he levels - commander of the Argot, the Dreadnought, and in Georgian
England titled "defender of Madeira", led the fleet which rescued the
British army at Corunna in the Peninsula war, and retired as a Rear Admiral,
Commissioner of the Royal Navy. Captain Richard Bowen (1761–1797) James Bowen's
younger brother, a British naval commander on the ship HMS Terpsichore, served
under Lord Nelson, and was killed at the battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. John
Bowen (1780–1827), son of James Bowen, a naval officer and colonial
administrator founded the first settlement of Tasmania at Risdon Cove in 1803 -
the settlement which later became known as Hobart. Lieutenant A E Down, was
initially posted to Ilfracombe to lead a protection ship for the customs and
excise, he married a local girl, rose through the levels to retire as vice
Admiral, his son joined the navy aged 14 (his first navy kit is on display at
National Maritime Museum Greenwich). In 1802 James Meek married Down's daughter
and settled in the town, James Meek was appointed the Comptroller of Victuals
to the Royal Navy in 1832, he was knighted, and died in Ilfracombe 1852.
(gentlemen's gazette)
There was a wooden fortress overlooking the
harbour, of this nothing remains except contemporary records and the area
designated Castle Hill off Portland Street/Montepellier Terrace.
The novelist Fanny Burney stayed in
Ilfracombe in 1817. Her diary entries (31 July – 5 October) record early 19th
century life in Ilfracombe: a captured Spanish ship; two ships in distress in a
storm; the visit of Thomas Bowdler; and her lucky escape after being cut-off by
the tide. A few years later in the 1820s a set of four tunnels were hand carved
by Welsh miners to permit access to the beaches by horse-drawn carriage as well
as by foot. Previously access was gained by climbing the cliffs, rounding the
