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.