Dunkeswell Close

Work began on Dunkeswell Close in 1946. Neighbouring Hexham Place had been all but completed and work would soon begin on Cleeve Gardens.

Throughout the following year people started moving into the new houses there, although the roads weren't yet finished nd there was mud everywhere. But for many, the new properties had hitherto unkown luxuries - a bathroom, a toilet and hot water.

Many of the principal routes around the Ham Estate had ben laid down by prisoners of war and curiously enough many of the new developments, particularly around Ernesettle, were named after towns and villages that had been home to military airfields during the Second World War.

Dunkeswell was one such Devon village, and although George Wimpe and Col Ltd had set to work on creating a Class A Standar airfield in 1942, it was not ready for occupation until 1943. Work was still ongoing in 1944, prompting the American airmen there to nickname the base Mudville Heights.

EH 19 April 2003