On This Day in Wembury — 5 October 1934: Call to preserve Wembury coast
On this day the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette asked what response Plymouth would make to a proposal for the preservation of about a mile of coastline at Wembury. A local committee had taken up the matter, and the Devon branch of the Council for the Preservation of Rural England gave the project its full support. It was also reported that Mrs Sebag Montefiore had generously offered to donate land, provided that building in the immediate locality was permanently prevented.
The paper noted that Plymouth people made great use of Wembury Bay and described the surrounding coast as one of the lungs of the city. It argued that it was not too much to expect Plymouth to raise a few thousand pounds to secure the area under a comprehensive scheme. This debate foreshadowed later coastal preservation moves which eventually saw much of Wembury’s shoreline protected through National Trust ownership.
Source: Exeter and Plymouth Gazette, 5 Oct 1934
Entries are summaries and interpretations of historical newspaper reports.