Within a few minutes of the water front and close to amenities, the pub is once again home to Dartmouth Rugby Club, as it was 100 years ago.

It is named after one of Dartmouth's most famous families, merchants who were first recorded in the town as long ago as 1401, but who moved here from Jersey in 1720 and were based here until 1870. During much of this time they used the coat of arms granted to Robert Seale of Northumberland, who was Clerk of the Cheque of Guards (Beefeaters) and this is the coat of arms that is reproduced in the pictorial sign of the Seale Arms today.

It was the Seale family who built the local steam railway as well as a number of other local buildings including the Old Mill Castle, which was built in the early 19th century and saved from dereliction by the kind volunteer work of the naval cadets from Britannia Royal Naval College. It can be found in 11 hectares of woodland called Sansquay Wood, behind the Naval College and within an area that has recently been brought into woodland management as a community recreation area and incorporates a network of footpaths.