On This Day in Wembury — 7 September 1861
The Western Morning News reported the inquest into a body found drowned at "Long Range Bay" (?), Wembury. The discovery was made by gamekeeper Samuel Fosse, in the employ of Samuel Clark Jervoise of Langdon Court. The corpse, described as a man about five feet six inches tall, wore a red flannel shirt, fustian trousers, blue worsted stockings, and half boots. Though decomposed from long immersion, the clothes were intact, and no possessions were found except a short-stemmed tobacco pipe.
Policeman Henry Maddocks testified that all efforts to identify the body had failed. Marks on the skin were judged to be the result of sea creatures rather than violence. A grisly detail was noted: a dead dogfish was discovered trapped inside the man’s trousers, believed to have suffocated after entering post-mortem. With no clue to the man’s name or origin, the jury returned an open verdict of “Found drowned.”
Reflection:
This haunting case shows how the sea at Wembury often returned the dead in ways both tragic and mysterious. Without identification, the drowned man’s story ended as an anonymous footnote, a reminder of how perilous maritime life was in the 19th century. Such reports also underline the role of estates like Langdon Court and their keepers in local life—here, it was a gamekeeper who first witnessed the body adrift. In the sweep of Wembury’s history, the coast has been both livelihood and hazard, and the ocean just as likely to conceal as to reveal its secrets.
Source: Western Morning News, 7 September 1861.
On This Day in Wembury, 7 September 1881
Ten pound reward after four farm gates were burned
A substantial reward was offered following a deliberate act of destruction at Traine Barton in Wembury.
During the night of Thursday 1 September 1881, sometime between eleven o'clock and midnight, one or more people entered land belonging to Mr Lang and removed four wooden gates from their hinges. The gates were then gathered together and burned.
This was clearly no passing act of mischief. Taking four farm gates down would have required time and effort, while setting fire to them suggests that the damage was planned and deliberate. The missing gates would also have left fields open, allowing livestock to stray and creating further problems for the farmer.
Mr Lang was almost certainly Francis Lang, who is recorded as the farmer at Traine during this period. He continued farming there for many years and appears in the Wembury directory of 1890.
A reward of £10 was offered to anyone providing information leading to the conviction of those responsible. This was a very considerable sum in 1881 and shows how seriously the incident was regarded.
The notice was signed by Richard Cory of Langdon Court, a wealthy landowner and local justice of the peace. Cory had purchased Langdon Court in 1876 and became a prominent figure in Wembury. His involvement suggests either a connection with the ownership of the land or a determination to prevent further attacks upon local farms. Wembury Local History Society records Cory at Langdon Court, while the 1890 Wembury directory lists Francis Lang as the farmer at Traine.
The newspaper notice gives no clue as to the motive. It might have followed a personal dispute, a grievance over land or employment, or simply an unusually determined act of vandalism. Whatever lay behind it, someone spent part of that September night moving through the Wembury countryside, taking down four heavy farm gates and feeding them into a fire.
Today, a burned gate might seem a relatively minor crime. In a farming community, however, gates protected crops, controlled animals and marked the working boundaries of the land. Destroying four of them was not merely damage to property. It was a direct attack upon the operation and security of the farm. The size of the reward reminds us that this mysterious fire at Traine was regarded as a serious matter throughout the village.
Source: Western Morning News, Wednesday 7 September 1881.
On This Day in Wembury – 7 September 1901
A letter from L. Scarr of Wembury appeared in the Western Morning News, reflecting on the long-standing links between Lancashire and Devon.
Scarr noted that thousands of Lancashire families were then visiting Torquay and South Devon, and expressed the hope that some might explore “the nooks and corners” further afield, enriching rural homesteads with their patronage.
The letter highlighted the historic connections between the two counties, especially through Hugh Oldham (1452–1519), Bishop of Exeter from 1504–1519, who was of an old Lancashire family. Oldham established the arms of the See, founded schools and chantries, and helped endow Corpus Christi College, Oxford. His effigy still rests in Exeter Cathedral.
Scarr also recalled family ties between the Townleys of Lancashire and the Cliffords of Chudleigh, and closed with an anecdote about Bishop Oldham’s punctual dining habits — his servant delaying the house clock to match the Bishop’s schedule.
This letter shows how residents of Wembury took part in wider cultural and historical discussions, placing the parish within a network of national identity, heritage, and regional pride.
Source: Western Morning News, 10 Sept 1901.
Entries are summaries and interpretations of historical newspaper reports.