D A R T M O U T H   M U S E U M

 

          The Butterwalk, Dartmouth, Devon TQ6 9PZ.

 

Parks Canada

Atlantic Region Office

Historic Properties

Halifax            Your Ref: B3J IS9

Nova Scotia   Our ref: DMUSRFPC

Canada          28 September 2004

 

Dear Miss Campbell,

 

            Dartmouth and the Newfoundland Fishing Industry.

 

            We are faxing you this letter  - a copy with all the enclosures will follow.

 

            Thank you for your letter dated July 22nd (received by us late in August) about your project for an exhibition next year in Bonavista, Newfoundland on the Atlantic fishery and in particular that in Newfoundland.  We are most interested in this, and will do all in our power to help you with materials for it.  Perhaps, in return, you could send us photographs and photocopies of the resulting exhibition as we might stage something similar on this side of the Atlantic?

 

            Your letter was passed to me for reply as I am the author of a history of Dartmouth, published in 1990 by Phillimore, called "Dartmouth and its Neighbours",  which is available from the Harbour Bookshop, Dartmouth. To save you buying the whole book, I enclose photocopies of the pages relevant to the Newfoundland and Atlantic trade.

 

            Looking at your list of requests, we are unable to supply you with any artifacts fom the fishing or related industries.  However, we can supply you with copies of pictures, maps, ship models, prints and so on covering the period involved:-

 

            1.  BUILDINGS. 

           

            a.  This museum is housed in the Butterwalk, copy of mid-19th century print enclosed.  It was built 1635-39 by Mark Hawkins, a merchant in the NFL trade, and remains the finest example of a 17th century house in the town, if not in Devon.  The plasterwork inside is also very fine.  At the time it was built, ships could come right up to its back door to unload their cargoes.

 

            b.   The New Quay in Dartmouth was built from 1584-1639, also by merchants in the NFL trade, because more quay space was needed as well as more prestigious houses for them to live in.  I enclose a photocopy of a painting which shows it in about 1836, when ships which had crossed the Atlantic could moor alongside.

 

            CONTD/

            c.   By contrast the older, Medieval, part of the town with narrow streets and buildings with overhanging upper storeys still remained in other parts of the town, see old drawing.

 

            2.  MAPS.   a & b.   Two maps of the town used in a law suit in 1619 give the clearest picture of how the town looked then, and how it was growing.  This is how it would have looked when the Pilgrim Fathers in the Mayflower and Speedwell called in for a week for repairs in August, 1620.

 

            c.  By 1670 even more quay space was needed, and a patch of mud in the harbour was reclaimed as the New Ground.  See map of Sandquay in 1812 - actually based on a map made much earlier, and showing the New Ground.

 

            d.  A copy is enclosed of an early drawing of a Newfoundland cod fishery ship  with its shore "room" for dressing the cod, pressing out the train oil, salting & drying, taken from Moll's map of Newfoundland.

 

            3. THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY & UP TO 1815.  The dominant families in the town for over 100 years were the Holdsworths and Newmans, both of whom acquired land in Portugal and Newfoundland,  and became prosperous in the triangular trade between England, Newfoundland and Spain/Portugal/the Mediterranean. 

 

            a.  Photocopy enclosed of the Holdsworth town house in Dartmouth, built in the mid-18th century.

 

            b, c.  Photocopies of two sides of a silver punch bowl, given by the local M.P. Treby to Arthur Holdsworth in 1725, and used regularly for feasting by the Mayor and Corporation of Dartmouth.  It remained in the Holdsworth family until 1921 when it was sold to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, who own the copyright of these photos and must be asked for permission to use them, Ref. No. 6751. They can supply better copies than we can. 

 

            The motto inscribed on one side, "Prosperity to Hooks and Lines" is a direct reference to the Newfoundland trade.  A punch bowl similar to this one is shown on the table.  On the other side is shown a colonnaded building, thought to be the Butterwalk, with the Mayor and Coroporation processing along the New Quay in the direction of the Guildhall where they had their feasts.

 

            d.  Photocopy of the Port Book of 1709, showing the range of goods being exported from Dartmouth to Newfoundland and elsewhere.

 

            e.  For a summary of the type of goods being exported in 1744, see p. 134, para 2, of "Dartmouth and its Neighbours."

 

            f.  For a summary of goods sent in Newman family ships from Dartmouth to Newfoundland in 1810-11,  see photocopy.  Based on Newman Account book in possession of the family.

 

            g.  1813:  The Story of the Newman Ship "Duck"'s part in the Battle between the "Shannon" and the "Chesapeke.  From a Newman private family history.

 

            h.  Newman records of how youths were recruited for the Newfoundland trade, early 19th century:   Photocopy of summary of Newman private family history.

 

            i.  Not enclosed as too long, but do you know  "The Newfoundland Journal of Aaron Thomas", 1794?  It was lent to me by a lady who had lived there, so I presume it is better known in Newfoundland.

 

            4.  THE NINETEENTH CENURY, 1815 on.

 

                The Newfoundland trade was greatly reduced by the the Napoleonic wars, the number of ships annually involved dropping from 120 to 30 by 1808 according to Vancouver.  Holdsworths pulled out of the trade completely;  while the Newmans kept up the trade for much of the 19th century no more of their ships were built in Dartmouth except for two in 1873 & 1876, and many were built in the New World.

 

            a.  Photo of model of "Retriever", last Newman ship built in Dartmouth, 1876.

 

            b.  Table of Newman ships, size, type and where built.

 

            Many engravings were made in the 19th century which showed Dartmouth harbour, with the few remaining sailing ships involved in the Atlantic trade.

           

            c. Photocopy of engraving, published 1820, of view from Mount Boone looking south towards entrance of Dartmouth harbour, drawn by Lady Seale.

 

            d.  Photocopy of engraving of Dartmouth Harbour, about 1841,  looking up river showing sailing ships.

 

            e.  Copy of a letter from John Teage on hearing news of a fire in St. Johns, NFL. in 1846.

 

            f.  Photocopy of photo of old Newfoundland fish warehouses in about 1870, Soon afterwards these were pulled down.  

 

            After that Dartmouth had to get used to the Steam Shipping Age, and our connection with Newfoundland, sadly, became past hisory.  We hear, with horror, that the NFL cod have been more or less completely fished out? Is this true, and if so what are you doing about it?

           

            We look forward to hearing from you how you propose to use some of this material, and hope you may give us some ideas.

 

            Yours sincerely,

 

 

Mrs Ray Freeman.