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
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.