Feniton History Group held their 96th Meeting in the Nog Inn


The Friends of St Andrew’s Church have asked the Group to take part in the Arts & Craft days in the Church on the weekend of 18th / 19th May. It was agreed to accept the invitation, ideas began flowing to mount displays on the carvings in the church, blacksmiths and to look at old adverts for local craftsmen and women.

Geoff has been volunteering and the Devon Record Office for Seven years. He is working on thirty eight boxes from a deceased estate in Crediton, but looking forward to going back to the Railway files.

Sam is working on a dig at Bow, this is a Henge, classed as an ancient monument, Nothing visible  on the surface. It consists of a stone bank and ditch, it may have been  a wooden post  or stone circle.  In Scotland a “ modern circle” classed as ancient has been found https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-46946652

George has been walking along part of the Otter at Fenny Bridges. It is known that the River has moved and been reshaped by nature and man.  Nigel Scarf lived in Rosary Cottage and noticed a mound in the garden, could this be where bodies from the Battle of Fenny Bridges were buried?  David tells us there is to be a metal detecting session in the area soon. 

Brenda recalls going to the Ottery tar barrels just after she met Keith, they became caught up in the crowds and fell into a house window. Brenda tells us she has been working on her family tree, one man was a  blacksmith , he was called up during the war and sent to be in the Royal Naval Air Force based at Shoreham, sadly while away his wife died and he came home to care for their children

Peter is writing his family history.  He would like to do a tandem parachute jump or row the Atlantic, but his Doctor said no very firmly. So he decided to do a marathon of poetry in 26 days, with the proceeds going to the church, King Street Day Care  and the Exeter Leukaemia Fund. He writes from the heart and  feels the emotions.

Jenny and the battle banner will be in the church for Craft event in May. She told us about a book, entitled   The Field Guide to the English Clergy, it is very funny, Jenny read an extract about Bishop Cecil of Exeter, he was known to be somewhat eccentric. On one occasion a guest having tea with him at his home was surprised when he fed pieces of crumpets to two rats that came out of holes in the floor, and threw powdered copper sulphate on the fire to turn the flames green, remarking that he liked the colour. Once, goes another story, while robing in the vestry before a service, he held a handkerchief between his teeth, but forgot to return it to his pocket and proceeded to the altar with it still hanging from his mouth. He had been heard to complain that the Bible was "an awkward book", and while travelling around his diocese he would often ring up his wife to ask where he was, stealing bicycles to get home, they painted his bike red, but he kept taking postman’s bikes instead. 

Alan has been looking at railway history in South Somerset. Many of the towns would have been better served if the railway routes were better planned. 

 The town of Crewkerne is served by the station at Miserton, some distance away. The Salisbury to Yeovil railway had no investment but came to be a profitable to Sherborne. The Castle at Sherborne was a problem until the owner died, then his son let the railway through.

Taunton to Yeovil then to Exeter suffered from business conflict, this was the cause of the bad routes Okehampton had two stations owned by different companies.

Yeovil also has badly planned stations with Yeovil Junction and Penn Mill being somewhat outside the main town. Then of course many branch lines were lost to the cuts imposed by Beeching.


Thank you all for a fascinating evening.

We meet in The Nog Inn on Thursday 7th March at 8 pm