30 CONTEXT 178 : DECEMBER 2023 DAN RIGAMONTI Sustaining a rural village The estate that runs Clovelly, the historic Devon fishing village famous for its steep, cobbled high street and spectacular views, has been gradually bringing it up to date. ‘Clovelie’ featured in the Domesday Book. The land passed through different hands until in the 14th century the Manor of Clovelly, an agricultural parish, was bought by the judge Sir John Cary. His younger brother Sir William Cary is said to have built the original stone breakwater, which created a harbour and transformed the site into a fishing village. The family kept the village and lived in it for 11 generations, until the last Cary of Clovelly died. Her widower sold it in 1738 to Zachary Hamlyn, who was born in a neighbouring village and acquired his fortune as a lawyer in Lincolns Inn. Subsequent generations of that family funded improvements, including the construction of carriageways, completed in the early 1800s. A few years after a storm destroyed boats and killed many fishermen, the village passed to Christine Hamlyn Fane, great grand-aunt of the current owner. She married Frederick Gosling, and persuaded him to change his name to Hamlyn and to devote his banking fortune to the restoration of the buildings of the estate. The long process, still marked by their initials and dates on each house, brought properties back from disrepair and raised living standards for the 500 tenants. Some 50 years later the village passed down to the current owner, the Hon John Rous. He built a modern visitor centre, out of sight of the village, and introduced an entrance fee for guests. This was a way to generate income to maintain and improve the historic buildings, while keeping the existing community of tenants in place. The visitor centre and the entrance fees were certainly not appreciated by all at first but, nearly two decades later, the village is seeing the fruits of this labour. I spoke to John Rous recently about the village, its refurbishment and technical issues. While being a display of historical buildings and an open-air museum piece viewed by paying visitors, Clovelly continues to be a living village with a strong community of around 300 residents. Resident filmmakers, artists, musicians and craftspeople add to its cultural life. Historically Clovelly’s cottages had large chimneys which lost large amounts of heat. For Sledges are used to transport goods up and down the steep, pedestrianised high street, largely replacing the donkeys which were formerly used to a greater extent. (Photo: Rob Cowan)
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