page_title: Woodway House
section_title: The Teignmouth Bar or Spratt sands
hierarchical_section_title: Woodway House / Thomas Abel Brimage Spratt / The Teignmouth Bar or Spratt sands
caption_attribution_description: English: Another stage in the cycle of the movements of the sand bars at Teignmouth
context_page_description: Woodway House is in Teignmouth, South Devon, England. It was at one time a farm on lands held by the Bishops of Exeter. In around 1815 a thatched "cottage" in the "cottage ornée" style of Horace Walpole's Thames-side villa, Strawberry Hill, was built here by Captain James Spratt of the Royal Navy.
  Walpole built his villa at Twickenham in around 1747 and set a fashion for rural romantic Gothic-style retreats. A number were built by retired colonial administrators and military men who liked verandahs, spacious lawns and the sunny climes of Devon.
  Woodway House is Grade 2 Listed Building, a classic example of the romantic Devonian "chocolate box" cottage orné style of architecture.
context_section_description: Following a severe bout of malaria Thomas Spratt was given home sick-leave. As a result, he was able to spend the years 1848-49 studying the movements of the Bar sands at Teignmouth and published a book on the subject, dedicated to Sir William Reid, Governor of Malta. The book was entitled An Investigation of the Movements of the Teignmouth Bar and he gave all his data to the Teignmouth Harbour Commission. At this time the commission were struggling to relieve the local trade from an unjust tax, levied annually by the town of Exeter. Mr. Bell an assistant engineer on the South Devon Railway spent some months confirming the accuracy of Spratt's observations.
  Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who had bought an estate at Watcombe, congratulated Captain Thomas Spratt on his scheme to improve the promenade and the harbour entrance at the same time; "I never read a more sensible, concise and practical discussion of such a subject".
  The main improvements were never carried out, however some dredging works were implemented in 1857 near the Den Point following complaints from mariners. In 1865 yet further dredging works were carried out, and a groyne 330 yards long was later built out from abreast of Ferry Point to arrest sand. Spratt also published a plan of the revolving movements of the sands at the Exmouth Bar.
  It seems likely that the "Spratt sands" were actually named after him.
caption: Another stage in the sand movement cycle at Teignmouth.
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