420 REPORT—1885. 
but as they were evidently useless for the purpose intended, they were left to — 
their fate, and in a few years more they were either destroyed by the waves 
or utilised by the fishermen for firewood. They having failed, the esplanade 
wall was built in 1837. 
400 600 B00 YARDS 
EMILE 
As 
Wis 
Sub ANE 
Forest \N 
\ 
\\ 
Foundation: 
Fic. 5.—Plan of part of Sidmouth, showing the old river bank. 
13. It has always been the custom at Sidmouth for the inhabitants to take sand 
and gravel from the beach. About 1870, speaking at a guess, the Board of — 
Trade set up a new claim to the foreshore, and forbade such removal, but there — 
was such a rebellion in the town that they dropped it. a. The material is 
taken from anywhere between high and low water mark, according as coarse _ 
or fine material is wanted. »b. Gravel is used for gravel walks and roads, and — 
many persons earn a living by fetching it when other business is slack. Sand _ 
of the coarser kind is used by the masons and others for mortar, cement, and _ 
various other purposes ; but when this was forbidden, building was stopped, 
which not only affected the masons, but it concerned the carpenters, plumbers, 
painters, glaziers, &c., and hence the rebellion. e. All persons are free now 
to take any material they want from the foreshore, though the Board of Trade 
claims waifs and strays and certain large fish: but though this claim is new, 
it is not resisted. It was once enjoyed by the lords of the manor, for I have — 
a lease granted by Henry VIII., in which it is mentioned ; but the lords of | 
the manor have neglected it. The small amount of material taken from the 
beach can have no effect whatever. The reef of rocks at the west end of the 
beach (the Chit Rocks) is too low to act as a natural breakwater, except at 
low tide. 
14. a. and b. This is an interesting question and comprehends a great deal. I have 
been watching the wearing away of the cliffs from boyhood, and see great 
changes. The greatest loss isin the soft red marl from Axmouth to Sidmouth, 
and next in the sand-rock farther west to Exmouth, though hard patches of 
conglomerate occur in places. There is no regularity in erosion, for the softe 
