74 



KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



DEVONSHIRE AND ITS ATTRACTIVE 

 BEAUTIES. 



SALCOMBE AND ITS ESTUARY. 



( Concluded from Page 8.) 



I have already spoken of the Agave 

 Americana that blossomed in 1774. It was 

 not until 1842 that another flowered in the 

 same grounds; this stood in the same 

 place as the first, and was a very beautiful 

 object. At one end of the house is a small 

 recessed wall, containing several thriving 

 orange, lemon, and citron trees, which are 

 covered with fruit ; and there are many other 

 fine trees on the grounds. 



This place presents the appearance of being 

 built on the top of a succession of terraces. 

 Behind the house, the hill is clothed with a 

 plantation of firs ; amongst which a castel- 

 lated building, about thirty feet in height, 

 surmounted by a flagstaff, and used as a 

 summer-house, is erected. This adds much 

 to the beauty of the place. Closely adjoin- 

 ing Cliff House is Cliff Cottage, at present 

 occupied by the incumbent of Salcombe. It 

 is a pretty object ; consisting of three bows, 

 in front of which is a colonnade. It has a 

 neat garden and fine view from its windows ; 

 but there are no plants or trees of any par- 

 ticular value. 



Just at the entrance of Cliff Cottage 

 begins the town of Salcombe, which consists 

 of a main street, half a mile in length, con- 

 taining many excellent shops, and crossed at 

 right angles by various other streets. It is 

 a neat thriving town, containing about 2,000 

 inhabitants ; and is rapidly improving. There 

 is a Mechanics' Institute, a market-house, 

 and a public room, which are formed out of 

 an old chapel — a building erected in 1801, 

 and licensed by the Bishop, but which would 

 not contain more than 250 persons, in con- 

 sequence of this, and the rapid increase of 

 inhabitants, it was found necessary to build a 

 new church, which was done in the years 

 1841 and 1844 (in the same year it was con- 

 secrated), by the indefatigable exertions of 

 the Rev. Thos. Young, the then incumbent, 

 assisted by the principal inhabitants and 

 landowners in the neighborhood. It stands 

 at the north-east end of the town, and is a 

 handsome edifice in the early English style. 

 It contains a fine organ, a handsome-carved 

 font and pulpit, and is capable of seating 

 between six and seven hundred persons. It 

 has a large churchyard, tastefully planted, 

 and surrounded by a strong stone wall. 



During the building of the church, two 

 commodious National School-Rooms were 

 erected, capable of containing all the children 

 belonging to the parish ; and which, stand- 

 ing on the hill above the town, form a 

 great ornament to the place. The town is 

 well provided with quays, on one of which is 



the custom house and residence for the person 

 in charge. There are three shipbuilders' 

 yards, which are constantly at work, from 

 which some of the finest vessels engaged in 

 the fruit trade — of which a large fleet belong 

 to the place — are constantly being launched. 

 These vessels are highly renowned for their 

 quick voyages, and are principally chartered 

 by London merchants. Lately, several fine 

 vessels of from five to six hundred tons 

 burthen have been built here ; and orders for 

 these vessels seem to be on the increase. 

 The place is possessed of considerable trade ; 

 and even in the years 1G44-5, the customs 

 duties in the port amounted to £5,000. These 

 particulars are derived from the original 

 account signed by Sir Edmund Fortescue, 

 and preserved with the family archives. 



A minute investigation made in the year 

 1841, shows that the exports and imports 

 amounted to the sum of half a million an- 

 nually. From the west end of the town a 

 road is cut, which winds along the edge of 

 the cliffs, and crossing the sands, terminates 

 at the southern extremity of the Bolt Head. 

 This road, owing to its facing the south, forms 

 a delightful promenade, and is possessed of 

 one of the finest views that can be conceived. 

 Amongst the fish to be obtained at this 

 place, may be included nearly every variety 

 that is known on the British shores ; whilst 

 crabs, lobsters, prawns, shrimps, and oysters 

 — together with that delicious bivalve the 

 scallop (so little known in general), are at 

 times more abundant in this harbour than 

 perhaps anywhere else. There is an ample 

 supply of excellent water in the place, fur- 

 nished by a large reservoir, in which a spring 

 is constantly rising, and led into the town by 

 means of pipes. 



There are several good inns and lodging- 

 houses in the place, which in the summer are 

 usually well filled. In this town is brewed a 

 liquor called " White 'Ale," which can only 

 be obtained in this neighborhood. It has 

 much of the appearance of egg-flip ; and is a 

 favorite beverage amongst the hard-working 

 part of the population. The same course is 

 pursued in brewing it as for ordinary beer ; 

 excepting that, at a particular stage of the 

 process, a certain composition is put into the 

 wort which turns it white, and in a few days 

 it becomes fit to drink. The manufacture of 

 the composition above mentioned, which is 

 called " Grout," is only known to one person, 

 who resides in the town of Kingsbridge, at 

 the head of the estuary, in whose family it 

 has been preserved as an inviolable secret 

 for many generations ; and all inkeepers, 

 prior to brewing this ale, are obliged to send 

 to this person for the quantity of " grout " 

 they require. 



From some old papers, still preserved in 

 the church at Kingsbridge, bearing the date 



