Twenty years of research into the buildings, people, documents and events of the Rame Peninsula. Browse by theme below, or use the navigation above to go directly to a section.
The physical fabric of the Rame Peninsula — its houses, inns, forts, churches and public buildings — documented through deeds, surveys, photographs and historical records.
Local Buildings
Listed buildings, historic houses, cottages and the architecture of Cawsand, Kingsand, Millbrook and the surrounding villages.
Local Forts
Fort Picklecombe, Cawsand Battery, Maker Heights, Whitsand Bay Battery and the other defensive structures that peppered this strategically vital peninsula.
Local Pubs
A fully documented history of every pub and inn on the peninsula — the Old Ship, the Devonport, the Kings Arms and many more, from 1740 onwards.
Local Places
Rame Head, Penlee Point, the villages, the cliff paths and the named places of the peninsula — their histories and what they tell us about who lived here.
Local Deeds
House deeds and property records tracing the ownership of local buildings across the centuries — invaluable for anyone researching a specific property.
Bombings 1939/45
A record of bombing incidents and wartime defences on the Rame Peninsula during the Second World War.
Census records, parish registers, births, deaths and marriages, wills and the churchyard surveys that record the lives of those who lived and died on the Rame Peninsula.
Census Records
Transcribed census returns for Maker, Rame, Millbrook and surrounding parishes from 1841 through to 1911, including the 1939 National Register.
Births, Deaths & Marriages
Parish registers and registry records including Rame Church burials 1653 to 1901, baptism and marriage indexes going back to 1630.
Local Wills
Transcribed local wills spanning several centuries, including John Spriddle the fisherman (1607) and Benjamin Avery (1868).
Rame Church Survey
A detailed survey of Rame churchyard, recording all legible graves with names, dates and inscriptions, plot by plot.
Millbrook Graves
A photographic and written record of Millbrook churchyard, begun in 2020, preserving inscriptions before they are lost to weathering.
Millbrook Remembers
Millbrook's war dead — a community remembrance project recording the names and stories of those lost in both world wars.
Historical documents, newspaper archives, research papers and publications — the primary sources and scholarly work that underpin the group's wider research.
Newspapers
Clippings from the Sherborne Mercury, West Briton and Royal Cornwall Gazette dating back to the 1780s, covering local events, wrecks, smuggling and more.
Local Documents
Directories, trade lists, parish council minutes, wartime records and a wide range of historical documents relating to the area.
Research Papers
Original research by group members and contributors — from Bronze Age archaeology to 20th century social history.
Publications
Books and publications produced by or associated with the group, including Jack Spence's work on local pubs and Nelson's Avenger.
Rev White Papers
The papers of the Reverend Geoffrey White — a remarkable collection covering local history, parish life and the wider community of the Rame Peninsula.
Local Events
Historical events on the peninsula — floods, carnivals, coronations, jubilees and the extraordinary occasions that punctuated daily life.
The Courier was the local newspaper that served this community for generations. The group has digitised and indexed its historical articles and memorial notices, creating a searchable record of local life from 1949 to 2020.
Courier Tales
173 historical and topical articles from The Courier spanning 1949 to 2020 — a vivid record of local life, events and personalities across seven decades.
Courier Memorials
613 obituaries and memorial notices from The Courier spanning 1950 to 2020 — an invaluable resource for tracing local families.
Beyond what is available on this website, the group maintains a physical library of primary source material that can be accessed by members and approved researchers.
Contact us at info@ramehistorygroup.org.uk to enquire about accessing any of the items below.
We also hold a wide range of unsorted original documentation that requires the attention of an archivist to list, sort and organise — roughly three to four days of work. If you are able to help with this, we would love to hear from you.
Get in touchFurther photographs, documents, galleries and links held in the group's online archive for this topic. Documents open in a new tab.
Local collections, photographs and documents can so easily be lost between generations. If you have something that tells the story of life on the Rame Peninsula, we would love to preserve it for future researchers.
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