Kings Nympton History Society

Marigold Badcock kindly sent us details of an affiliated group, the Kings Nympton History Society, of which she is Secretary.

I am writing on behalf of Kings Nympton History Society to let you know a little about what we have been doing during recent years. We meet bi-monthly and have an open day every other year. We have transcribed births, deaths and marriages from church records dating back to 17thC and now have quite comprehensive spreadsheets available for anyone who is looking for their family history. We are in the process of listing and deciphering gravestones. Our latest and biggest project to date has been to research virtually every property in the village to ascertain the construction and the properties current and previous use (it is amazing how many were shops etc, as we do not have any now) We have also listed present and previous owners and anything of historical interest that we could unearth. We have produced a 71 page booklet entitled The Changing Face of Kings Nympton which has proved very popular with residents and their families. Would you like us to send you a copy?

We are only a small parish, approx 150 properties in all. We have now embarked on doing the same research for the farms in the parish. This will be a much bigger job as many of them are very old. It will probably require a small booklet for each one!

We are a small society in a small village but we thought you might like to know about us.

Kings Nympton is in North Devon near South Molton and Chulmleigh (see Google Maps and the village website www.kingsnympton.org.uk).

The Kings Nympton History Society meets in members' homes on the third Wednesday of every second month at 7pm. Membership is £5 per annum. For further information, contact Geoff Keegan, Chairman (01769 580007 / knhs@fhsinternet.com).

We've updated the details on our affiliates page.

- RG Read more ...

DHS Summer Meeting, 23 Jul 2011

We now have the full programme for the DHS Summer Meeting 2011, hosted by the Lustleigh Society on Saturday 23rd July.

DEVON HISTORY SOCIETY SUMMER MEETING
At Lustleigh Village Hall

Programme

• 10.15 - Coffee/Tea and Biscuits on arrival.
• 10.45 - Welcome and introduction to the Lustleigh Society - Peter Mason, Chairman
• 10.55–11.10 - Introduction to the LUSTLEIGH COMMUNITY ARCHIVE
• 11.15–11.55 - "A PERFECT DEVON VILLAGE" - The history of tourism in Lustleigh, 1866 – 2001. Talk by Peter Mason
• 12.00–12.15 - Introduction to the KELLY MINE, LUSTLEIGH. Nick Walter of the Kelly Mine Preservation Society.
• 12.20–13.00 - "GROWING UP IN LUSTLEIGH" - Talk by Len Harvey.
• 13.00–14.00 - Lunch served in the Hall and a chance to view the Lustleigh History Society exhibition.
• 14.00–16.00 - A CHOICE OF GUIDED TOURS:
Either a visit to Kelly Mine (2 hours) or visits to: The Lustleigh Community Archive (half hour), Parish Church (half hour), Village Buildings and key features (one hour)
• Groups to be arranged according to numbers)
• 16.00–16.30 - Tea and Biscuits in Hall.

LUNCH £7.50 per person. A choice of Ham or Cheddar Westcountry Ploughmans (Please specify: Ham / Cheddar) followed by Homemade Apple Crumble and custard.The cost also includes morning coffee/tea and afternoon refreshments. Soft drinks will be on sale.

N.B. There will be a charge of £2.00 for those attending who only wish to have morning coffee/tea and afternoon refreshments.
Meeting Fee: Free for DHS and Lustleigh Society Members. £2.50 for members of affiliated societies or non-members of DHS

Email the Hon. Programme secretary for bookings: jbhistory@hotmail.co.uk Read more ...

Branscombe plats

The 2011 Summer issue of East Devon Coast & Country 1 has an interesting article - The Platts at Branscombe - on coastal potato farming at Branscombe.

I've mentioned previously how the slopes of the Hooken Undercliff were used to raise early young potatoes. This extended to the "plats" - the more usual spelling than "platts" - on the other side of Branscombe Mouth, which also produced early daffodils, crocuses, tulips, broad beans and strawberries. The Branscombe Project has in its postcard archive - here - views of these fields, described by the Sidmouth historian Peter Orlando Hutchinson in 1858 as "a beautiful undercliff, a sort of stage, half way down to the sea, well cultivated with corn, potatoes, etc". By 1945, potato production there had been badly hit by potato eelworm, and cheap imports have long since made obsolete this arduous and precarious use of the sheltered cliffside; see the modern view.

The East Devon Coast & Country article, which has a photo, is linked from here: page 72: The Platts at Branscombe. The author is Ted Gosling, curator of Seaton Museum and secretary of the Axe Valley Heritage Association.

1. I don't normally pay much attention to the glossy regional promotional magazines; what little historical coverage they have is prone to recycling local factoids. I notice, however, that this quarterly magazine carries historical articles worth reading.

- RG
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Exmouth at War walks

Arthur Cook just sent us news of his popular Exmouth War Walks, which he is continuing this summer.

I will once again be guiding tourists and local residents this year on my war walks and talks this year as they proved so popular last year. The talks will be running from Wednesday 25th of May to Sunday 2nd of October. This year they will be on Wednesday’s and Sunday’s, leaving from the Imperial Hotel at 11.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m. on fine days only. The walks have also been included of part of the Exmouth Festival programme this year

I have put these talks together, to compliment my book Exmouth at War which was published by Halsgrove in October 2010 and the walks reflect the text of the book covering evacuees and children’s lives, anti-invasion defences, the Civil Defence and the bombings, specifically looking at how the shape of the town has changed over the years due to the direct effect of the bombings of 70 years ago.

The walks cost £4.00 per (adult) and £1.00 per child (must be accompanied by and adult) and follow a simple route through the town, starting at the Imperial Hotel and finishing at the war memorial approx one hour later.

Unscheduled group bookings and tours can be made by arrangement. For further details, contact Mr Cook (07773160739 / blitzandpeaces@hotmail.co.uk). His website Blitz and Pieces is also worth a visit. Mr Cook specialises in 1930s-40s themed musical entertainments, but this is associated with his considerable historical research - see Exmouth People - into the wartime history of Exmouth: topics such as the destructive air raid in February 1943, the Home Guard, children in wartime, the Exmouth Civil Defence, the role of women in war, and the American presence.

- RG Read more ...

Woodbury LHS: 2011/ 2012

The Woodbury Local History Society sent us its schedule of events for 2011/2012.

• 15th June: Tour of the Cathedral and its Roof. Cathedral 11am
• 1st September: Crime and Punishment - the criminal system and Woodbury. Gillian Selley. Woodbury Village Hall 7.30 pm
• 6th October: Informal meeting - subject to be announced later. Woodbury Church Rooms 7.30 pm
• 3rd November: The Great Woodbury Jigsaw Puzzle of 1839. Roger Stokes. Woodbury Village Hall 7.30 pm
• 2nd February 2012: AGM and Society party. Woodbury Village Hall 7.30 pm

For further information, see our Affiliates page or contact the Secretary, Gillian Selley (gillianselley@lineone.net)

- RG Read more ...