On this day in Wembury 1st September 1880
An Umbrella, an Assault and a Threat on Wembury Cliffs
On 1 September 1880, the South Wales Daily News reported an extraordinary disturbance which had taken place at Wembury Beach during the August Bank Holiday.
Thomas Cottle, a carpenter and joiner, appeared before the county magistrates at Yealmpton charged with assaulting and beating the Reverend Duke Yonge of Puslinch, Newton Ferrers. Cottle pleaded guilty.
The court heard that Reverend Yonge had visited Wembury Beach on Monday 2 August with a party of children and friends. During their outing, Cottle approached and picked up an umbrella belonging to Yonge’s daughter. He then began walking away with it.
Yonge followed him and demanded his name. Several of Cottle’s friends then arrived and the confrontation quickly became more serious.
According to Yonge, Cottle turned violent and threatened to throw him from the cliffs into the sea. The men were already some distance up the cliff on a large mound of ground when Cottle grabbed the clergyman, pushed him and caused him to fall.
After a short consultation, the magistrates condemned Cottle’s behaviour. They said it was a great pity that he and his companions could not enjoy the Bank Holiday, which was a valuable benefit to working people, without becoming an annoyance to the public.
Cottle was fined ten shillings and ordered to pay costs of fifteen shillings and sixpence. The total penalty was £1 5s 6d, with fourteen days in prison as the alternative if he failed to pay.
The story reveals that Wembury Beach was already attracting Bank Holiday visitors in 1880. Yet among the families, children and friends enjoying a rare day away from work, the simple taking of an umbrella somehow escalated into violence and a frightening threat above the cliffs.
Source: South Wales Daily News, 1 September 1880
On This Day in Wembury – 1 September 1881
A serious act of vandalism took place at Traine Barton, Wembury, when four gates belonging to Mr. Lang were deliberately unhinged and burnt between 8 and 9 p.m.
Local magistrate Richard Cory J.P. of Langdon Court issued a notice on 7 September offering a £10 reward for information leading to the conviction of the offenders. The case reflected both the social tensions and the readiness of landowners in Victorian Devon to post public rewards to protect property.
Source: Western Morning News, 7 Sept 1881.
On This Day in Wembury — 1 September 1864
A tragic accident claimed the life of Joseph Jewell, cashier and head clerk to Messrs. Edmonds and Sons, solicitors of Plymouth. Jewell had accompanied his employer, R. O. Edmonds, on a shooting excursion towards Wembury. Travelling by dog-cart, their horse suddenly bolted after passing Laira Bridge. Alarmed, Jewell leapt from the moving trap and struck his head heavily on the road. Despite being carried to the Morley Arms and attended by his wife and a surgeon, he died soon afterwards without regaining consciousness. The incident was widely reported as a sobering reminder of the risks of horse-drawn travel.
Source: North Devon Journal, 8 September 1864 (reporting event of 1 September 1864).
Entries are summaries and interpretations of historical newspaper reports.