No Report

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

February 2012

The year which has just ended was another good year for the Group, as it was the 10^th year of our existence, and I suppose that in itself was an achievement in these days when so many small community groups and organisations struggle to survive.    For our part, the fact that we maintain our Membership numbers and have done so throughout those ten years is very gratifying. 

I am sure that a major part of the reason for our survival in such good shape, is our annual programme of Open Meetings, which are always well attended.    As mentioned a few Reports ago, the details of our forthcoming Open Meetings for this year are as follows:- 

9^th March 2012 - “The Old Saltway”.   This will be a talk, with slides, by Colin Vosper from Stokeinteignhead, about an ancient route for the transportation of salt from the salt beds which used to exist at Coombe Cellars to Totnes, passing through Compton and Berry Pomeroy. 

8^th June 2012 - “The History of Paignton Zoo”.    This promises to be an interesting and informative talk by Kathy O’Neill, from the Zoo.

14^th September 2012 - This Meeting is also our AGM, and our Guest Speaker will be Dr. Todd Gray.   Dr. Gray is back by popular demand following his last talk to us at our June Open Meeting last year, after which we had many requests for a return visit. Happily, Dr. Gray has a new book out called “Devon’s 50 Best Churches”, which we have mentioned previously. Unfortunately, Marldon is not amongst the top 50, although Dr. Gray did visit it twice during his researches.  Coincidentally, the story of three ancient windows, the glass from which was taken a few hundred years ago from Marldon to Littlehempston Church, was discovered by the Group and publicised at one of our Open Meetings.   Littlehempston Church  is featured in Dr. Gray’s book, and the story of Marldon’s glass is told again, which I suppose is some consolation.

14^th December 2012 - our Christmas Social Evening. 

Just to remind you, all our Open Meetings are held on the second Friday of March, June, September and December, and are open to Members and non-members.   Look out for our posters on the Notice Boards a couple of weeks in advance.      Members are notified directly.     And, if you are not a Member, you can join at any time and the annual subscription is only £4.    Please contact either Tony Chidlow (521419), our Secretary Chris Alcock (551946) or Doug Pulle (557142).

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

March 2011 

The Group’s Archive was referred to twice in last month’s Report, and I make no apology for mentioning it again this month.   An Archive is essential for any history group, as it is the evidence of the reason for its existence, the proof if you like, that we have a history at all, albeit in the scheme of things perhaps insignificant outside the boundaries of our Parish.  The reason I am mentioning it again this month is that, again, our Archive is shortly to be added to significantly by donations from two local organisations which have, sadly, recently ceased to function.   

The first, which some of you will have already heard about  or read about in this Magazine, is the Evening W.I, whose final meeting took place in November due to its numbers having fallen to the extent that it was not possible to carry on.   Indeed, the W.I has a long history of its own in Marldon, and the History Group understands that it started in 1934, and in its heyday there was an Evening W.I and an Afternoon W.I  flourishing at the same time.  For many years our W.I has kept informal records of its activities and of the times it was living in, and these scrapbooks (for want of a better word) will now be handed over to the History Group to add to our knowledge of Marldon and the activities of the ladies of the W.I.

The other organisation is one which many people may not have heard of previously - The Marldon Millennium Group.  The Millennium Group was set up on the initiative of the Parish Council in 1999 to organise events and other ways to commemorate and celebrate the Millennium Year, and to encourage other village organisations to do the same.    I won't bore you here with the many things which were organised and enjoyed throughout the year 2000, but having recently used its remaining funds on one final "project", the Millennium Group will now be able to be formally wound up and will hand its files to the History Group.

 I am sure that there are many interesting items and photographs from both sets of records which will be of interest to our Members and others, and these will be on display at one of our future Open Meetings for all to see.

 And speaking of future displays, our next will be at our Open Meeting on FRIDAY 11th MARCH, 7.30 in the Village Hall, when we will have many previously unseen photographs to show you, and hopefully add a few names to faces.    Our Speaker will be the Chairman of the Stover Canal Society, who will be giving us an illustrated talk on the history of the Stover Canal, which, if you are like me, you will not know too much about!

Admission is free to Members and £2 for non-members.    Look out for the posters on the village Notice Boards.   Members will of course be reminded direct.   We look forward to seeing you there.

 Finally, a reminder that if you are not a Member you can join at the Open Meeting for only £3 (renewable at the AGM each September).

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

April 2011

The Guest Speaker at our Open Meeting last month was the Chairman of the Stover Canal Society, who gave us a very interesting account of the beginnings and history of the Stover Canal, and of the Society’s years of hard work of research and restoration.   His talk was illustrated by many old and recent photographs, prints, drawings and maps of the canal, the boats which used it and what they carried, and the buildings associated with it.    And of course the businessmen and local land owners who built it.  Those of you who like a bit of exercise will be pleased to know that you can still walk most of the original route.    If you want to know more, visit the Society’s website at www.stovercanal.co.uk.

 As always, we were very pleased at the attendance of about 70, and more so  that this number included several non-members, who we hope enjoyed the evening and will look out for our posters on the village notice boards for our next Open Meeting in June.   Our Guest Speaker then will be Todd Gray, who will be telling us about “The Lost Heritage of Devon” - an illustrated talk about how buildings, landscapes, heritage and history in the County have been lost over the last 500 years.  Put the date on your calendar now!

 Also at our Meeting, we had many previously unseen photographs on display, showing many local people for whom we had no names.  These invoked much discussion amongst our Members, and resulted in many names being put to faces.   Remember, if you have any old photographs or other memorabilia relating to Marldon, we would be interested in seeing it.   We are always willing to copy anything of interest if you wish to retain the original.

 

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

 May 2011

This month is one of those “quiet” months between Open Meetings (March - June) when last month’s Report told of our March Open Meeting and of our forthcoming Open Meeting in June, and next months Report will (hopefully) tell you about that June meeting.    

In between we have our regular monthly Committee meetings, and individual Committee members are working on various things which sooner or later will see the light of day at one of our future Open Meetings.   There will soon be an extended version of the late Roy Underhill’s Memoir on the Social History pages of our website, perhaps a conclusion to the long-running research into the Toll House(s) at Five Lanes, and interesting extracts from the scrapbooks recently handed to the Group from the W.I and which are still being scrutinised   And of course, we are looking at completing our list of Speakers for 2012!

It only remains therefore for me to remind you that our Guest Speaker at our next Open Meeting on Friday 10th June will be Dr. Todd Gray, who will be speaking to us about “The Lost Heritage of Devon”, an illustrated talk about how buildings, landscapes, heritage and history in the County have been lost over the last 500 years.  Dr. Gray is a well known Speaker and prolific author, and has written more than 40 books about Devon.    Our Speaker at our Open Meeting and AGM in September will be Tony Burges, an official Exeter Guide, who will be telling us all about the history of the city of Exeter.

Watch out for details of both on the Notice Boards.

 

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

June 2011

Apologies, first of all, for the lateness of this month’s Report, which has been delayed to allow for it to include our June Open Meeting which took place on Friday 10^th.

We were pleased that more than 60 Members, and a few non-members, turned out despite it being a lovely Summer’s evening when it must have been tempting to get out into the garden, or take a stroll, or whatever, but our Committee is continually delighted by the consistently high attendances at our Quarterly Open Meetings, and  are very appreciative of that support.

Our Speaker on this occasion was especially worthy of such support, and the illustrated talk by Dr. Todd Gray about “The lost heritage of Devon” was not only very interesting and informative, but thought-provoking too.   Many complimentary remarks were heard amongst our audience afterwards, and made to Committee Members, with suggestions and requests that Dr. Gray be booked again for another talk before too long!    Well, we like to keep our Members happy, and we will do our best to book Dr. Gray again.   The only downside, due to our Committee planning our Speaker’s list well in advance, is that we have already booked Speakers for March, June and December of next year (2012), so we are hoping that Dr. Gray will be available for next year’s September meeting, which will also be our AGM.   We will keep you informed, so watch this space.

And speaking of AGM’s, our next Open Meeting will be this year’s AGM on Friday, 9^th September, when our Speaker will be Tony Burges, who is an official Exeter Guide and will be giving us an illustrated talk about that historic City.  Make a note on your calendar now.   Our AGM is of course the time when memberships are renewable, and as you may remember from last year’s AGM we announced then that our annual subscription (which has been £3 since our Group was founded 10 years ago) will be increased to £4 per year.   This will entitle you to free admission to all our Open Meetings (except for our Christmas Social Evening). 

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

July 2011

(Regular readers of this page will notice that this month's Report is basically the same as last month's, which was late appearing on the website.   This was to enable us to include the June Open Meeting, which took place on the 10th June). 

The talk given at our June Open Meeting, held on Friday 10th, exceeded our expectations with regard to content and quality, and we were pleased that more than 60 Members, and a few non-members, came to hear our Guest Speaker -  despite it being a lovely Summer’s evening when it must have been tempting to get out into the garden, or take a stroll, or whatever, and our Committee is continually delighted by the consistently high attendances at our Quarterly Meetings, and  are very appreciative of that support. 

Our Speaker on this occasion was especially worthy of such support, and the illustrated talk by Dr. Todd Gray about “The lost heritage of Devon” was not only very interesting and informative, but thought-provoking too.  Dr. Gray is an Honorary Research Fellow at Exeter University, and very involved in Devon's local history, and this certainly showed in his presentation.   Many complimentary remarks were heard amongst our audience afterwards, and made to Committee Members, with suggestions and requests that Dr. Gray be booked again for another talk before too long!    Well, we like to keep our Members happy, and we will do our best to book Dr. Gray again as soon as possible.   The only downside, due to our Committee planning our Speaker’s list well in advance, is that we have already booked Speakers for March, June and December of next year (2012), so we are hoping that Dr. Gray will be available for next year’s September meeting, which will also be our AGM.   We will keep you informed, so watch this space. 

And speaking of AGM’s, our next Open Meeting will be this year’s AGM on Friday, 9^th September, when our Speaker will be Tony Burgess, who is an official Exeter Guide and will be giving us an illustrated talk about that historic City. Make a note on your calendar now!  

Our AGM is of course the time when memberships are renewable, and as you may remember from last year’s AGM (and were reminded at the June Meeting) we announced then that our annual subscription (which has been £3 since our Group was founded 10 years ago) will be increased to £4 per year.   In common with most organisations, our costs have increased considerably in those 10 years, but hopefully this small increase will suffice for some years.    Your subscription will, as before, entitle you to free admission to all our Open Meetings (except for our Christmas Social Evening).    We sincerely hope that you will continue to support us.

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

August 2011

Last month I mentioned what a good response there was at the talk given at our June Open Meeting by Dr. Todd Gray on “The lost heritage of Devon”and the requests and suggestions that we should, if possible, book him again.  Well, as also mentioned, the only gap in our “Speaker’s calendar” was our September Open Meeting next year, 2012.     Fortunately, due to it being so far ahead, Dr. Gray was free on that evening, and has therefore been booked to speak to us again - this time with a talk based on his latest book “Devon’s 50 Best Churches”. Marldon Church regrettably did not make it to the final 50, but as Dr. Gray explained, it’s a hard choice to make when there are about 600 Parish Churches in the County to choose from.   Apparently, Dr. Gray came to Marldon twice when writing his book and compiling his final 50, but it was not to be!     Still, the talk and the book will both be worth looking forward to.

We have been fortunate once again in the last few weeks in receiving another sizeable donation of memorabilia, this time relating to something significant (and now also lost) in Marldon’s history   Though it may not fall into the “lost heritage” category, the Torbay Chalet Hotel was a large part of our community for about 50 years after the end of World War 2.    Its history during that War is much referred to in the booklet published by the Group of David Best’s schoolboy memories of that time, which is also now on the Group’s website (marldonhistory.co.uk) on our Social History pages.   The booklet is still available at the Post Office, and there is a flyer on the Notice Boards - “Memories of wartime Marldon” - only £1.50.

Thanks to this latest donation, our collection of memorabilia relating to “the Camp” as it was (and still is) referred to by older residents, has doubled, and now includes a few photographs taken before the War when the site was run as breeding kennels by two sisters before being requisitioned by the Government for use as a military camp, along with other camps and locations in the area, in the build up of activities prior to D-Day.    Some of this memorabilia will be on display at our next Open Meeting  (which is also our AGM) on 9^th September.   We look forward to seeing you there.   Look out for the posters and flyers on the Notice Boards in due course.

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

 September 2011

I hope that you have bought your Parish Magazine early this month, and that you are reading this before Friday, 9^th, because otherwise you may not be aware of our AGM on that date. 

This years AGM marks the 10^th anniversary of the Group’s formation, on that fateful day which will always be known as “9/11”.  Our Guest Speaker on that night was Geoffrey Gilbert, from Compton Castle, and both he and the Group had to think hard about whether to go ahead with the meeting.   In the event, Geoffrey gave us an informative and entertaining talk, and the Group has survived and prospered,  to the extent that we have always maintained a very supportive membership of at least 100 Members, for which the Committee is always very grateful.   And our membership has contributed generously to our ever growing Archive of memorabilia of the Parish of Marldon.    Having said that, may I remind all readers, whether members of the Group or not, that we are always anxious to hear from anyone who has anything relating to the Parish which may be of interest to us -  old photographs, newspaper cuttings, old Parish Magazines, anything relating to the Church or the School - indeed anything to do with the Parish.    We can copy anything you have if you wish to retain it.  Just get in touch with any Committee Member, or come along to any of our Open Meetings. 

Our Guest Speaker on the 9^th is Tony Burges, an official Exeter Guide, who will be giving us what promises to be a very interesting talk, illustrated with many slides, about the history of Exeter from Roman times to the present day.   We will also have on display some recently donated memorabilia about the Torbay Chalet Holiday camp and our local W.I. 

Our AGM is of course the opportunity to renew your membership of the Group, or to join us if you are not yet a member (you can of course join at any time of the year, but you obviously get full value for your subscription if you join at the AGM).    The subscription is just £4 per year, which entitles you to free admission to all our Open Meetings, except for our Christmas Social Evening.  

We look forward to seeing you there - 7.30 in the Village Hall, Friday 9^th September.

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

October 2011

Our AGM and Autumn Open Meeting was held on Friday 9^th of last month, and marked the Group’s 10^th anniversary.   On reflecting on that milestone, and looking forward to our 11^th year, the one thing I am sure that gives our Committee the most satisfaction is the continuing support we receive from our Members.   Our Open Meetings are consistently attended by over 70% of our Members (and also by not a few non-members, at which we are especially pleased), and our total membership has always exceeded 100.     Our Chairman reminded our audience of this at the AGM, and we hope that it will always be so.

 Before we got down to the routine business of the AGM, we were treated to a very informative and interesting talk by Tony Burges, an Exeter City Redcoat Guide, on the history of our County capital from Roman times to date, illustrated with an abundance of slides and a knowledgeable commentary.    We also had on display a varied selection of photographs and other memorabilia from our Archive featuring the former Torbay Chalet holiday camp, several scrapbooks featuring photographs and other items from the past 50-odd years donated by our local W.I (which, sadly, recently had to wind up its activities), as well as a couple of recently discovered items of historical interest, and a further selection of “Marldon Now” photographs from Member Ray Bond.   There was also a large selection of books of local interest from our Archive, which are available for our Members to borrow.

 After the break for refreshments, the formal business of the AGM proceeded, with our Chairman Doug Pulle giving a summary of the past year’s activities, including work on transcribing the 1841 Tithe Apportionment for the Parish on behalf of the Devon Record Office.   This is part of a project by the DRO to digitise and put on its website both the Tithe Map and the Tithe Apportionments for every parish in the County, so that they will be available to all without having to go to the DRO and look at the originals.   This work is well advanced and will start appearing on the DRO website shortly, as and when the work for each Parish is completed.  The Group’s Committee and Officers were (again!) re-elected en-bloc, although the Chairman pointed out, as he does each year, that new blood is always welcome!

 We are pleased to say that more than 70 Members renewed their subscriptions on the night, and a few new Members were recruited.   We are also pleased to say that our programme for the next 12 months has been arranged, and will be as follows:-

1.   9^th December 2011 - our Christmas Social Evening (Members/ticket only).

2.   9^th March 2012 - a talk (with slides) by Colin Vosper “The Old Saltway” (an                                                   ancient route to transport salt from Coombe Cellars to Totnes,                                                           passing through Compton and Berry Pomeroy).

3.   8^th June 2012 -    “The History of Paignton Zoo” by Kathy O’Neill (from the Zoo).

4.   14^th September 2012 - AGM (already!) and illustrated talk by Dr. Todd Gray

                                 “Devon’s 50 Best Churches”

 Well, I think that’s enough AGM, so I will mention that on the following Friday a group of about 20 Members took advantage  of an arranged visit to Torre Abbey, with a cream tea afterwards, and enjoyed a guided tour of the recently restored and refurbished building, shortly before it closes again for a further two year programme of restoration, funded in large part by the Lottery.   So, take the chance while you can in the next week or so - it’s well worth a visit.

 And so, finally, if you were unable to attend the AGM, and have not yet renewed your Membership, or if you want to join, please contact either Tony Chidlow (521419), Chris Alcock (551946) or Doug Pulle (557142) or any Committee Member.   Membership is only £4 per year, and entitles you to free admission to our Open Meetings (except for Christmas, for which the tickets are £2).    As seating in the Village Hall is limited, it would assist us greatly if you could do this before our next Open Meeting at Christmas, as our Social Evening has to be “ticket only”.

 We look forward to hearing from you.

 

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

November 2011

This is the time in the Group’s calendar year (which runs from the AGM in September to the end of the following August) when my fingers are crossed in the hope that our Membership numbers will creep upwards from the number who renewed their Membership at the AGM towards our total membership in the previous year.   Already, we have had more renewals since the AGM, so that the total membership has now passed the 90 mark, well on the way towards last year’s total of 111 !

 As an incentive to renew (if you needed one!), or even to join if you are not already a Member, may I remind you that our Christmas Social Evening on Friday 9^th December will be a “Members only/ticket only” affair.   This is because seating in the Village Hall is restricted, and the attraction on the evening will be the first public showing of a new DVD produced by the Group as a permanent photographic record of our Church.    It contains nearly 200 photographs of the interior and exterior of the Church, together with a selection of photographs of various locations in the Parish.  The DVD will be produced in a very limited number, which will be presented to appropriate bodies, e.g the Parochial Church Council, the Totnes Ministry, and the School. The Group will of course retain a copy, and this will no doubt be shown at future Open Meetings.

 In addition to the above, our Christmas Evening will have it’s other seasonal attractions, such as our Christmas Buffet with mulled fruit punch, Christmas readings, a quiz and a raffle with many prizes.   Also your ticket will act as your ticket in our FREE raffle, which always has a special prize.           

 So, there you are then - don’t delay, get in touch with either Tony Chidlow (521419), Chris Alcock (551946) or Doug Pulle (557142), or any Committee Member.  Membership is only £4 per year (which entitles you to free admission to our Open Meetings)  and the Christmas tickets are £2.   We look forward to hearing from you!.

MARLDON LOCAL HISTORY GROUP

December 2012

Well, apparently, it’s coming, it won’t be long now, it’s only a few weeks away, we keep being told.   So, it must be true, Christmas has crept up on us again, and we haven’t done a thing, not even the cards!    Of course, this only applies if you are of a certain age, and I’m sure that, for the children especially, it’s a long time coming! 

For the History Group, most of our Members are of that certain age, not that it matters apparently, because they are active Members, attending our Open Meetings with commendable regularity, together with all the other meetings and activities they enjoy, and our Group is very pleased to be a part of it.   It used to be said that “60 is the new 40”, but it seems that it needs to be upgraded to “70” now! 

Our next occasion is our Christmas Social Evening, which may have taken place by the time you read this, and which has been publicised in our last few Reports.   Looking forward to next year, Guest Speakers for all of our Open Meetings have already been arranged, and we hope will be as enjoyable and well attended as those of 2011. 

Since our Report last month, I am pleased to say that our Membership has now just passed the 100 mark, and is now on it’s way to last year’s total, for which many thanks to all our Members, both old (or should I say longstanding?) and new.    Many thanks for your support, for which we are very grateful. 

Now , it only remains for me to say, on behalf of our Committee, that we wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy and peaceful New Year.

The Totnes Heritage Group has just started to record the history of the Reeves Timberyard which was one of the largest employers in Totnes for more than a 100 years from 1891 when the first sawmill was established.

The Heritage Lottery Fund is supporting the project which aims to record the history of the Reeves timber yard and its impact on the local economy throughout the 20th century. Working in conjunction with the Totnes Image Bank and Rural Archive, the Totnes Heritage Group is planning to produce an illustrated book as well as mounting a large photographic exhibition .

We are eager to talk to people who worked for Reeves, or anyone who lived in Totnes and had any dealings with the firm, or who may have memories or photographs of the various activities connected with the timber yard.

We are especially interested in talking to people who remember the Wharf railway which brought the timber from the station down to the docks, or anyone who handled the shire horses which delivered the timber around the area. We also would like to talk to people who worked on the timber boats which brought the timber from Dartmouth to Totnes, as well as anyone who worked in any capacity at the timber yard. So far we have not managed to talk to any women who worked at Reeves and would be delighted to hear from them as well as the men who did all the heavy work unloading the boats, stacking the timber etc. especially in the period before fork lift trucks were introduced after the end of world war two.

Please contact the group by email by clicking here Reeves Project Totnes