If you didn't know about it, you wouldn't even know there was ever any signs of life. But long forgotten, and hidden in the cliffs, is a magical nook between Torquay and Shaldon, which was once home to a village now lost to time.
Over time it included a pub, quay, the once grand but now fire-destroyed Labrador Bay Hotel, fabulous tea gardens with adjoining market garden and fruit farm and holiday chalets. All of this was despite the inaccessible location of the the village which was on a wild and mysterious stretch of wooded cliffs and gullies near Teignmouth.
At its height of popularity Labrador Bay was linked to Teignmouth through an almost constant stream of visitors brought by local boatmen, and even had its own landing stage, laying claim to safe bathing sands and three quarters of a mile of private beaches. The hotel was 200 feet above the sea and the same distance down from the main road - as visitors and staff had a tiring climb down and back up the 400 steep cliffs steps.
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Despite being difficult to access, the Labrador Bay Hotel won a reputation for its warm temperature and beautiful settings and was frequented by visitors from London and beyond. Eventually a quay was built on the seashore allowing visitors to arrive by sea in small boats.
In its prime, the hotel and village were popular for their thatched roof holiday cottages that were dotted around the mountainside, nestled in shrubbery with perfect sea views. The village was also home to a picturesque tea garden that was frequented by day trippers and also offered accommodation for those looking to stay longer.
But the crumbling red cliffs and lush vegetation have gradually reclaimed the area. Now the forest has reclaimed the very spot where day trippers once enjoyed a fresh brew and the good view.
Now, there is next to nothing left, and if you didn't know about it, you wouldn't even know there was ever any signs of life. Now even the steps have disappeared - they collapsed in a storm some time after a fire destroyed the hotel - and while permission to enter is required from the landowner, many areas are dangerous.
Maidencombe historian Colin Vosper amassed much of the following information.
The first records of the area show that a famous old smuggler known as Captain Trapp decided to settle down in Labrador Cottage in 1630 and open an Inn - this eventually became the site of the Labrador Bay Hotel. But all that remains after the fateful fire is one artificially flattened area which has not grown over.
The fire which destroyed the hotel
The 300-year-old smugglers' haunt grew into the luxurious Labrador Bay Hotel - but sadly it burned down on May 25 1938 after fire raged through the night.
The Herald Express said at the time of the fire: "A 300-year-old former smugglers' rendezvous, known as Labrador Bay Hotel, reached by a path down a steep cliff between Torquay and Shaldon, was razed to the ground by a fire in the early hours of this morning.
"All that remained of this beauty spot at eight o'clock was smoking ruins, smouldering heaps, a charred bath, and, above all things, a few pounds of butter, a dozen cakes of soap, ice cream glasses and three chairs. From the main road the only indication of the fire was a cloud of smoke blowing up the cliff.
"Mr. Howell, the proprietor, told a Herald & Express representative that he and his wife owed their lives to an open window. Shortly before 5 a.m. he was awakened by smoke blowing into his room. The back staircase was ablaze, but he managed to get to the front staircase with his wife and escape to give the alarm. In another quarter of an hour they would have been suffocated."
Long before the fire the hotel had a reputation far and wide, attracting visitors from London. A 1917 newspaper report said: "Curiously enough it is never cold at Labrador. The cliffs sheltering the house and grounds from all cold winds. This fact attracts hosts of weekenders from Exeter and Torquay and many visitors from London. Londoners are enraptured with Labrador."
Neddy the donkey's sad story
A newspaper cutting in the Teignmouth and Shaldon museum archives tells the story of the most loyal and hard working employee the swish hotel ever had.
It reads: “The household and other supplies for the hotel were obtained from Shaldon by means of a faithful donkey who, unattended, climbed the zigzag path to the road some hundreds of feet above the house. With a pair of panniers on its back it ambled the two miles into Shaldon where the shopkeeper, who had a key to the panniers, opened them. “After reading the list of goods required he packed them in and locked the baskets, with which Neddy returned home.”
Teignmouth historian Viv Wilson was told that poor old Neddy collapsed and died on one of those shopping trips up and down the steep cliffs.
Labrador Tea Garden and holiday chalets
This picturesque thatched cafe was built into the side of a small hillock. Day trippers enjoyed refreshments while others could indulge in a long-term stay in one of the bungalows or chalets.
There were 17 acres of rambling land to enjoy in the pre-war idyll according to the brochure prepared by JA Lord. Even after the fire destroyed the hotel, there was holiday accommodation in chalets. Even in the 1960s Mr Lord would help residents by taking them up and down the hill in his tractor.
The famous wishing well
The old hostelry at Labrador brewed its own beer and it is recorded that the spring water was responsible for its fine quality. The shallow well at Labrador was fed by the springs because the water was not contaminated.
It obtained quite a reputation with the locals to become one of the spots visited by the poor who wished to get better. In later years the well became known as the ‘wishing well‘.”
The smugglers
Historian George Calver wrote a booklet called 'The Lost Village of Labrador' which detailed its story from mediaeval times, when Labrador was probably part of the village of Stokeinteignhead which, in the 16th and 17th centuries, was largely populated by fishermen and their families.
The famous old smuggler, Captain Trapp, was a frequent visitor to Labrador, and an old publication says that he finally retired from the sea and took over the hostelry there until his death. George Calver writes that: “ One of the last boats to run to Labrador was the "Golden Finch" which carried 100-120 tubs (of brandy) according to port records of Roscoff.”
The ingenious rope and pulley system
The garage of Smugglers Top was the engine house for the small cable car that allowed goods to be sent down to the hotel. Mrs Lord of Shaldon, recalled how her brothers put her in the cable car when she was five and sent her down.
At the time of the fire the hotel belonged to the Howell family, but previously it belonged to greengrocer Herbert Smeardon and his wife Win who ran the greengrocery shop in Hoxton Road, Ellacombe.
June Rallison, a niece of Herbert’s, recalls going to the Labrador cliff tops with her uncle to watch deliveries via the ingenious rope delivery system. Win's nephew Ernie Prowse said: "There was a gap in the hedge on the side of the road which had a wire down to the hotel. There was another basket on rollers on another rope down to the hotel in which they took their groceries down or anything else that they wanted down there.”
