Feniton History Group held the 55th Meeting

"Rattle the trough the pigs appear" was the tongue in cheek comment from one of our group. It was in response to so many folk joining us for our Christmas Supper of nibbles, and not a mince pie in sight!! Thank you to everyone who brought such a wide selection of food.

Lovely to  see you all and welcome to Hugh and Sharon. As usual a lively discussion took place.   

Jo and David asked as to look out for an item in the archives that might shed some light on the wonderful cope kept in the church. Sadly it is in need of repair, we don't know how it came to be in the church or what age it is. It has no labels. It was suggested that Wippells of Exeter would be the best place to take it for an expert opinion.   We must check through old parish magazines to see if it noted. 

Miss Eveleigh ? Alice's plaque in the church, perhaps it was for the  Clock once on the tower?

John Clifford her nephew is still living  and he is a friend of a family in the village, so David will ask if they can help.

Roger has found a Quarter sessions record for  Joanna Crocker: We wonder who she was. 

Joanna Crocker of Viniton London Gazette - Issue 7731 published on the 26 August 1738

The undermentioned Person being a Fugitive for Debt, and beyond the Seas on the first Day of January 1736, and having surrendred herself to the Keeper of the Sheriff's Ward or Prison of and for the county of Devon, gives Notice, that she intends to take the Benefit of the late Act of Parliament for Relief of Insolvent Debtors, at the next General or Quarter Sessions of the Peace to be held in and for the said County of Devon, or at the Adjournment thereof, next after thirty days from the Publication hereof, viz.
Joanna Crocker, late of Viniton in the county of Devon, Shopkeeper. 

 The spelling of Feniton in the above article brought up a discussion on  spelling variations one being the village of Fenton  in South Devon, this was home to the Gibb family who made their fortune trading guano and built the house called  Tyntesfield

 http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/em/_people/gibbs-william.php 

Venton or Fenton is a hamlet to Dartington, South Devon. 

George brought along the pages he has been constructing using the publishing site "Lulu", the results are ideal for our purpose.

The next subject was paper sizes, the one in question being quarto, i.e. a quarter of a page, regardless of it's size. 

 

On 7 June 1917 the British Second Army detonated 19 enormous mines under the Messines Ridge (in an explosion that was reputedly heard in London and Dublin), killing 10,000 German troops in the front line and destroying the village of Messines.  Over the years many explosions have occurred from unexploded munitions.  

In about 1956 the water board condemned wells  in the village in an attempt to get the village onto mains water. The well at Myrtle Cottage  was 15ft deep and found to have a Mills bomb in it!! 

Gas supply came in the 1980s, about75% of houses to have gas, but  at a cost of  £2,000 old village,  did not enough takers. Farmway has it and  Green Lane too, Brenda has it. The main comes in across Higher Gosford Farm with the connection housed in the green building by the  public footpath to the old A30. 

 Brenda will ask  about house names found in the villages in magazine. Jo suggested this project to see how the names have changed over the years, Moor Cottage, Myrtle Cottage, Kester Castle. The pub lost its name, The Railway Hotel when the brewery changed it to the Nog Inn, Mr and Mrs Spence wanted to give it a hunting style name.

Chequers  an old railway shed lived in by Sid Salter, Nobknocket was the Elms, Christow, Brooklyn, Rats Castle. Appletrees was Gould Cott, Pecks, Peeks, Tenement, Parr Cottage & The Parr Rooms. 

Sport history in Feniton, is a subject untouched by the Group, love to hear anyone with an interest in this. 

This just leaves me to Wish you all A very Happy Christmas and New Year. 

We meet in The Nog Inn on Thurs. 5th Feb at 8 pm.

 

Feniton History Group held the 54th Meeting

We pass on our best wishes to Bob and Geoff, who are not in the best of health at this time. Get well soon.

It was wonderful to see you all on such a stormy night. 

Sophie asked the Group to help with a badge for her Brownies called Local Culture where you live. The Group will be pleased to help, and Sophie will take our suggestions to the girls for them to choose a subject. 

Bill's wonderful carving a WW1 soldier, was very well received, I know I found it very poignant. It was a special moment when I places on the window ledge in the church.

David asked us about Miss Eveleigh, she ran a small shop in Westbourne Villas, here at Colesworthy. This was in living memory of Alan and I know my husband would have run errands there for his mum. Alice was daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Eveleigh. Born about 1881 in Ottery St. Mary. David had found a small plaque in the vestry, "in Memory of Alice Eveleigh", this must mean something was placed in the church in her memory, but no one knows what it was. We would love to find out was this would have been.

Book publishing, we spoke to various history societies and booksellers at the Devon AGMs attended by our Group. Due to our lack of capital and funding it has been suggested we use "Lulu". George has taken a look at this and is keen to get started, he needs some material to experiment with, so please drop him a file or two to see who the website works. We will also need proof readers and writers to put notes into a readable form, along with maps and photos, bearing in mind the copyright laws.

https://www.lulu.com/

In October we had a very useful afternoon at the farm with various websites and genealogy programs. I have planned another at 2:30 pm on 27th November. 

It was very useful to visit the AGMs of Devon History Society and Devon Family History Society. It was a pleasure to meet old friends and shake the hands of folk I only know from the web and emails. Our WW1 display was well received. 

The boundary stone is still up for discussion. 

Four of our Group met in Exeter to hear Mark Stoyle's lecture on the Prayer Book Rebellion. He was an excellent speaker. I noticed Jenny was making many notes on the subject. George spoke up at question time to bring our local battle at Fenny Bridges to the attention of the audience! A lively discussion followed.

The WW1 coffee morning was wonderful, it was very well attended with some 50 people in the church at one point. Many thanks to Brenda, Pam and Roger White for making up wartime recipes, the cakes were very tasty considering the lack of ingredients at the time of the War. The donations on the day came to £146, so half of this to the Church and half to the Poppy Appeal. I also must thank you for all your help on the day. 

I feel we have had a very successful autumn and done the memory of our village and villagers in WW1 proud.

 

We will remember them.

 Next meeting in the Nog Inn 8pm Thurs 4th Dec.

 

 

 

Feniton History Group held the 53rd Meeting

To start off I must say how sorry we are to hear of all our members who are unwell at present and wish them a very speedy recovery.

The boundary stone, is in hand,  David will kindly get a firm quote and Susie Bond has emailed EDDC on the matter. 

Janet has kindly handed Brenda her mother's local history file. Mrs Peek lived at the Iron Gate Lodge, Escot. Brenda will extract notes that are relevant to the village.

One of the Rectors the Rev. Churchill was mentioned, here are the notes we have on him:

Charles CHURCHILL           1642-1656

He was the son of Thomas Churchill of Wolsen, Ottery St Mary. He graduated from Exeter College Oxford with a ~A in 1632 and an MA in 1635. At a Visitation to Feniton in 1638 he is described as a curate and was installed as rector on 23rd January 1642 on the presentation of Walter Trosse. The living was then worth £140. It was difficult undertaking the ministry at this time, with the country on the verge of a civil war. It has been recorded that he was a man of "ruddy countenance" with a jovial laugh. He suffered from a "Scorbutick Humour" (Vitamin C deficiency) "and had never other than a red face". During the Revolutionary period of 1649-1660 many beneficed clergy were deprived of their livings, their tithes and. rectories in favour of Presbyterian ministers. This was the fate of Charles Churchill. He is recorded as being ejected in 1654 or 1656 (but it was more likely 1657). He was brought before the "Commissioners for ejecting Scandalous and Ignorant Ministers" where he was charged with being "a person distempered with Liquor", the evidence being his red face. This charge he refuted, he nearly got himself into further trouble by laughing heartily at his own joke, made at the expense of one of the "tryers," "that Major Saunders drove furiously, there was no holding the plough after him". His final conviction was due, we are told, to the evidence that he "suffered his children to play cards for pins," and also that he was a notorious Cavalier. After treating the Commission with scant ceremony he was evicted. Following his ejection he lived in poverty in Somerset where his wife and four children, one probably being Alexander, shared the harshness of his exile until in 1660, when he was restored to the living at Feniton where he remained until his death.  

 We had a very lively discussion on the notion of producing a book of the Village History.

The enthusiasm was wonderful., I am sorry to be the only one who felt we are taking on too much with the costs and unknown market!!!

George, Brenda, Jenny, and Val will look at the project in more depth. Geoff who has done this in the past explained it is not an easy task and could be very costly.

The general consensus was a 40,000 word soft backed A5 or Quarto with text and photos.

Below are the ideas George and I gleaned from the folk we met at the DFHS AGM:

It was recommend that we look at a website called "Lulu", here you can set up your book and order as many copies as you require.

http://www.lulu.com/create

Another suggestion was the Short Run Press, based in Exeter

http://shortrunpress.co.uk/

Or as was suggested at our last meeting we do it as a series of self printed books leading up to a complete series. George has kindly suggested that he would help with printing by purchasing a laser printer for the purpose.

The Branscombe Project use Creeds of Bridport

http://www.creedsuk.com/  Thank you to Sue Dymond for this suggestion.

My misgivings are: We don't do money, we don't have a structure in place to deal with applying for grants, we have no formal set up or constitution.

Dates for your diary.

Devon History Society on Saturday, 1st November, 2.15pm The Christopher Jago Memorial Lecture The Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549 and the siege of Exeter Professor Mark Stoyle in The Guildhall, Exeter. Members who are going have their tickets. This is a ticket only event.

Next meeting in the Nog Inn 8pm on 6 Nov 2014

The WW1 coffee morning in the Church to mark Remembrance  10:30 to 12:30 Sat 8 Nov. We will need cakes etc and if anyone has any WW1 recipes perhaps we can make them up for the day. I suggest we can put the boards and display up on the day, say 9:30 am.

Serjeant Walter HALLETT born 1886 killed 14 Sep 1914

Feniton WW1    Walter HALLETT

Walter  was born 29 Nov 1886, in the parish of Gittisham son of John James Hallett and his wife Elizabeth nee Newbury. Sometime between 1886 and 1891 the family left Gittisham, moving to Newton St Cyres where we found them on the 1891 census.

In the 1901 census they were living at Salmon Hutch Crediton. Walter was employed as a Gardener aged 14, his father was a Foreman Platelayer on the Railway.

The 1911 census finds him visiting with the  Steer family of 3 West View Fraddon Crediton. By now he is working on the railway as a Porter.

According to his Service Record he was 6 ft 1 in tall. He was employed on the railway from 27 February 1911 at Sampford Courtenay as a porter on 15/- per week.

It does not state this on his record but according to the Honiton Deanery Magazine he was in Feniton when he was called up. The record states he was called up on 4 August 1914 to the Army Reserve   to the Coldstream Guards

Sadly he was killed in action on 14 September 1914, aged 27 and single.

 He is commemorated on the Crediton War Memorial and the Common Wealth Graves Commission memorial at La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre. The date of death puts him in the action in the First Battle of the Aisne.

La Ferte-Sous-Jouarre

  

Feniton History Group 52nd Meeting

Another very interesting evening. I want to thank Chris from Ottery Heritage for joining us, his local knowledge is much appreciated.

The main topic being our joint effort with Ottery to place a stone to mark the historic boundary between the two parishes.

Looking at the drawings from Chris Wakefield and the quotes David kindly gleaned for us, the general consensus is to chose the triangle design. It would cost in the region of £170. Feniton Parish Council are keen and have asked to be kept informed of developments. I will do some more work on this in the coming weeks.

For  part of the fund raising needed for the stone,  Chris has kindly offered to do a talk in the Church for our April 2015 meeting, this then leads up nicely to unveiling the stone as part of our Rogation Walk, on Sunday 10th May 2015. Sadly we don't have any choir boys to "Beat the Bounds" with!! 

Roger has been sending on lovely snippets from the old newspapers, we have decided that the  Court social articles found  in the Times, would have been the  Twitter and Facebook of the day.

Next year will see the 160th anniversary of Bishop Patteson leaving Feniton Court on his  journey to Melanesia.  The writer ,Charlotte Yonge has put this in her book  titled" Life of John Coleridge Patteson"

He chose to walk to the coach that would take him to join the railway at Cullompton. The last kisses were exchanged at the door, and the sisters watched him out of sight.

I write one line to-night to tell you that I am, thank God, calm and even cheerful. I stayed a few minutes in the churchyard after I left you, picked a few primrose buds from dear mamma's grave, and then walked on.

The above has sparked a debate, as to how and where he would have picked up the coach? Was it a family carriage, or the stage coach, what route would it have taken. Perhaps at Fairmile to Cullompton via Clyst Hydon. Perhaps we will never know. It was suggested we look at the Turnpike records of the time, 1855 to see were the main roads went. Did he have luggage? There is a road marked on some maps called "Sidmouth Road" this was a road improved for travellers to from the railway at Culllompton to Sidmouth in the days before Sidmouth Junction Station at Feniton. It was deemed too expensive to do the whole route due to the Goyle at Tipton St John.

An article in the Exeter Flying Post suggests there was once a footbridge over the Otter at Fenny Bridges, dated October 16, 1856, again the Turnpike Records would be useful to find. In the article it states the County was found to be responsible for its repair.

The Group are looking to publish a book and a good discussion followed on how we might achieve this. Brenda brought along a selection of local books to show what form it could take. We also need to look at the software needed for the publisher, and pictures would be needed. This will be our topic for the next meeting on Thurs 2nd Oct in the Nog Inn.

I have asked Graeme if he can come to our November meeting, and he is very happy to come, just waiting for him to confirm the date. He tells me this: "I have some interesting news for you and the history group. A novel due to be published at the end of the year includes the main character visiting Sidmouth junction, The Railway Hotel, Escot Church and the Escot estate together with a visit to a fictitious farm called Fenwater Farm. " Intriguing. "You are the first person in Feniton to be told about this and feel free to share the news if you wish."

Feniton History Group 51st Meeting

I hope you all enjoyed our ad hoc evening! I know I did.

We discussed the vexation of the 1991 census population being just for the "new village", so of no use to man nor beast.

http://www.citypopulation.de/php/uk-england-southwestengland.php?cityid=E34003037

WW1. The research is ongoing for more on the Home Front.

I have made a list of the men killed and will ask Rev.  Cate to read his name on the Sunday nearest the death 100 years later.  The name and short biography can be put on the blog and in the parish magazine, if Brenda and Val agree.

The Parish Council discussed have a Belgian refugee family, but it is not recorded if this actually took place.

October 23^rd 1914   Several ladies have started a movement to house a Belgian family in the village. It was proposed by Dr Hart that a ‘family of not more than 5, of the agricultural class, be brought and entertained as long as the war lasts’.

Brenda told us how she read the Parish Council Minutes Books and made notes of interesting  items before they were placed in the Devon Record Office. It seems the ones from the late 1950s are missing. May have been lost or in the home of the parish clerk of the time. My late father in law was the clerk at that time, and sadly I have not seen books in the papers here.

Alan and Brenda told about the plans for a bridge over the rail crossing, the parish council had received so many complaints about the delays with the gates, one plan was to raise a bridge from Sherwood across to the Talaton Road, but as we know nothing came of this.

David has taken on the task of finding out about a stone marker for the Feniton Ottery Boundary. Rogation Sunday is 10th May 2015.

We had a natter about the early days of research in the Record Office, looking and the census films and even the original parish registers, Brenda would nip in there during her lunch break at work. I went in most Tuesdays with Mum in Law and we ploughed through these for days before we could draw up the family tree, now you, if your luck whizz through a few generations in a matter of hours.

I asked the group to consider what projects we would like to carry out, George and I would like to make more regular visits to Honiton Museum, the village book is something we need to put in hand, and the Pulman's weekly paper which is in Taunton Record Office, any idea for public events would be welcome.

Tony aided a discussion on language and names how did the early Devon tribes know they were the Dumnonii, and also words like Avon which is taken to mean river. Ton being town. Wikipedia has more on this.

Jenny showed us the poster she has designed for the Deer Park  Hotel, relating the Battle of Fenny Bridges. It is wonderful to see this little know event documented and recognised.

Tony told how the Exeter Football WW1 play went, it was a shame it was highlighted as football when really it was more about Exeter's history of the time. He also told us how useful the WEA course in Bradninch House Exeter is, free admission.

https://enrolonline.wea.org.uk/Online/2014/CourseInfo.aspx?ActivityID=313463

Jenny asked about computer software for recording family research, so I will plan a session here once harvest is done.

David and Roger have located a document mentioning the village in the National Archives. It gives the village on two lines, when I would think it should be one:

  http://apps.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=027-4813_1&cid=-1&#-1

Fenyton, Gilbert Collyns dep. for John Pringe.

Maleherbe, Gilbert Collyns dep. for John Pringe.

We must thank Roger for all his tenacity in searching online for the village. It is wonderful to add to our notes and expand on events. I will share these with you when you come to the house.

One of the snippets Roger gleaned relates to a footbridge at Fenny Bridges 1856, Sir John Kennaway  mentions the dispute as to who is liable for it's repair, but it was the County's and repair was ordered.

Thank you all, it was a good evening.

WW1 Service 3 Aug 2014

Just a note to thank everyone for making the church display such a success. I was told how  much it meant to many whose Grandfathers and Uncles had served in the War. The common phrase I heard today, was "they never spoke of it at home" Also thank you to the Reverend Cate and the church team.

WW1 Service of Commemeration

St Andrew's Church Feniton are holding a WW1 Commemoration Service at 11am on 3rd August 2014 We would like to invite anyone with connection to the village and the men who served in the War.

Feniton History Group will put  up a display of our fallen soldiers and life on the Home Front.

Update

Just a note to thank everyone who helped with the display boards last week, put my mind at rest to know it is nearly done.

The plan will be from now and  throughout  the 4 years of the Centenary will be to mark the 100 year death of each man we have record of.

The time of putting the display on Saturday  2nd August has changed from the afternoon to late morning, as many of the group will be at the Hearing Dogs Coffee Morning. So that will save two trips down to the church.

Feniton History Group 50th Meeting

David asked for our help with the WW1 Commemoration Service to be held at 11am on Sunday 3rd August.

This was agreed. If anyone has anything to help with the board display that would be much appreciated. Can you help with putting up the display please on Saturday 2nd at 2:30 ?

Brenda mentioned that Ottery Heritage will have a WW1 exhibition in the Old Boys School from the 15th to 20th July.

George told us about his experience of walking the parish boundary, with a view to hold a beating of the bounds event next April at Rogationtide, 25th April. He explained that in parts it is a difficult walk and the lanes make it rather unsafe, also the distance is more than many could manage in a day. So it was decided to plan a walk from the Pumping Station in Campfield, up to Tower Hill, down to the River Tale and along to Talewater and back to the village by the Talaton Road. Thank you George for all the effort you have taken.

George is a keen walker and will put the parish on the map for other Geocachers to follow.

I have contacted Ottery Heritage who are very keen to be involved.

Following my finding a mention of Hayes Manor, partly in Feniton and partly Talaton it is thought to take in  the area of Talewater. The Wright family farmed Talewater Farm and are mentioned in some deeds along with the name Radcliffe. There is Radcliffe House on the right between Talaton and Clyst Hydon at Aunke, but the current house is too late to be linked to the Hayes Manor? Another name in the deeds is English. The Manor was sold to Sir George Yonge, then to the Kennaways and became part of the Escot estate.

Thank you Roger for your help is looking this up. Alan tells us he came across mentions of it in Mr. Yates files in Honiton Museum, so must pop in there and check it.

With Jo we looked at the Tithe map to find mentions of field names and the Drang Path her relative mentions in his notes on Feniton History. The Drang path must have ran through Feniton Court to Sowton on the Buckerell road. Thank you Jo that was an interesting exercise.

David told us about a contact he has had from someone asking about the Rumbold family from Colestocks, sadly the headstone in the churchyard has been defaced and it is intriguing as to why.   It looks like it was deliberately done and not just random vandalism. 

Next meeting on Thursday 7th August in the Nog Inn. 

Feniton History Group 49th Meeting

Feniton History Group held the 49th Meeting in the Nog Inn

The topic was the ancient boundary between the village and Ottery St. Mary. This was highlighted during the Planning inquiry. There is a general consensus that in light of the history  it would be beneficial to the heritage of the area to mark this in some way.

I raised the point at last night's Parish Council  meeting and it received full support. We will need to find funding and the form it would take. The Chairman also pointed out we would need permission of the land owner and select a suitable place for it.  

At our meeting I suggested we could hold a "Beating of the Bounds" event in Feniton. This web link gives a plan on how to hold the ceremony: http://www.farmingmatters.org.uk/seasons/ben.html

The village boundaries hold a very important detail for the villages to know where these lines ran before mapping became established. Some villages hold the event on Rogationtide  25th April or Ascension Day 29th May.

This website gives the history of the event: http://www.strangebritain.co.uk/traditions/bounds.html

It seems we need to take the choir boys with us and gently beat their heads on each tree, stone or marker on the way round to engrain the youngsters with the memory of the village boundary!

George has kindly checked out the lay of the route around the village on his mapping software and estimates it to be some 14.6 kilometres = about 9 miles and if we kept to the roads and footpaths rather than crossing private land it would extend to 18 kilometres = about 11 miles!

Thinking of various boundaries, Brenda related that the old privy at Yellinghams Farm is over the boundary between Feniton and Payhembury, so when the wedding banns were read the bride sat there so to be in the right parish! It was also mentioned that a pub on the Wales \ England boarder had to close  the bar on the Welsh side on a Sunday, whereas the English side could open.

Should we go ahead with the event we should involve our neighbouring parishes.

Somehow Geoff and I started to reminisce about the Portsdown Hills and Harry Pounds Scrapyard!!! I knew the area well as a child, as did Geoff from family holidays there. We also discussed with the Admiralty Telegraph Station was still there. This website has the details:

 http://www.portsdown-tunnels.org.uk/ancient_sites/telegraph_p1.html

Jenny mentioned a Vicar from Broadhembury who ended up in jail, Mr Josiah Bangor. This was due to the Five Mile Act (1665), Acts were intended to stop office-holding by dissenters. The Acts made it unlawful for more than five people aged 16 and over, besides the household, to ‘be present at any Assembly.

The BBC have shown a local program about worker's strikes taking place during WW1, and we all were surprised that this had happened in war time. This led toa natter about the cost of living and the wages we were paid in our first jobs. 

The WW1 research is nearly complete, and now we need to work out the form of the display, this will take place in the Church over the Nov 11th Rememeberancetide, with a coffee morning. This to be agreed with Rev Cate and the Churchwardens.

Talaton are having a WW1 Exhibition ‘Lest We Forget’, Sat12th July 2014 12noon - 8pm in the Church of St James the Great, Talaton.

Tony told us about the Community Play he is involved with. Based on Exeter Football Club, "The Day we Played   Brazil".  This is from the website: http://thedayweplayedbrazil.com/about/

The Day we Played Brazil will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the football match between Exeter City and the Brazil national team – the first-ever game played by Brazil. The play is based on the extraordinary true story of Exeter City FC’s tour to South America in 1914. Chosen by the Football Association as a typical British football club they became the first side in history to play the Brazilian national football team and in so doing not only made history themselves but also founded possibly the greatest force in world football.

The next meeting will be the 3rd July.

Duke of York in Feniton November 1927 meeting WW1 Veterans

Feniton History Group 48th Meeting

The WW1 project:

Geoff kindly passed around copies of the WW1 booklet, which we all agreed was an ideal way to document the men.

We talked about how the men were called up at various times, Kitchener's Volunteers in 1915, the Territorial's signed on for 3 years service. It was also noted that the railwaymen were enlisted in their peacetime roles as platelayers to lay tracks in France. Some 7,000 steam locomotives and crews were shipped to France. In the Thames estuary the trains were placed ready to be shipped out.

This was followed by a lively and varied discussion on various topics.

I have been researching the Marks family, who lived in the village for many years and ran the Post Office. Edward Marks was postmaster and parish clerk for some 42 years. This led to us debating the whereabouts of the Post Office, at onetime it was opposite the current shop in Parr Cottages. This block of 3 cottages also once contained the village Cider House or Inn and the reading rooms. Sid Marks lived in Knapp Cottage at the top of the village where Green Lane goes off to the left and the hill up to the "new" estate. Here he had a small grocer's shop and he was the village barber.

Sadly his wife Hilda died in childbirth in 1938, so his late wife's sister went to care for Sid, this was frowned up by many as they could not wed, due to the law made in 1560, saying you cannot marry your dead wife's sister!

This law was repealed in part in the 1907 Marriage Act which  removed from the forbidden list  the Wife's sister and Husband's brother, provided the first spouse in each case was deceased. Further changes followed in 1921, 1931 and 1949. So the disgust of the villagers was well founded as they could have wed it seems!

I hope to make a list of all the postmasters and mistress for the village.

Alan told us a sorry tale of one of the village' returning soldier's, Sid Salter, he was a platelayer, living in the little bungalow known as "Chequers", by the Spar Shop. Sid was married, but his wife was rather taken by the American GIs of WW2 and she left Sid, sadly he was a broken man and could stand it no more, he took his own life in 1952 under an Oak Tree along the Talaton Road.

Alan recalled that during the last war, pig food was in short supply, so "Porky" Pyle sent the boys of the village out with sacks to collect acorns, for which he paid them 3d per sack, after a while the acorns were hard to find, so a stone was dropped into one of the sacks, but, as it was weighed on the scales, the stone made a clunking sound and the ruse was found out.

"Porky" Pyle retired to Jubilee House,  his nephew Ted taking on at Long Park. The other houses behind the farmhouse at Long Park must have been workers cottages. Some say that Jubilee House was built by Queen Victoria's Housekeeper? The name must come from her Diamond Jubilee in 1897.  The other Victorian houses around Sidmouth Junc. were built because of the railway, Sherwood Villa being one.

Thank you everyone for such an interesting evening. Also thank you to Brenda and Geoff for the help with the WW1 research.

Nest Meeting Thurs 5th June in the Nog at 8pm.

Feniton History Group 47th Meeting

David asked us to help in some way with a fund raising event in aid of Melanesia, this was agreed, the format for this to be decided in due course.

We had a good natter about WW1.

Geoff kindly offered to look at a more useful format taken from the spreadsheet template of notes I have made so then we can printout a booklet for the church or to sell. Brenda took on the task of checking the 1911 census for men who may have been called up for service.

Geoff suggested we need to check the wartime copies of the Pulman's newspaper, held in the Somerset Heritage collection for more on the volunteers and snippets of news from our area at that time. Another thing we need to check is the absent voters list, compiled for the 1916 election.

The Deanery Magazine of the time would have carried some useful paragraphs, but sadly the copies in Honiton Museum are later. 

Alan mentioned his father Walter Powell served during the war, and I have been able to find his war service on the internet.

It was sad and thoughtful evening, talking about the loss and suffering, also the animals used, went through the same trauma.

Feniton History Group 46th Meeting

Wonderful to see so many. It was good to natter and ponder over the maps the Group have in it's collection.

Work is progressing on the WW1 men.

Our next meeting. This will be in the Nog Inn on Thurs. 3rd April

"Oreo" is a young puppy in Pam's care for the "Hearing Dogs for the Deaf organisation and joins us for her socialisation training!

A note from Jenny:

The Battlefields’ Trust are organising a small event for anyone who would like to be introduced to the Battle of Fenny Bridges, Feniton Honiton . EX14 3BJ

On Saturday 12th April we are meeting at the Greyhound at 11 am and then walking to Bloody Meadow and then on to the church. After people have visited the church, they will be returning to the Greyhound for lunch and to look at display boards

We are charging £3 a head (plus lunch) and the money will go towards an information board which will cost us £1500. We have been debating where to place it. I would like the church to benefit from it, but Malcolm is keen to have it placed in the Greyhound. They are keen too as it will provide a centre of interest at the pub.

I am also planning to write to the council eventually and see if we can twist their arm and get them to provide a new Fenny Bridges sign over the bridge with the battle field symbol. Before that we are planning to get English Heritage to officially recognise the importance of the Battle field.

Jenny Wilson ,Feniton History Group. On behalf of the Battlefields' Trust. http://www.battlefieldstrust.com/

Feniton History Group 45th Meeting

We had a short business meeting, various history societies and the Devon Record Office have contacted me as to  how we record and research the WW1 Commemoration. The men who died have already been recorded, but we have been asked to find the men who returned home. So if any members can add to this I would be pleased to hear from them. I have a page from the Deanery Magazine of the time listing serving men, so will start with that:

The difficulty is deciding whether we add the men who seem to be from outlying villages like Gittisham and Broadhembury on the 1911 census.

We have been asked to help with a fund raising event in July for the Melanesia Church. The Devon History Society would like us to present  our WW1 research at their AGM on 11th Oct. 2014. After that we can put it together to place in the Church over the Remembrance weekend in November.

That done we viewed the Blackdown Hills DVD on Dunkeswell Airfield during the 2nd War, wonderful collection of memories and photos.

Alan then rounded of the evening with his reminiscences of War time Feniton. A Spitfire in their garden one Sunday lunch time. The glow in the sky when Exeter was bombed. The pulsating drone of the German Bombers at night. The American High B17  the "Flying Fortress", often returned damaged, holes, props missing and the odd fin. The boys cycled up to Turbury Cross to view a fully laden bomber that crashed and left a huge crater in the road and damaged the hedgerows, the gaps can still be seen. There was parachute silk hanging in the hedges. It failed to take off and slid on along a field. Alan remembers a glider coming down  near Cadhay, a Dakota from Smetharpe came to collect it, a frame with a rope across it enable the glider to be hooked up and launched into the air. They often saw Dakotas and gliders on the way to the Normandy Landings. Very interesting Alan, thank you.