Egg and spoon race - location sought

We had an enquiry from Julian Trott asking if anyone can help in identifying the location of historical photograph of a sports day, perhaps taken in Devon.

click to enlarge

Mr Trott writes:

I have happened across the Devon History Society on the internet and wondered if anyone would recognise the location of the attached photograph. I do hope you don't mind me contacting you in this regard.

The photograph shows my Grandmother Una Bidgood winning an egg and spoon race. Written on the reverse of the photograph is 'Fore Street Whouse sports'.

My Grandmother was born in 1898 and therefore I think that the period is roughly WW1 or shortly thereafter. At this time her family lived in Finchley in London. Initial investigation leads me to think that this is not a Fore Street in London.

There was a family connection with Devon and she would have spent time there visiting family, and some initial investigation using the internet tells me there are a number of Devon towns with Fore Streets.

I know that Whouse sometimes would be taken to mean workhouse, but the picture doesn't look in any way related to a workhouse and the family had no connections with any workhouses that I know of.

I have another photograph taken at a totally different time of Una's sister on the back of which is written just White House. This may or may not be connected. But I wonder if it possibly gives a clue to Whouse.

I wonder therefore if any of your society members might recognise the location in the photograph as a location in Devon or know of any sporting events such as that pictured which fit the description on the reverse of the photograph.

If anyone can help with this, please contact us via the site maintainer (webmaster@devonhistorysociety.org.uk), who will forward you answer to Mr Trott.

- RG Read more ...

Devon literary places

Our readers may be interested in a couple of new articles on Devon writers by Angela Williams, who runs the Literary Places weblog.

Rev. H. Hugh Breton is a new page at Angela's Robert Stephen Hawker website, featuring a brief biography and bibliography for Henry Hugh Breton, the Hampshire-born clergyman and antiquarian. At the beginning of the 20th century he was vicar of Sheepstor, and, starting with Beautiful Dartmoor, wrote a number of books on Dartmoor and on Devon and Cornwall in general.

The latest post at Angela's other site, Literary Places, is a feature on the poet and essayist Lady Mary Chudleigh (1656-1710), with a visit to the church of St John the Baptist, Higher Ashton, Devon, where Mary Chudleigh is buried in the Chudleigh vault.

- RG Read more ...

The wrong lady - and Exmouth plaques

The Exmouth Journal reports on a historical mistake in the new signage for the start of the Jurassic Coast at Orcombe Point, Exmouth.

On January 16th, the Exmouth Journal carried a news item, Facelift for Orcombe Point, on the current refurbishment of the Geoneedle site marking the western end of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site.

The March 1st story - Wrong Lady! - reports on a mistake spotted by Mike Tracey, chairman of the Exmouth Historical & Archaeological Society: one of the signs refers to a connection between Exmouth and "the notorious Lady Hamilton".

However, local historians say there is no record of Lady Hamilton living in the town, and that the signwriters could have mixed her up with Lady Nelson – Nelson’s estranged wife, who lived in the town for many years.

This seems the most likely explanation. The house where Lady Nelson lived (Number 6, The Beacon - now called Nelson House) is marked by a blue plaque, one of over two dozen Exmouth Society plaques commemorating famous residents and historic buildings. See Open Plaques for a map and listing.

- RG Read more ...