The South Hams is a picturesque district on the south coast of Devon, England, with a history spanning from prehistoric times to its modern local government status.

Early History & Prehistory

• Prehistoric roots: The landscape bears traces of Bronze Age and Iron Age settlements, hillforts, burial barrows, and coaxial field systems.

• Origin of the name: The name South Hams comes from the Old English word “hamme”, meaning an enclosed or sheltered space. This refers to the region’s mild climate, protected by Dartmoor’s granite hills to the north and warmed by its southern coastal location.

• Anglo-Saxon and Domesday era: Permanent hamlets and agricultural patterns were firmly established by the Anglo-Saxon period. The Domesday Book of 1086 recorded the eastern part of the region as one of the most prosperous and densely farmed areas in Devon.

Medieval and Maritime Prosperity

• Wool and trade: During the medieval period, wool production and arable farming brought great wealth to inland market towns like Totnes and Kingsbridge.

• Sheltered ports: The deep river estuaries (such as the River Dart and River Yealm) created natural harbors. Towns like Dartmouth grew into crucial naval, shipbuilding, and trading centers.

• Castles and defense: Historic strongholds like Totnes Castle, Dartmouth castle, and coastal fortifications were built to protect the region from sea raids and foreign invasions. Cornish (or a closely related Southwestern Brittonic/Brythonic dialect) was originally spoken throughout the entire region of Dumnonia—covering modern-day Devon and Cornwall—including the South Hams area between the River Plym and the River Dart.

History of Cornish in the South Hams 

Cornish (or a closely related Southwestern Brittonic/Brythonic dialect) was originally spoken throughout the entire region of Dumnonia—covering modern-day Devon and Cornwall—including the South Hams area between the River Plym and the River Dart

• Early Dumnonia: Before the Anglo-Saxon conquest, the South Hams was part of the Brittonic-speaking Celtic kingdom of Dumnonia.

• Anglo-Saxon Advance: The Anglo-Saxon takeover of south Devon was largely complete by the late 7th and early 8th centuries, pushing the main language border back.

• Survival in Pockets: While the language retreated westward across the River Tamar, some historical accounts and antiquarians (such as Richard Polwhele and Tristram Risdon) suggested that a form of the Celtic/Cornish tongue lingered on in parts of the South Hams and near the Tamar well into the medieval period (such as the 13th and 14th centuries during the reign of Edward I).

• Historical Consensus vs. Legend: Modern historians note that while early Celtic speech persisted longer in isolated or marshy rural pockets after Saxon political control solidified, hard contemporary primary evidence for widespread Cornish speech in the South Hams into the late Middle Ages is thin, and it mostly faded out well before it did in western Cornwall.

18th to 20th Century: Industry and Wartime

• Coastal Trade: Tidal inlets featured malthouses and limekilns used to export grain and malted barley via coastal shipping.

• Transport: The 19th-century Industrial Revolution brought turnpike roads, canals, and railways, altering local commerce and opening the area to early tourism. 

• Hallsands: The fishing village of Hallsands was destroyed by severe storms and sea erosion in 1917, largely accelerated by offshore dredging for Plymouth naval dockyards. 

• World War II (Exercise Tiger): In 1944, thousands of residents were evacuated from coastal South Hams to clear the area for D-Day landing rehearsals by Allied forces, famously marred by the tragic Exercise Tiger disaster. 

Facilitators

• Tiziana Barton
• Virginia Crellin
• Giles Barton
• Emma Baker - Keeper of the Kort Ownder