Teignmouth, West Cliff House and the Pellew Memorial Carpet Shop: anteros

anteros_lmc

Teignmouth, West Cliff House and the Pellew Memorial Carpet Shop

Jan 17, 2014 23:38

Last weekend nodbear and I visited Teignmouth, the Devon port town that was home to Sir Edward Pellew after he retired from active naval service, until his death in 1833. Following his retirement, Pellew lived at West Cliff House with his wife Susan and a veritable tribe of 22(!) grandchildren who came and went on a regular basis. West Cliff is now know as Bitton House and serves as Teignmouth's council offices and town hall, however many of the external features have survived, including Susan Pellew's orangerie and the cannon that Pellew took home from Algiers.

Teignmouth is a ridiculously picturesque town even on a stormy Sunday in January and it's impossible to avoid the town's maritime history and most famous naval resident. There are numerous houses, streets and buildings named after Pellew and anchor shaped benches commemorating the town's Trafalgar veterans. The fashionable marine artist Thomas Luny also lived in Teignmouth not far from West Cliff House and painted several commissions for Pellew of his most famous engagements. Thomas Luny's house is now a very smart guest house and nodbear and I aspire to stay there one day!

As befitting a port town, Teignmouth also has lots and lots of pubs, including some very old ones that have survived alongside the harbour. The Jolly Sailor is the town's oldest, the current building dates back to the early 17th century but there was an earlier licensed premises on the site dating back to the 12th century.

Unfortunately the museum that houses a number of artefacts associated with Pellew was closed the day we visited, but that just means we have another reason to go back!

West Cliff House
I wonder what Ned would think if he knew he had been commemorated by a carpet shop and a hair dresser?! And the less said about the Pellew memorial underpass the better :}