British seaside resorts

The people who first settled in Dawlish lived on the higher grounds. These were fishermen and salt makers who would venture down to the coast to net fish and gather salt. Salt was abundant in rock pools at the time but resources would have been limited. So eventually salterns were constructed to dry out brine and produce salt. The high-quality salt produced was stored in sheds or saltcellars. Dawlish produced less salt than its neighbour Teignmouth, most likely due to inhabitants being wary of Dawlish water and its unpredictability when it came to flooding.

The town of Dawlish took its name from a local stream with a Brythonic name, once spelt 'Deawlisc', meaning 'Devil Water' (the name came from heavy rains churning up the red cliffs, making the brook run red). An alternative meaning proposed is 'black stream', cognate with Welsh du (g)lais. Several other spellings and meanings are found later in the Domesday Book and in documents from Exeter Cathedral.

Salt making would have started before Roman times (55 BC) and continued until the withdrawal of the Romans in 400 AD. Sometime during the Anglo-Saxon period (400 AD - 1000 AD) salt making in Dawlish ceased, however Teignmouth continued its production. During the Anglo-Saxon period the number of inhabitants grew and some communities settled in the upper part of the valley where floods were less common and the land was fertile. Evidence of early farming settlements is found at Aller Farm, Smallacombe, Lidewell and Higher and Lower Southwood.

When the Romans invaded Britain, the Celtic population of Devon was not displaced and continued to occupy the land throughout the Roman period that lasted until the Anglo-Saxons arrived. The Anglo-Saxons conquered Devon and it was annexed by the kingdom of Wessex in the 8th century. Since then the local culture has been predominantly English.

The Danish invasion of 800 AD left Dawlish untouched, possibly due to the shallow sea waters and marshland. Bishopsteignton was destroyed by the Danes in 1001 AD along with settlements at the mouth of the River Teign.

Until its sale in the 19th century, the site of Dawlish belonged to Exeter Cathedral, having been given to the chapter by Leofric, Bishop of Exeter in 1050

Dawlish, was once the haunt of such literary giants as Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. Charles Dickens used the town as the birthplace of Nicholas Nickleby. The town itself, particularly around the seafront, is like many of the resort towns in South Devon, a classic of Regency and early Victorian style. Also worth noting are Manor House and Brook House (both about 1800) and some of the cottages in Old Town Street surviving from the old Dawlish village. Dawlish's transformation from an insignificant fishing settlement to a watering hole for Victorian celebrities can be discovered at the excellent Museum.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawlish

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