Postcards from Newton Abbot

Sketching my home town in Devon is a joy. I’ve discovered so many buildings, so much history and so many great memories …

Time for a quick postcard-sized sketch of Hannah’s, a charity shop in Newton Abbot. It’s a place I regularly give items to …

I’m never that keen on using Latin or Greek when good-old Anglo Saxon words will do fine. Orthodontics means ‘ortho‘ – straightening, …

I’m not sure anyone’s ever sketched this alleyway in Newton Abbot before. It’s a commonly used cut-through filled with industrial waste bins from all the surrounding shops. Local people refer to it as Mortuary Lane, but I’ve yet to find out why.

This is the gloriously Art Deco building which houses Bill Opticians in Wolborough Street, Newton Abbot. Fabulous, isn’t it?

I’ve been sketching in Newton Abbot again. This time it’s the Indulgence Tea Rooms in Devon Square. Here’s what they have to …

This town centre pub was originally called The Oxford Arms. Its foundations were laid in 1623 and its name was changed to The Golden Lion in 1722.

Ye Olde Cider Bar is one of only a handful of remaining cider houses.

Jacksons is the place I get my fish and chips from when I’m in Devon, as the best alternative to Jacks on Westray when I’m in Orkney.

Newton Abbot railway station is a relatively new building, dating from 1927. The original building was from 1846, when they completed the line from Teignmouth along the River Teign.

Olde Forde House was bought in 1978 by Teignbridge District Council who utterly ruined it by building the ugliest modern headquarters building possible in its grounds.

It’s a classic 1960s building, all glass, concrete and strange angles. Inside, the main mechanical workings remain the same with four large pipes served by Archimedes screws which drive the waste water along the course of the river out to the sewerage treatment works on the River Teign.

The Passmore Edwards Library has a continuous plinth, cornices, triangular and curved window pediments, protruding pilasters and finials, and windows with mullions and transoms.

Austins was previously a hotel called the Globe Hotel and was the venue for the horribly delayed reception for Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s failed Atmospheric Railway journey to Newton Abbot.

I particularly liked the reviews which mentioned, “Wendy’s baps delicious!” and “My partner loved the Proper Job”, which may well confuse any of my readers outside the UK.