Exmouth History Day, Saturday, 13th October

Exmouth Historical and Archaeological Society on Facebook
Exmouth Historical and Archaeological Society listed in the Devon History Society

 

It's the Golden Jubilee year of Exmouth Historical & Archaeological Society

Celebrations will be on Saturday, 13th October 2018, at Glenorchy church and hall, Exeter Road, Exmouth EX8 1PP 

from 10.00am to 4.30pm

Exmouth: Glenorchy United Reformed Church

·        Four talks

·         A Victorian head gardener - Dr. Francis Burroughes

·        Exmouth 50 years ago -  Ian Cann

·        The first seaside resort in Devon, and what happened next - Mike Tracey

·        Exmouth... in the Middle Ages and the Tudor period - John Allan 

There will be an exhibition of Exmouth history and art, and a second-hand booksale

·       
Launch

The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Exmouth; the first of  a series of occasional papers by April Marjoram

      
          Cost £10.00 per person, to include coffee and tea but bookings after 31st August will be £12.

·      Bookings:

 Mike Tracey 01395 260442

mdclaredale@tiscali.co.uk

Programme

10.00               Arrival & registration (coffee/tea available from church coffee shop, cost 50p)

10.30               “A Victorian head gardener” - talk by Dr. Francis Burroughes: informative,                                     entertaining and gently humorous.

11.30               Coffee/tea (included)

12.00               “Exmouth 50 years ago” – illustrated talk by Ian Cann, drawing on the lifetime                                   collections of himself and Paul Radgick, both born and bred Exmothians.

1.00                 Lunch – not included, but if you bring your own it may be eaten in the church hall, or                        there are many cafes and takeaways within a short walking distance. Tea and coffee                     (included) will be available in the hall.

2.00                 “The first seaside resort in Devon, and what happened next” – illustrated talk by                                Mike Tracey, former chairman of EH&AS.

3.00                 Tea/coffee (included)

3.30                 “Exmouth and its neighbours in the Middle Ages and the Tudor period” - illustrated                   talk by John Allan, doyen of Devon historians.

Wartime evacuees Norman and Douglas Sharp

remains of CGI Radar Station on Exminster Marshes

 Many thanks to the  website of The Exe Estaury Management Partnership
for the link to this photo

Can you help Ann Clear to discover anything more about 2 young brothers: Norman and Douglas Sharp, who were evacuated to Starcross during the war?

"
...During the Second World War my Dad and his brother were evacuated to Starcross, from Stanley Technical College in South Norwood, near Croydon, London.  I am led to believe the majority of children who attended their college (or maybe class) went to Devon with them.  My Dad stayed at Southbrook House (the very big Victorian villa near to Cockwood) and his brother stayed somewhere else in the village and they attended the village school.  I do not know how long they were there for, or the specific year (although I would think it likely to be sometime between 1939/40, but it may be later).


At some point they were moved on to a house together (address unknown) in Torquay, where they attended an unknown college that allowed them to continue there studies, which I believe was skilled tool making/draftsmanship and the like.

...
"

Here's correspondence from the Devon History Society's weblog which mentions that  South Devon Technical college in World War 2 hosted Gravesend Technical School and another London college

OLD ENQUIRIES

Jun 22, 2012. Kenneth Watkins writes:
 In 1941 and 1942 I was in Torquay, a pupil at the South Devon Technical College. The college was the host for the Gravesend Junior Technical School and a London school (I forget its name), both having been 'evacuated' from the London area endangered by enemy air raids.
Our family returned to Gravesend at the end of 1942, because of Torquay having been attacked in broad daylight that summer by four ME109s and one Fw190. We (my mother, sister and brother) were all enjoying the Tor Abbey sands that day, along with many other jolly crowds, as if there were no war! This and earlier single-aircraft raids had made my mother nervous.
(Ironically, raids resumed in the Gravesend-London area in January 1943!)
My question is - what was the date of this daylight raid, in which one bomb was dropped on the town by each of the German fighters and they machine-gunned the town during low-level flights along the water's edge right above my head?
Also, are there any newspaper or other reports available describing the several attacks on Torquay?
Kenneth Watkins, (born 17 July 1928),
2 rue de Songeons,
60220 Campeaux, France. 

I appreciate that this doesn't match your chronology, but this sounds very like an account of the notorious air raid on the afternoon of Sunday 30th May 1943 (see Casualties of the bombing of St Marychurch). During this, the beach was also machine-gunned, killing the town's Director of Education, Frank Kesteven.
 - RG

and here's a couple of links from this weblog about Southbrook House 

http://starcrosshistory.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/kellys-directory-online.html 

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Grand-design-age-splendour/story-15107515-detail/story.html 

Chumleigh. June 6th.

The Devon History Society welcomes us to their June meet in Chumleigh. Until we can afford the £15 to affiliate to Devon History Society, the cost will be £10 each. You must book by 29th May. If you don't want to go to the lectures or hear the choir, entry to the exhibitions at the Town Hall, the library and St Mary's Church, is FREE. Buffet lunch and refreshments is £12. Refreshments only is £2.50

OYEZ!  OYEZ!   OYEZ!

Eileen Dolling, Chulmleigh Town Crier, will welcome delegates to the Summer Meeting of the Devon History Society on Saturday 6^th June in Chulmleigh Pavilion.  Chulmleigh Local History Society are thrilled to be hosting this event in the Town – described by W.G. Hoskins as “an ancient Market Town” with the original Charter granted in 1253 by Henry III.

This is an exciting opportunity to hear three lectures by local speakers, explore exhibitions of local villages in the Town Hall, and walk a Town Trail led by members of the Local History Society.  Notable buildings open to visit are the Old Court House and the town churches, with presentations in St Mary’s during the afternoon.  You may purchase tickets to attend the morning lectures and Town Trail from www.devonhistorysociety.org.uk or telephone 01647-433402 no later than 26^th May.  Tickets include lunch and refreshments with payment made direct to Devon History Society.

The Town Hall will be open to all, and as well as village exhibitions, the History Society library and archive will be open for browsing, and in addition local artists will have the opportunity to display their work.  Profits from this part of the day will be divided between North Devon Hospice and North Devon Children’s Hospice.  Further information from Elizabeth Andrew on 01769-580363 or email andeduc@googlemail.com. It promises to be a fantastic day!  All ages are catered for.  PLEASE COME AND ENJOY!

FREE archives workshop. May 11th.

Political Research and Archives Workshop

Monday, 11 May 2015, 10:00-13:00

Devon Heritage Centre, Bittern Rd, Exeter, EX2 7NL.

As part of the From the Grassroots project, the Devon Heritage Centre will be running a free workshop in archival research. This event will be of interest to people considering a career in the archives sector, as well as those who just enjoy researching local/political history.




In this workshop you will learn more about the cataloguing processes that archives use, including CALM for Archives, which is a Windows-based collection management system for archives.

With a focus upon political archives, professional archivists will demonstrate how to make the most effective use of archives, enabling you to maximise the efficiency of future visits to both record offices and online resources.

During the workshop you will also have the opportunity to take a tour of the Devon Heritage Centre. This is a rare opportunity to have a behind-the-scenes view of how a professional archive is managed in the areas that are not accessible to the general public.

The search room

Spaces are very limited.

Please contact Kayleigh Milden by Wednesday, 6 May to book a place:

Kmilden@histparl.ac.uk        

Tel: (01392) 384838

Thankyou Devon History Society for this information

Visit to Shobrooke Park. Tuesday 5th May

Thankyou to http://www.heardfamilyhistory.org.uk for this photograph 

The Devon History Society and the Devon Gardens Trust have  jointly organised a visit to Shobrooke Park next Tuesday.
It costs £5 per person, and includes a talk by one of the landscape conservationists, and a guided tour of the grounds.

The 50-room Shobrooke House was burnt down in 1945, when it was being used as a prep school. 3 boys and a nurse died

 Fire destroys Shobrooke House in 1945

Bookings have to be made by today. 

Please enquire chair@devongardenstrust.org.uk | 07769 335506

HERE'S a link to the Devon History Society's booking form. 

Understanding an historic landscape

Tuesday 5th May 2015

Shobrooke Park, Crediton, EX17 1DG

Shobrooke Park Gardens were first laid out in about 1845 by Henry Hippisley Tuckfield (the current owner, Jack Shelley’s, Great Great Grandmother’s cousin)

 as the garden for his new house and to complement the Park. The house was destroyed by fire in 1945. The garden was neglected until 1968 when John and Dorothy Shelley (Jack’s parents) moved back to Devon and started the clearance work. In 1981 Dorothy Shelley built the modern bungalow and continued to reclaim the garden. Jack and Clare Shelley moved into the bungalow in 1992 and set about replanting the garden. 

John Phibbs of Debois Landscape Group did a historical survey of the park and garden in 1994, and Simon Bonvoisin of Nicholas of Nicholas Pearson Partnership produced a new Parkland Plan in 2012 and the restoration work has been based on their recommendations.

We are delighted that Simon Bonvoisin has agreed to talk and lead a walk of the landscape for this event. 

Until 1939 the garden was looked after by a team of six men and a boy, using a garden pony and hand tools. All the restoration work has been a compromise between recreating the original garden and creating a garden that can be maintained with modern machinery.

11.30 ~ Guided walk to the Folly and ponds.

1.00 ~ Lunch – please bring a picnic lunch. Tea/coffee will be provided.

After lunch, visitors will be welcome to wander the gardens and visit the grass 

Please reserve____ places for the DGT-DHS visit to Shobrooke Park @ £5 each.

Name(s):........................................................................................................................................

Address:.........................................................................................................................................

Email:...............................................................................Tel:.......................................................

Please send cheques made out to Devon Gardens Trust to: Dr Ian Varndell, Devon Gardens 

Trust, Exeter Community Centre, St Davids Hill, Exeter, EX4 3RG.

Enquiries: to above address | chair@devongardenstrust.org.uk | 07769 335506