The Saltash Heritage Trail

A Ferry runs from Plymouth to Saltash times and fares

Mary Newmans Cottage. Believed to have been the home to Sir Francis Drakes first wife.

St.Nicholas and St.Faiths Church. First mentioned in 1270.
Saltash Guild Hall. Built in 1780, Grade 2 listed.

Saltash Heritage Museum and local History Centre. Open From Saturday 5th April to September

Elliots, a time warp shop, complete with contents as they were left in 1973.

Ashtorre Rock Waterside Open to all (10-4) 7 days a week for light refreshments.

Church Town Farm Nature Reserve, a countryside reserve based on the River Lynher approx 1-2 miles from the Waterside.

The remains of an American landing craft base.
Landing beneath Brunels Bridge.

Opening Times 

From Saturday April 5th to September
Wednesday 2-4
Saturday 10-4
Saltash Museum additional opening times:
July Thursday & Friday 10-4
August Thursday & Friday 10-4
September Thursday & Friday 10-4
Bank Holiday Mondays 10-4

Contacts for Mary Newmans Cottage and Elliotts Stores

 01752 843388 and 07767 444816

Saltash has a long history. A thousand years ago there were many Saxon settlements in the rural area on the western side of the modern town, notably the villages of Trematon and Burraton. Soon after the Conquest in 1066, the Norman invaders constructed a motte-and-bailey castle in a commanding position 1 1/2 miles south-east of Trematon village. 
Saltash itself was founded as a market town by the lord of Trematon Castle early in the 12th century. The town was sited at a point where an ancient highway crossed the Tamar estuary by means of a ferry. By the end of that century, Saltash had achieved borough status.
Saltash also developed as a port, the first to be established on the system of estuaries reaching far inland from Plymouth Sound. In consequence, the borough was entrusted with jurisdiction over all those waters, an arrangement that was challenged many times but was not officially terminated until 1901. Trade on the estuaries invigorated rural life in St. Stephens and the other parishes adjoining Saltash.
The town’s strategic position and maritime interests led to its involvement in many important events, and some lively personalities were active in its affairs. Here there is space to mention just four episodes:
During the Civil War, 1642-6, fighting took place in Saltash on several occasions, resulting in much bloodshed and damage to buildings.
Saltash has produced many champion rowers, of whom the redoubtable Ann Glanville was the most famous. Between 1820 and 1850, at regattas all over England, she and her crews of Saltash women were seldom beaten in four-oared gig races, even against male competitors.
The engineer-genius, Isambard Kingdom Brunel, chose Saltash as the site for a bridge, of unique design, to carry the railway into Cornwall. The Royal Albert Bridge, Brunel’s masterpiece completed in 1859, is undoubtedly the town’s most famous feature.In 1896 Capt. Henry Jackson, commander of the R.N. Torpedo School aboard HMS Defiance stationed in the Lynher estuary off Wearde Quay, near Saltash, made a series of pioneering radio transmissions from the ship, and so became the first Briton to use radio for practical communication.