Brixham has a fascinating maritime history stretching back a thousand years and more. The ancient Britons may have launched their coracles from the sheltered beaches and the Romans are thought to have had a watch-tower on Berry Head overlooking the sea route from Lyme Bay to the Southwest. Certainly fishing has been the lifeblood of the community since medieval times and Brixham fishermen were known to be supplying the London markets in the 18th century.

There are many stories of smuggling in Brixham with evidence as early as 1645 when the Customs House Officer reported a find of tobacco. In the 1850s Brixham’s enterprising smugglers took advantage of a cholera epidemic to smuggle out a booty of tobacco and brandy in coffins.

In 1688, Brixham was the cradle of the Bloodless Revolution. Prince William of Orange landed at the port and went on to claim the throne as King William III. The 300th Anniversary was celebrated in July 1988 with a week of festivities. H.M. The Queen and H.R.H. The Duke of Edinburgh joined in the celebrations and stayed in the Bay overnight onboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. A commemorative statue of Prince William of Orange overlooks the harbour in Brixham.

Although Roman artifacts found at Berry Head suggest that the promontary had a long history of sea defence the first evidence of a battery and camp on the site dates from the 1780s. Its facilities were poor so in 1803 work on 3 substantial forts began. Designed for 1000 men and 50 horses the forts had a total of 40 canons but they were never fired in anger. Many of the remains of these Napoleonic fortifications can be seen today and the guardhouse is now a busy café.

In the war years many Brixham trawlers were requisitioned for the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from France and in 1944 the harbour was one of many along the South coast harbours to be used by the US army for embarking prior to the invasion of Normandy. Through the duration of the war over a thousand vessels were repaired or built at Uphams Yard. The town’s Battery Gardens were of course an important part of the area’s coastal defences and housed 4.7in guns manned first by troops but subsequently taken over by the Home Guard.

Of the 116 of these emergency sites set up during the war years, only 7 remain today and Brixham is the most important and well preserved of these. In March 2002 this Battery the site became a scheduled monument Class 1. A volunteer group preserve the Battery and run a fascinating war-time visitor centre at Fishcombe Road.