Brixham lighthouse, Iron Age fort and national nature reserve. Warships have been seen in Torbay from the days of the Vikings, up until 1944 when part of the D-Day fleet sailed from here. In 1588, Brixham watched Sir Francis Drake attacking the Spanish Armada after he had (so the legend goes) finished his game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe. Today in Brixham harbour, there is a full-sized replica of the ship, the "Golden Hind", in which Drake circumnavigated the globe; visitors can go on board. For centuries, ships going down the English Channel have come into Torbay to seek refuge from
Francis Fletcher (priest) survives in the British Library, catalogued as "Sloane MS 61, "Francis Fletcher's Log"". Fletcher is portrayed by Roger Adamson in the film "Drake's Venture" (1980). Francis Fletcher (priest) Francis Fletcher ( – ) was a priest of the Church of England who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his circumnavigation of the world from 1577 to 1580 and kept a written account of it. Much is known about Fletcher's three years of voyaging around the world with Drake, but there is little certain information about the rest of his life. John Venn identified Fletcher with a man of this name who