For some 120 years or so the tiny fishing village of Hallsands nestled beneath the cliffs on the south coast of Devon, protected from the seas by its deep shingle beach. In 1897, along came Sir John Jackson with a license to dredge for shingle to use in the construction of Devonport Dock Yard. Within 20 years, the village had been completely destroyed thanks to coastal erosion caused by Jackson’s dredging.
Hallsands Fishing Village in 1891 – Before the Dredging
By late Victorian times, the sleepy fishing village of Hallsands, which lay on the coast of the South Hams area of Devon, had been established for some 100 years or so. By the time the census was taken in 1891, the settlement consisted of some three dozen houses built closely together, nestling in the shelter of the rocky cliff base and was home to some 159 people, mainly engaged in the fishing trade.
The village was protected by its deep shingle beach which had the effect of reducing the power of the angry waves of a stormy sea before they reached the houses. The inhabitants were used to the perils and tragedies which often accompanied sea fishing but were rarely troubled by the perils and hazards of nature on their homes until Sir John Jackson came along with his shingle dredging license.
Sir John Jackson Dredges for Shingle to Build Devonport Dock Yard
The civil engineer Sir John Jackson had been awarded the contract to build Devonport Dock Yard at Keyham, near Plymouth for the government. In order to make the cement with which to build the docks, he needed shingle – lots of it. So, he approached the Board of Trade and was granted a license to dredge off Hallsands.
The first the villagers knew about this license was in early 1897 when the first dredger started work. They made an official complaint and an inquiry was set up at which Sir John agreed to compensate the villagers for damage to fishing equipment and financial loss due to the operations disturbing the fish stocks which were their livelihood.
Villagers Concerns on Coastal Erosion Due to Dredging Dismissed
However their concerns about the dredging causing coastal erosion and subsequent damage to their homes was dismissed by Sir John who said the sea would replenish the shingle stocks naturally. But, due to the nature of the shingle (it had been deposited there in the glacial age from Dartmoor via the river Dart rather than having been supplied by general long shore drift) it wasn’t replenished by the sea.
By 1901, coastal erosion was well underway and the beach which had protected the village for over a century had visibly dropped. During winter storms that year, several houses were damaged by the encroaching sea. The evidence of the damage caused by the dredging was overwhelming and Sir John’s dredging license was revoked by the Board of Trade in 1902.
Hallsands Village Finally Destroyed by Gales in January 1917
But the damage caused by the extraction of some 650,000 tons of shingle was already done. Despite the building and rebuilding of sea walls in an attempt to protect the village, further storms caused more and more damage. The end of the village came in January 1917 when a violent easterly gale caused the sea to flood every single remaining house. By the end of that month there was only one remaining habitable home.
Their homes destroyed, the Hallsands fishermen had no option to disperse and settle elsewhere in the area. They eventually received a small amount of compensation for the loss of their homes but their tight knit community was lost forever. Evidence that coastal erosion due the dredging is still continuing today is apparent by the fact that the sea now batters at the foot of the high cliffs which still suffer from occasional storm damage.
So, despite firm assurances by Sir John Jackson – then MP for Devonport – over concerns about coastal erosion when the dredging began, a whole south Devon community and its village was broken up and dispersed by the power of the sea. Sir John, however, survived unscathed and, ironically, also survived a judicial review over alleged profiteering which began in the same month (January 1917) as the final storm that destroyed the fishing community of Hallsands.
Sources:
- The Times Digital Archive
- Royal Commission Report on Coastal Erosion, 1907
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