Topsham has been a port for almost two thousand years. The Romans used the quay to land supplies for their fortress at Exeter, and by the medieval period the town had become Exeter’s working harbour — the place where ocean-going ships unloaded onto smaller boats that could navigate up the Exe.
In the 17th century Topsham was, for a brief and busy moment, one of the most important ports in England. Trade with the Netherlands brought wool out and brought back wine, fish, and Dutch craftsmen who built the curious gabled houses you can still see along The Strand. By the 1700s, Topsham shipyards were turning out vessels for the Royal Navy.
Trade slowly drifted away as Exeter built its own ship canal and the railways arrived, and Topsham settled into the quieter character it has now — antique shops on Fore Street, pubs around the quay, and a working sailing club that keeps boats on the river much as they have been for centuries.