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South Hams
South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Totnes, although the largest town is Ivybridge. The district also contains the towns of Dartmouth, Kingsbridge and Salcombe and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
Much of the district's landscape is recognised for its natural beauty; the north of the district includes part of Dartmoor National Park, the district's coastline and adjoining areas form most of the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and part of the west of the district lies within the Tamar Valley AONB. The district's coast includes the promontories of Start Point and Bolt Head.
The neighbouring districts are Torbay, Teignbridge, West Devon, Cornwall (across the Tamar–Tavy Estuary) and Plymouth.
"Ham" is an Old English term which can mean a homestead, river meadow or peninsula. The settled farming areas either side of the largely uninhabited wilderness of Dartmoor were anciently termed the "North Hams" and "South Hams" respectively. The name North Hams fell out of general usage, but the name South Hams continued to be used for the area between Dartmoor and the south coast.
The South Hams were formerly part of the Brythonic (Celtic) Kingdom of Dumnonia. Post-Roman settlement on coastal promontory hillforts, such as Burgh Island, followed the established pattern of trading (particularly of tin) found across the western Atlantic coastal regions. The Anglo-Saxon conquest of south Devon was completed in the late 7th and early 8th centuries. In the later Anglo-Saxon era, the South Hams was a feudal estate consisting of all of the land between the River Plym and River Dart and south of Dartmoor with the English Channel forming the southern boundary. As a result of claims made by 19th century antiquarian Richard Polwhele, there is a popular belief that Cornish continued to be spoken in the area until the later middle ages and as late as the 14th century. However, there is, in fact, no evidence supporting this.
In 1917, the village of Hallsands was abandoned after much of it was lost to the sea following the removal of the shingle bank protecting the shore to help build Devonport dockyard.
In 1944 several villages were evacuated so that training for D-Day could be carried out in secret. The area was chosen because of the resemblance of its beaches to those of Normandy. Preparations were disrupted, and secrecy nearly compromised, by a devastating E-boat attack during Exercise Tiger.
The modern local government district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of seven former districts which were all abolished at the same time:
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South Hams AI simulator
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South Hams
South Hams is a local government district on the south coast of Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Totnes, although the largest town is Ivybridge. The district also contains the towns of Dartmouth, Kingsbridge and Salcombe and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas.
Much of the district's landscape is recognised for its natural beauty; the north of the district includes part of Dartmoor National Park, the district's coastline and adjoining areas form most of the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and part of the west of the district lies within the Tamar Valley AONB. The district's coast includes the promontories of Start Point and Bolt Head.
The neighbouring districts are Torbay, Teignbridge, West Devon, Cornwall (across the Tamar–Tavy Estuary) and Plymouth.
"Ham" is an Old English term which can mean a homestead, river meadow or peninsula. The settled farming areas either side of the largely uninhabited wilderness of Dartmoor were anciently termed the "North Hams" and "South Hams" respectively. The name North Hams fell out of general usage, but the name South Hams continued to be used for the area between Dartmoor and the south coast.
The South Hams were formerly part of the Brythonic (Celtic) Kingdom of Dumnonia. Post-Roman settlement on coastal promontory hillforts, such as Burgh Island, followed the established pattern of trading (particularly of tin) found across the western Atlantic coastal regions. The Anglo-Saxon conquest of south Devon was completed in the late 7th and early 8th centuries. In the later Anglo-Saxon era, the South Hams was a feudal estate consisting of all of the land between the River Plym and River Dart and south of Dartmoor with the English Channel forming the southern boundary. As a result of claims made by 19th century antiquarian Richard Polwhele, there is a popular belief that Cornish continued to be spoken in the area until the later middle ages and as late as the 14th century. However, there is, in fact, no evidence supporting this.
In 1917, the village of Hallsands was abandoned after much of it was lost to the sea following the removal of the shingle bank protecting the shore to help build Devonport dockyard.
In 1944 several villages were evacuated so that training for D-Day could be carried out in secret. The area was chosen because of the resemblance of its beaches to those of Normandy. Preparations were disrupted, and secrecy nearly compromised, by a devastating E-boat attack during Exercise Tiger.
The modern local government district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of seven former districts which were all abolished at the same time: