Downderry () is a coastal village in south-east

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, United Kingdom. It is west of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

and one mile east of Seaton. Downderry has a long beach of light shingle with road access to the beach via a slipway, although this is blocked by a locked gate, pedestrian access is still possible. Dogs are allowed on the beach. The beach further east is a nudist beach. The village has
Village Hall
which opened in 1890 and hosts a variety of events and activities, a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

church, a

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

chapel, a pub, a Tapas Bar, a coffee shop and a primary school. The Church of St Nicolas Downderry began as a mission church to service the growing population of the village. The building dates from the late 19th-century. The village and beach offer views of

Looe Island Looe Island nature reserve (, meaning ''Island of the Monk's Enclosure''), also known as St George's Island, and historically St Michael's Island is a small Islands of the world, island nature reserve a mile from the mainland town of Looe off C ...

to the west and

Rame Head Rame Head or Ram Head () is a coastal headland, southwest of the village of Rame in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is part of the larger Rame Peninsula. History and antiquities The natural site was used for a promontory ...

to the east and on clear days the

Eddystone Lighthouse The Eddystone Lighthouse is a lighthouse on the Eddystone Rocks, south of Rame Head in Cornwall, England. The rocks are submerged below the surface of the sea and are composed of Precambrian gneiss. View at 1:50000 scale The current structu ...

offshore.

Points of interest

Bass rock

Approximately east of the village center is a rocky outcrop known locally as "Bass Rock", this is a popular fishing spot as it affords access to deeper water.

Coleadon

further on from Bass Rock are the cliffs of Coleadon, the promontory past these cliffs means access to the beach past this point is cut off at high tide.

The Long Stone (Shag Rock)

Past Coleadon is a stretch of beach which ends in a rocky outcrop known locally as "Shag Rock" after the seabirds who can be seen sitting on the rock drying their wings after diving for fish. This marks the end of easy foot access to the coastline. There is a path up the cliff which leads to the road above this beach, the climb is pleasant but reasonably strenuous. The ruins of an old Victorian lodge, known as "St Germans Hut", can be found halfway up this cliff path.

Television transmitter

On one of the hills above the village is a television transmitter which serves as a repeater for the local area.

Chain Home bunkers

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Downderry was the site of a

Chain Home Chain Home, or CH for short, was the codename for the ring of coastal early warning radar stations built by the Royal Air Force (RAF) before and during the Second World War to detect and track aircraft. Initially known as RDF, and given the off ...

radar installation. The remains of this installation are present and can be found on the east side of the village. One of the bunkers has been converted into a residential garage, the other is no longer accessible from the road as it is now private property.

Neolithic earthworks

The only known example of a '

cursus Cursuses are monumental Neolithic enclosure structures comprising parallel banks with external ditches or trenches. Found only in the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, relics within them indicate that they were built between 3400 and 3000 BC ...

' earthwork in Cornwall is situated behind the village in the fields near Triffle farm.

Wreck of the ''Gipsy''

The wreck of the ''Gipsy'' can be found just off Downderry in about of water west of the slipway. Originally named '' The Rodney'' she was an iron, full-rigged ship built in 1874 by W Pile & Co.,

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. In November 1895, ''Rodney'' lost her figurehead in a gale in the

English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...

, while en route from

Gravesend, Kent Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames, opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Roche ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. The

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a practice of who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet '' de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that ...

washed ashore at

Whitsand Bay Whitsand Bay, situated in south east Cornwall, England, runs from Rame Head in the east to Portwrinkle in the west. It is characterised by sheer, high cliffs, dramatic scenery and long stretches of sandy beaches. The South West Coast Path ru ...

, six months later. In 1897, the ship was sold to F. Boissière, of

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and renamed ''Gipsy'' (the cross-over year, per Lloyd's, is 1896/97). Re-rigged then as a

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

. On 7 December 1901, the vessel was wrecked, and became a total loss, at Downderry on the return voyage from

Iquique Iquique () is a port List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the At ...

(

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

) to

with a cargo of

nitrate Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . salt (chemistry), Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are solubility, soluble in wa ...

. The ship lost her bearings and became stranded on the reef and was later blown apart by explosives as she had become a hazard to local fishing vessels. Parts of the wreck are strewn over a large area in about of water.

In literature

A 19th-century nonsense verse,

References

Notes

{{authority control Villages in Cornwall Populated coastal places in Cornwall Nude beaches