Hope Cove
| Hope Cove | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
 Inner Hope from the coastal footpath | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX676402 |
| Location: | 50°15’0"N, 3°52’4"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Kingsbridge |
| Postcode: | TQ7 |
| Dialling code: | 01548 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Hams |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Totnes |
Hope Cove is a small seaside village and a cove of the same name about which the village sits, in the very south of Devon, on the English Channel coast. The cove is to be found some five miles west of Salcombe and the same distance south-west of Kingsbridge. It has two beaches, and is sheltered by the headland of Bolt Tail.
The village is physically divided into two parts: Outer Hope and Inner Hope.
History
Both Inner Hope and Outer Hope originally developed as centres for the local fishing industry. The cove also developed a reputation for smuggling and for plundering wrecked ships.[1]
In 1588, the ships of the Spanish Armada passed the village as they moved up the English Channel. After the Armada was defeated and headed back through storms, the San Pedro el Mayor, a transport ship fitted out as a hospital, was blown onto the rocks between Inner and Outer Hope. The 140 survivors were initially sentenced to death, but were eventually ransomed and sent back to Spain.[2]
The village was the setting for a number of studies by the Victorian painter Sir Luke Fildes; inspiring the cottage in his famous work in oil 'The Doctor'. [3]
Lifeboat
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution established a lifeboat station at Hope Cove in 1878 on land donated by the Earl of Devon. Four boats, all named Alexandra, were supplied in 1887, 1900 and 1903. The station was closed in April 1930 by which time the neighbouring station at Salcombe had been equipped with a motor lifeboat which could cover Bigbury Bay.[4]
In 1992 the service was re-established under the management of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) as part of the Cliff Rescue Team (CRT), the MCA withdrew support and funding for the boat in 2010. The Hope Cove Life Boat was then established as an Independent Life Boat with the support of the village and a registered charity was established to run and maintain the service. A new boat "Alexandra" was launched at Easter in 2013 paid for with funds raised from the village and visitors. The charity is run by volunteers and the boat is also crewed by volunteers who train and respond in their own time. More details can be found here www.hopecovelifeboat.org
Modern era
The village is now mainly devoted to tourism and was the setting for the 1985 cult British movie The Supergrass. The area lies within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.[5]
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Hope Cove) |
References
- ↑ Hope Cove in Devon - Devon Online
- ↑ South Devon AONB Heritage, Landscape & Wildlife: Hope Cove to Bolberry Down
- ↑ http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/fildes-the-doctor-n01522/text-summary
- ↑ Leach, Nicholas (2009). Devon's Lifeboat Heritage. Chacewater: Twelveheads Press. p. 28. ISBN 978-0-906294-72-7.
- ↑ South Devon AONB
