The Manor of Northam dates back to the Norman invasion and is well
recorded in the Domesday Book, being part of lands owned by a Saxon Lord
called Bristric, and this appears to be the first recorded evidence of
what was in the area. There is evidence of prehistoric settlements and
much evidence during the Saxon era, when Vikings raided the area.
Westward Ho! has its drowned forest and Stone Age kitchen midden hidden
beneath the sands, where the sea still exposes deer antlers, flints and
ancient pottery. A late Victorian venture with its pier and its palm
trees and its grand hotels, it was intended as a holiday resort to
challenge Torquay. The surrounding parish, containing about 2700 acres
of land, is also included.