Bideford, Devon - above Railway Station -Peacock Autochrom - local pmk 1908

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Bideford [Devon] - from above Railway Station - shows the Bridge 
• Publisher: Pictorial Stationery Co - Peacock Brand - Autochrom No. 618
• Postally used: yes
• Stamp:  Edward VII half d light green
• Postmark(s): Bideford 1908 cds
• Sent to:  Miss Colville, White Hall, Littleham 
• Notes / condition: 

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Bideford (/ˈbɪdɪfərd/ BID-ə-fərd) is a historic port town on the estuary of the River Torridge in north Devon, south-west England. It is the main town of the Torridge local government district.

The original Long Bridge spanning the River Torridge connecting the East and West of the town was said to have been built out of timber in the year 1286. In 1474 the original structure was replaced by the masonry arch bridge seen today.[38] The bridge was built around the timber so people could still use it while construction was taking place, possibly resulting in the 24 arches all being of different sizes. A traditional explanation is that each arch was funded by a different local guild, although there are no records to confirm this. Another theory is that the piers of the arches of the bridge were built on naturally existing, and therefore randomly situated, large stones in the river. During the first decade of the 17th century, the bridge trustees were taken to court by the people of Bideford for feasting and seeing plays at the expense of the trust funds. The people won the court case, although it is unclear whether the trustees were forced to resign after the scandal, or whatever else happened to them. In 1790 the bridge was the longest in Devon.[39] In the 1820s there was talk of converting the bridge so that it could be raised and lowered to allow larger boats and ships to pass under it. In 1886 a Ship called 'Edward Birkbeck' launched from a Bideford shipyard hit the bridge, but only caused small damage by knocking some of the stones out. In 1925 another incident took place on the bridge: during the widening of the bridge a lorry came off the side of the bridge and crashed into the River Torridge, and it is believed that both the people in the lorry survived.[40] During World War II the 10th arch of the bridge was being repaired, and the police asked for ladders and scaffolding to be removed from the bridge to prevent potential invaders climbing up and capturing the bridge. During the war the Home Guard patrolled the bridge.[41] The Bideford Bridge Trust held responsibility for the long bridge right up until the year 1968 when one of the arches of the bridge collapsed. The Department of Transport then took over the bridge. During the rebuilding of that damaged part of the bridge a crane toppled over, and a man was killed. An inspection by Devon County Council in July 2007 revealed problems with the bridge's concrete and structure, so in September 2008 work began on putting in the cathodic protection system which restored the bridge for another 60 years.[38] A sight which many holiday-makers and locals enjoy is seeing the starlings at dusk, as they roost underneath the bridge.

Port and shipping

By the 16th century Bideford had become Britain's third largest port.[42] Sir Walter Raleigh landed his first shipment of tobacco here, although, contrary to popular belief, he was not the first to import tobacco to England. Several local roads and a hill have been named after Raleigh.[42] Bideford was heavily involved in the transport of indentured servants to the New World colonies.[43] Bideford also was heavily involved in the Newfoundland cod trade from the 16th century to the mid-18th century. 28 Bideford vessels with a tonnage of 3860 were involved in this practice in the year 1700.[44] In the years 1706, 1707, 1726 and 1758 fishermen of Bideford sent petitions demanding the building of a fort in Newfoundland to protect them from Native Americans and the French.[45] Bideford also imported large amounts of Irish wool in the 18th century.

Two prominent shipbuilders in Bideford were George Crocker and Richard Chapman: they built a large number of ships. A number of ships have been built in Bideford, including HMS Acorn, an 18-gun sloop launched in 1807; and HMS Mutine, HMS Fairy, HMS Carnation and HMS Ontario, which were all 18-gun Cruizer-class brig-sloops, HMS Garland and HMS Volage were both 22-gun Royal Navy Laurel-class post ships, and HMS Meda, a harbour defence motor launch was built and launched in the town. Around 150 ships were built between 1840 and 1877 at Higher Cleave Houses in Bideford. The largest wooden ship to be built in Bideford was the Sarah Newman, a 1,004-ton full-rigged ship built in 1855.[46] During the 19th century over 815 registered wooden sailing ships were launched on the Torridge, as too were hundreds of unregistered craft. Shipbuilding in the Bideford area declined during the 1890s as shipyards in Britain's industrial regions constructed steel steamships. The last wooden merchant ship launched in the River Torridge was the schooner PT Harris from the Hubbastone yard of PK Harris & Sons, in 1912.[47]

During World War II a Shoreham-class sloop was named HMS Bideford, also four sixth-rate ships of the line have been named after the town. Nowadays the only shipbuilding in the area is at Appledore Shipbuilders, which has built civilian ships and ships for the Royal Navy and Irish Naval Service. Currently ball clay is exported from Bideford to Castellón, Spain[48] and also Naantali, Finland;[49] also wood has been exported to Wismar, Germany.[50] The Kathleen and May, the last remaining British-built wooden-hull three-masted topsail schooner, is registered in Bideford and was at one time based there.[51] There are also some fishing boats that still operate out of Bideford.