The Henley Trail

The Henley Trail is for Everyone

We're going to walk around the historic market and port town of Dartmouth and try to picture it in William Henley's day. You'll be surprised how much is still there, and how much has changed. That's just as it should be. Dartmouth is a real town with real people. It's not a museum exhibit preserved forever in aspic! People live and work in the town just as they did before William Henley lived here and it's just as much a home and place of work today. It was a vibrant, busy town then, and, though it's different today, it's just as vibrant, just as busy. The Henley Trail brings fresh air and sunshine to the Henley Collection. Of course, we can't guarantee sunshine!

This is William, born on 6 January 1860 in Croters Hill, Dartmouth, and sculpted by Paul Montford. He died on 6 November 1919 at only 59 years old. As you'll see from the museum and the trail, he packed a lot into 59 short years.

As you walk The Henley Trail we're going to visit ten places, and at each of them read an excerpt from his biography, written by Nellie, his sister.

William Henley's working life was as an ironmonger. He had a shop in Dartmouth, and you can still see it if you turn right as you come out of the Museum's front door. It's the one with the clock. That one's not his first shop, though. That's a bit further on in Foss Street.

William wasn't just a shopkeeper. He was a self taught scientist, living at the time of Charles Darwin. Perhaps inspired by Darwin, William created his own scientific instruments, and amassed a large personal collection of specimens and artefacts, things he studied and learned about. Many of these are on display in the museum. He was an artist, too. You'll see his pictures in the museum. There's a lot we can learn today about learning to do things for ourselves from men like William.

The shop's stop number eight on the trail. No point in cheating, though, let's do it in the right order.

So, let's look at what you're going to need:

• Download the trail guide and print it off (pdf) [1.2MB]
• Don't forget to bring a clipboard and pencil
• Blank paper for sketching
• Download the map of 1888 and print it off [7MB]. If you prefer, there is one with a scale, so choose this version if that will be useful
• Museum Visit Activity Sheets are optional but good fun (pdf) [12MB]

For Schools, Youth Parties, and Teachers

There are great resources for teachers, too. And, if you're a teacher or Youth Leader, you want to know that we've tested the Henley Trail, and that it's a great success. We had great fun and Dartmouth Academy helped us. They taught us a lot that day, and we refined the trail and put those refinements into practice.

When you plan your visit to the museum, don't forget to download and print off enough worksheets and resource sets for your group.

The following items are available (obviously except those marked 'to follow'):

• Teachers' Notes (pdf) [33KB]
• Useful Information (pdf) [45KB]
• Activities to try in class (pdf) [120KB]
• Historic Sources (open the download instructions page)
• Dartmouth Town Trail (pdf) [1.2MB]
• Museum Visit Activity Sheets (pdf) [12MB]
• Zipped file of all the resources listed above (zipped file, but please download from this page to avoid confusion. You don't want to get this twice!) [72MB]

Please make sure you bring enough clipboards and pens and pencils.

[credits: Ali Taylor, idea and implementation; Angela White, orginal artwork]