Knighton and West Wembury

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Wembury had two traditional population concentrations: Down Thomas in the west and Knighton plus West Wembury in the east.

Knighton and West Wembury comprised a straggling development strung out along a lane which eventually wound its way to the beach. Cottages, farmsteads, a forge, the pub and several community buildings made up most of the settlement. This gallery begins by setting what was essentially a rather basic linear village in its agricultural context, and then highlights a selection of views, starting at the top of today’s Knighton Hill and working down the lane to West Wembury.

Many of the buildings shown here can still be identified today; most line what is now the greatly altered main road from Plymouth to the beach.