History - Woolacombe area

experienceDevon’s customized holiday itinerary planning can show you Woolacombe and its surrounding area which includes Saunton Sands, Croyde, Mortehoe and Georgeham.

The area around Woolacombe in North Devon is a favourite spot for surfers and beach lovers but it is also steeped in history. Close to Woolacombe are the villages of Croyde, Mortehoe and Georgeham.
The rich maritime  history of the area is illustrated in the Mortehoe Heritage Centre.

Woolacombe sits between the breathtaking headlands of Baggy Point and Morte Point in a steep valley. Much of the surrounding moorland is owned by the National Trust and there is some superb coastal scenery and wonderful panoramic views from the headlands. Woolacombe has three miles of golden sand and a number of awards have been won for its cleanliness and facilities.

Historically the area goes back to the Stone Age where relics have been found in the countryside around the bay. Centuries ago, Woolacombe was known as ‘Wolmecoma’, or Wolves Valley, a densely forested area with very few human inhabitants and a large wolf population.
Until the early 19th century, Woolacombe was little more than a fishing hamlet, with the addition of a couple of farms at the beginning of this Century. Sea bathing had become popular and the local landowning families decided to create a new resort. They began building the elegant Regency accommodation which still survives today.

Woolacombe is part of the ancient parish of Mortehoe, which nestles in the hills beyond Morte Point, a rocky headland jutting out into the Bristol Channel. The small village of Mortehoe overlooks Woolacombe and it is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Mortehoe has a 13th Century church which is dedicated to St. Sabinus, a missionary from Ireland who was shipwrecked at Woolacombe. The church was consecrated in 1912.

During the 1940's General Eisenhower planned much of the D-Day landings and the American forces used Woolacombe Beach for exercising the invasion, as it closely resembled the invasion beaches on the Normandy coast in France. The Americans set up their headquarters at the nearby Woolacombe Bay Hotel and a memorial to them can be seen on the headland at the North end of the beach.

Croyde, named after the Norse Raider Crydda who landed in the bay actually dates back to pre-Saxon times. Croyde is a pretty village steeped in old world charm and its beach is  a world famous surfing centre. Inland from Croyde is the small rural community of Georgeham, where ‘Tarka the Otter’ was written by the author Henry Williamson in the 1920’s.