dart to develop, relying on fishing and the trade that came from Norman vessels which found the river a useful haven. Land communications, however, remained no more than donkey tracks.

Nonetheless, the Dart’s importance as a harbour was such that it was chosen as the assembly point for a fleet of 146 ships setting out on the Second Crusade in 1147, and again in 1190, when more than 100 vessels sailed from the port on the Third Crusade. A memento of these events is found in the name Warfleet Creek, which lies just inside the river mouth. In the 13th century the Norman rulers linked the two hamlets with a causeway, or Fosse, across the creek that separated them, effectively establishing Dartmouth.