The Devon fishing community of Hallsands was annihilated by a ferocious storm in 1917. By daybreak, only a single dwelling remained standing, forcing the inhabitants to seek refuge in nearby settlements.
The Village's History
Hallsands, situated between Beesands to the north and Start Point to the south, boasts a heritage dating back to the 1600s. By 1891, the settlement had fostered a close-knit community of just 159 people. Yet merely 26 years later, these residents would face catastrophe when all but one of their homes were claimed by the sea.
Fortunately, nobody was injured. While the inhabitants lost their dwellings, they all survived the night. However, their ordeal did not end there — it took another seven years before they received compensation for their losses.
The Role of Government Blunder
While the immediate cause of the destruction was a combination of howling gales and surging tides, the full story involves a government mistake. During the 1890s, the UK Government decided to expand the naval dockyard at Keyham, near Plymouth. To source the concrete needed for this project, the stretch between Hallsands and Beesands was dredged.
Despite fierce objections from Hallsands locals that this would endanger their community, the dredging continued until 1902. By 1900, the beach had begun to drop noticeably, and that autumn a storm swept away part of the sea wall. This sparked fresh outcry from residents, and this time the Government started to take notice.
In September 1901, roughly a year after the sea wall was lost, a Board of Trade inspector determined that future severe storms posed a real threat of significant damage and advised that dredging should cease. Once dredging was halted, beach levels recovered to some extent, though storms continued to batter the village and surrounding area.
The Night of Destruction
Catastrophe struck in 1917 when a storm caused the village to tumble into the sea, leaving just one house standing intact. That house belonged to Elizabeth Prettyjohn, who steadfastly refused to abandon the village and lived there with her chickens until her death in 1964. The property remains to this day.
