The Early Years

When Topsham Sailing Club was formed in 1885, the heyday of Topsham as the second busiest port in England, at the end of the 17th Century, had long since passed. Gone were the vintage years such as 1676 when men like Thomas Heath and Thomas Crispin exported some 13,000 pieces of cloth from Topsham in ships called Olive Branch, Speedwell or Golden Fleece.

Nonetheless, Topsham was still much more of a seafaring place in 1885 than now, with coastal trading ketches operating from the port, and Topsham people still earning their living from allied trades, such as rope and net making whilst others fished for salmon as their predecessors had done for nearly 2000 years.

When Mr. Alexander Kelso Hamilton, Sir Dudley Duckworth-King, Dr Frood and others gathered at No. 46 Fore Street to form the Topsham Sailing Club they were not looking to a club as we know it today.

Last updated 08:59 on 2 April 2024