General Discussion

Does anyone know anything about a long stone wall on Dawlish's SW boundary?

Where is it? If you go towards Teignmouth, through the Holcombe Dip and up the next hill you'll raech the Minadab B&B on the right-hand side which marks the SW boundary of Dawlish parish. Just across the road from there & slightly further up the hill on the left-hand side is a narrow path (/alleyway) which leads down to a field on the cliff edge. Along that path is an old, high (2m+), long (c. 100m) stonewall which looks as though it was built as an estate boundary wall. Of course there is no estate now, just a lot of modern housing all the way along the cliff tops.

The museum might have some old maps but before immersing myself in there I thought someone might have an immediate answer.

Can anyone help?

That sounds like Eastcliff Park. We've only walked that very path the once, but can remember the wall you refer to. Is there an Eastcliff House or Eastcliff Manor perhaps that either used to or still does sit somewhere near the centre of the Park? If so, I'd guess ( and, sorry, but it is only a guess) that the wall was the boundary of that 'estate'.

Thanks Nelson. The wall I'm thinking of is closer to dawlish than that. The top access to Eastcliff Park is opposite the old Toll House on Oakhill Cross Road which used to be the ancient route between Teignmouth and Dawlish. The Minadab is a couple of hundred yards lower down the hill (Dawlish Road) in the Dawlish direction.

I think you mean Love Lane which runs behind the houses from the main Teignmouth/Dawlish road and then comes out on the lane above the fields that then run down into Mules Park. The wall has been repaired in various places over the last 15 years because various sections of it became unstable. In some places it has been lowered, in others just strengthened. The whole path runs in a sort of gully between these 2 very high walls and the homeowners along its length are responsible for the upkeep of them.

My understanding of it was that it was some sort of boundary wall for a house that was where the houses on Woodlands now stand (the original house might still be there somewhere, I don't know). I believe that houses on that estate also have access to the path that then drops down the cliff and crosses the railway near Spray Point and that was also as a result of the original houseowners having that access agreed with the railway company when the railway was originally built.

Hope that helps.

Thanks Bryony, that sounds like the lane I meant - in a gully down to the fields. Isn't it nice that these old paths have names? So I've got something to tag my research on now. Love Lane - I wonder where that name came from?! On the Dawlish side of Holcombe is another green lane known as "Strawberry Lane" which intersects with OakHill Cross Road. The path down the cliff to cross the railway has just been restored I think - I've seen new railings going up the side of the cliff there. If I manage to find out any more about Love Lane I'll post it back here.

I'm going to take a stroll around that neck of the woods this afternoon, after Sunday lunch at the Castle in Holcombe, and will have a look out for any clues as I too find the history of place names and street names to be fascinating. I enjoyed a lovely meal (always eating!!!) straight after work last night at the new Thai restaurant in Exeter and the lady whose leaving do we were out for is a volunteer at a local museum, and she was a mine of information about Exeter and the towns and villages that dot either side of the Exe. She really inspired me to get out and about and to learn more about our environment and to never take it for granted.