Raid on Teignmouth

{{further|Battle of Beachy Head (1690)}}

With the beginning of the Nine Years War, the French under King Louis XIV, supported the deposed Catholic King James II in the fight against the Protestant King William III. On June 23, 1690, the French admiral, Anne Hilarion de Tourville, sailed the combined Atlantic and Mediterranean fleets out of Brest with orders to destroy the Anglo-Dutch fleet led by the Earl of Torrington.

The French fleet which outnumbered the allied English and Dutch fleet met in the English Channel off Beachy Head. Torrington sailed towards the French with the Dutch in the vanguard, but the French managed to surround the Dutch ships which were badly mauled, with the English unable to help them. After hours of fighting, Torrington broke off the fight abandoning the Dutch ships too damaged to follow. Torrington was then imprisoned and court-martialed, but was cleared of failing to support the Dutch but lost his post. Tourville, meanwhile having now gained control of the English Channel was able to roam without hindrance, heading towards the Devon coast.{{sfn|Aubrey|1979|p=52}}

Anne Hilarion de Tourville intended to sail the fleet to Ireland to cut Williams lines of communication. However, they diverted into Torbay and decided to raid the place.{{sfn|Hernon|2013|p=143}} Tourvill'es ships dropped anchor and with the presence of the French close to shore, beacons were lit along the coast which roused up spirits of the memory of 1588. On observing Torbay's strong defences along with a strong force of militia lined up, he decided to leave his ships of the line where they were and sent several galleys Eastwards towards Teignmouth instead. The galleys were rowed by slaves carrying in total 2,800 sailors and troops which were designed for inshore work.{{cite book |last1=Home |first1=Gordon |last2=Foord |first2=Edward |title=The Invasions of England |publisher= DigiCat |date=2022 |access-date=24 April 2025|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hg10EAAAQBAJ}}

At Torbay a small French detachment made a false attack onshore to occupy the militia force. Meanwhile as the French galleys approached the town the ships opened up a bombardment. Firing nearly 200 shot which set fire and also damaged parts of the towns, the French then landed around 700 troops under Victor-Marie d'Estrées.{{cite book |last1=Knight |first1=Charles |author1-link=Charles Knight (publisher) |title=Charles Knight's Popular History of England Volume 5 |date=1742 |publisher=Bradbury, Evans, & Company |page=115 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tCJAAQAAMAAJ |access-date=27 April 2025}} The inhabitants managed to escape, and the only defences that could stop them was a small force of around 100 poorly armed militia but they were easily swept aside.{{sfn|Coward|2014|p=384}} After this the French then ransacked the town for twelve hours and destroyed eleven ships. After examining 'creditable persons' the Justices of the Peace concluded that:

{{blockquote|by the late horrid invasion there were within the space of 12 houres burnt downe and consumed 116 dwelling houses ... and also 172 dwelling houses were rifled and plundered and two parish churches much ruined, plundred and defaced, besides the burning of ten saile of shipps with the furniture thereof, and the goods and merchandise therein ...{{cite book |last1=Parry |first1=Hubert |title=Notes on Old Teignmouth |date=1914 |publisher=Southwood |page=35 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=clZFAAAAYAAJ}}}}

The defeat of Beachy Head and the attack on Teignmouth caused panic in England. The diarist John Evelyn wrote, The whole nation now exceedingly alarmed by the French fleet braving our coast even to the very Thames mouth. With the French having command of the Channel an invasion was now feared, only 6,000 troops, along with the militia, were prepared by the Earl of Marlborough.{{sfn|Aubrey|1979|p=55}} For the French however the raid proved controversial - it was seen as a failure to exploit the success of Beachy Head. This was compounded even more when William decisively defeated James II, at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. Subsequently the Louis XIV saw to it that Tourville was relieved of his command.{{sfn|Hernon|2013|p=144}}

The inhabitants returned and the vast majority were left homeless. As a result, the Crown issued a church brief that authorised the collection of £11,000 for the aid of Teignmouth. Churches from as far afield as Yorkshire contributed, and the collections enabled the further development of the port. The attack on Teignmouth was the last foreign invasion of England.{{sfn|Parry|1914|p=35}}

The town's 'French Street' with its museum is named in memory of the occasion.{{sfn|Hernon|2013|p=144}}

{{reflist}}

;Bibliography

• {{cite book |last1=Aubrey |first1=Philip |title=The Defeat of James Stuart's Armada 1692 |date=1979 |publisher=Leicester University Press |isbn=9780718511685}}
• {{cite book |last1=Coward |first1=Barry |title=The Stuart Age England, 1603-1714 |date=2014 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=9781317864264}}
• {{cite book |last1=Hernon |first1=Ian |title=Fortress Britain All the Invasions and Incursions Since 1066 |date=2013 |publisher=History Press |isbn=9780752497174}}
• {{cite book |last1=Lynn |first1=John Albert |title=The French wars 1667–1714: The Sun King at War |date=2022 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |isbn=9781472895332}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Raid on Teignmouth}}

Category:1690 in England

Category:Military history of Devon

Category:Conflicts in 1690

Category:Military history of the English Channel