Lustleigh War Memorial – May

Edwin Wilfred Wrayford May

Mr Edwin May must have taken great solace in the gathering that assembled in Lustleigh Church on Saturday 15th July 1916 to remember his only son who had fallen at the front less than two weeks earlier.  People came from far and near with one villager reporting that he had never seen so many people in the church before; many of them not regular church-goers and some who had not been since their wedding, but they came to show their respect for the boy they all loved and sympathy for his father.

In his address, Rev. Johnson said, about Edwin Wilfred Wrayford May, that he was not someone who could have ever chosen the army as a profession, nor did he have any taste for fighting; rather he possessed a great sense of beauty and was far more in his element working in his garden or putting a touch to a vase of flowers. Similarly, a friend had once said “it will not do for you to join up, you are too gentle”, to which he countered that he would never be a coward. So, seeing his duty, and with his father’s blessing, he joined the cause.

It must have been especially hard for Edwin to wave off his son from their house at Rudge Farm, which had become increasingly empty in recent years. His only daughter was married in 1909, his wife died in 1911, one of his main farm hands had joined the Royal Navy in 1912 and even his son’s  bay jumping pony, Rex, had been requisitioned by the army the day after war was declared. Indeed, the worry for his son weighed so heavily on Edwin that he felt unable to continue as Churchwarden, resigning in May 1916 after 22 years service.

Edwin Wilfred Wrayford May, had been baptised in Lustleigh on Ascension Day 1891. As well as helping his father farm the 135 acres at Rudge, Wilfred (as he was known, or Fred to his army pals) was a prize-winning amateur gardener, a very fine horseman and, it was said, it took a good man to equal him with his gun, rod, bat or racket.  Perhaps little wonder then, that it was the Sportsmen’s Battalion that would have him among its ranks.

Wilfred answered the call of Lieut. AE Dunn, one time MP and Mayor of Exeter, who held many rallies in the city and surrounding areas calling upon men to form a special Western Company of sportsmen from Devon and Cornwall, later to be known as ‘C’ Company of the 2nd Sportsmen’s Battalion. On February 22nd 1915, he enlisted at the recruitment centre in Castle House, Castle Street, Exeter, the offices of the solicitors Dunn and Baker, of which AE Dunn was a founder.

A few days later, the Battalion was given a farewell concert at Barnfield Hall, followed a week later by an inspection by the Mayor of Exeter at Bury Meadow. Then, on March 16th, after a supper the previous evening at King’s Hall, St Thomas, the men began their journey, parading past throngs of well-wishers along Sidwell Street, the High Street and Queen Street before departing St David’s station on their way to camp at Hornchurch.

They later moved to Tidworth in Wiltshire where, on 8th November 1915, Wilfred took part in review of the 33rd Division and a march past in front of The Queen. One week later, the 2nd Sportsmen’s Battalion, otherwise known as the 24th Battalion Royal Fusiliers had landed in France. The early days were occupied with training interspersed with football matches, but it wasn’t long before the men proceeded to the front and engaged in fighting with the enemy often entrenched as little as 250 yards apart.

By the end of June, they were on the front line at Carency, north of Arras in the Pas-de-Calais. The night of July 3rd saw particularly frantic action. The Germans had blown a crater of strategic value to the allies, so it was quickly occupied by a small band of bombers and a party of two NCOs and thirty men who worked through the night to consolidate the crater.  As the work continued, a heavy bombardment was exchanged between the two sides; Private 3193 caught some shrapnel and died within minutes.

“It is with deepest regret that I write to you, to condole with you on the loss of your son”, wrote a comrade from the trenches. “Fred and I stood side by side when we took the oath of service to our King. In training, we were always together. In France, we slept next to each other, and in the trenches, we stood shoulder to shoulder. The night you lost a son, I an incomparable companion in arms. A mine exploded, and Fred was amongst the first to jump the parapet and take up a position on the top of the crater. In the willing discharge of his duty, he was hit by pieces of a grenade and was mortally wounded, dying in my arms”.

He went on to mention the high esteem in which he was regarded, “his quiet unassuming manner endeared him to us all, and gained for him a popularity envied by us all. His loss stings us deeply”.

May Photo-tryThe following night, Wilfred was buried by the Chaplain in the valley behind their lines.  Today, a few kilometres away, he is remembered at Zouave Valley Cemetery, on the outskirts of Souchez. He is also commemorated by The Royal Fusiliers memorial at Holborn in London, erected as a tribute to the 22,000 men of the regiment who lost their lives in the Great War. He was posthumously awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Allied Victory Medal, which were respectively and endearingly, nick-named Pip, Squeak and, most appropriately, Wilfred.

During his short time in the army, Wilfred was twice offered a commission, but he refused on both occasions, preferring to stay with his friends and fight in the ranks where “he was a splendid soldier”, according to his Captain. “Admired and respected by his officers, beloved by his comrades”. His quiet and gentle personality, says his obituary “endeared him to the whole countryside, and made him the favourite in the village”.

Chris Wilson

 

 

Lustleigh War Memorial – Baillie

Humphrey John Baillie
Humphrey John Baillie was born on 14th June 1893 at Newnham-on-Severn Gloucestershire, the son of Rev. William Gordon Baillie and Mary Harriet (Evans) Baillie. He moved to Lustleigh aged eleven when his father became Rector here in 1904, a living he held until 1910. He was educated at Haileybury College, a public school 20 miles north of London from 1906 to 1912. Whilst he was at Haileybury he became the Cadet Colour–Sergeant in the Officers Training Corps and on 27th May joined the Regular Army as a Second Lieutenant (on probation) in 2nd Battalion the Dorsetshire Regiment.
On 3rdMarch 1915, just one year before his death, he distinguished himself at the battle of Ahwaz, then part of Persia. An Expeditionary Force was dispatched from India in mid October 1914 to protect British interests in the region, in particular the oil pipeline, which the Turks were targeting. The British garrison at Ahwaz included 20 Rifles of the Dorsetshire Regiment, alongside many Troops and Companies of the Indian Army and sections of Royal Horse Artillery plus the 23rd (Peshawar) Mounted Battery. In all about 1000 British soldiers faced overwhelming enemy troops numbering 12000 men- 2000 of them Turks. They were forced to retreat and the 20 men of Number 10 Platoon 2nd Battalion Dorsets became the solid defensive rock during this period of battle. Despite their prominence in action, the Dorsets only suffered one casualty who was wounded. The regimental history records that Lieutenant Baillie was recommended for the Victoria Cross but was awarded a Military Cross. Eight of his men were awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
The Lustleigh parish magazine of September 1915 recorded the relevant extract from despatches of Sir Arthur Barret, General Officer The Indian Expeditionary Force in Mesopotamia and the Rev. Johnson wrote that “Lustleigh would like to take off its hat to Lieut. Baillie, as he now is, and to offer its congratulations to his parents in their hour of pride”
One year later on 2nd March 1916, aged 23, Lieut Baillie was killed by a sniper during a later action when the Ottoman forces laid siege to Kut-el-Amar. He was buried in the Kut war cemetery. Of the 350 men of the 2nd Dorsets only 70 survived the siege, and the British were forced to surrender on 29th April 1916. This was one of the greatest humiliations to befall the British Army in its history. For the Turks – and for Germany – it proved a morale booster and weakened British influence in the Middle East.
In May 1916, the parish magazine published a letter from Rev. W. Gordon Baillie including the following. “My wife and I have been deeply touched by the generous gift of the people of my old parish in memory of our dear son……..we propose to devote it to a cause which is very dear to our hearts, whereby we hope to found a room and bed in his memory at the “Star and Garter” home for disabled sailors and soldiers … we are sure that my son, had he lived, would have been keenly interested in such a scheme, for he was always full of sympathy for his men.

Lustleigh’s Shops

Although today we only have one shop in the village, in years past there were several. In the village centre was a general stores and grocers shop, plus the present Dairy.

In the building to the left of the Gospel Hall (now Pound Barn) was a second hand shop. David Moreton remembers buying an air rifle there, through a large hatchway in the front of the building (he still has the rifle!). He also remembers the Tuck Shop (Columbine) and he used to make toys to sell there. Another ex-resident of the village mentions buying sweets from this shop. In addition, there was a bakery in Brookfield – Osborne’s – and another shop round the corner in Brook Cottage that David Moreton can remember selling fireworks.

The Mill also sold fresh bread from the Bakery at the top of the steps, now a holiday cottage. More recently, Stable House Gallery next to Primrose Café was a gallery/gift shop and of course, there was always a Post Office however, that finally closed in 2009.

 

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The village took steps to save the village shop – Lustleigh Dairy – when it was threatened with closure.  Forming a company and selling shares to locals, enough money was raised to buy the property and lease the business.  It is still run on this basis today…

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Flooding in Lustleigh

The Events of Today are Tomorrow’s History…

Most winters, Lustleigh suffers some kind of flooding, being between two river valleys (the Wrey and the Bovey).  Indeed, as this is typed (January 2015) our cricket field is full of water and Wreyland path is impassable in places since the the Wrey Brook burst its banks after several days of heavy rain.

Apart from the events the weekend of 24th and 25th November 2012 when  the Wrey Brook burst its banks and flooded the cricket field leaving Wreyland Path under a torrent of water, Lustleigh has seen many incidences of flooding over the years. The archive has in its collection some images of the floods that occurred during the mid to late 60’s. Note in the third of these photos that the metal railway bridge over the lane to the Cricket Field is still in place.

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Water floods out of the cricket field onto Wreyland Path and the bridge over to Wrey Villa- probably 1960’s
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Cricket Pavilion (before it was re-sited to the opposite side of the field) surrounded by flood water

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Two views of the cricket field
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Fast forward to November 2012 Photo © Emma Wills
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Town Orchard Sunday November 25th 2012 Photo © Emma Wills
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The leat in the Orchard Sunday November 25th 2012 Photo © Emma Wills

24th and 25th November 2012- After days of torrential rain the walls of the cricket field gave way, just before midnight on the 24th, under the force of several feet of flood water.  The clean up began on an amazingly calm Sunday morning…

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Photo © Emma Wills

flood 9flood 7Damage to garden of Pound BarnDamage to garden of Pound Barn

Looking very calm after all the events of the previous night
Looking very calm after all the events of the previous night Photo © Emma Wills
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Meanwhile, down on the River Bovey the stones at Hisley Bridge were transformed into a mini version of the Giant’s Causeway after the force of the river washed away the matter in-between them.

Lustleigh May Day – A History

What we know now as the traditional May Day celebration in England can be traced back to Roman times and the festival of Flora, the goddess of fruit and flowers.

During the middle ages, it was customary to go “a-maying”early in the morning to collect fresh flowers with which to crown the “fairest maiden in the village”

The origins of the ‘Maypole’may be linked to one old tradition that used to mark the end of the winter and celebrate the coming of spring. This involved cutting down a young tree, which was then stuck into the ground. Villagers would then dance around it, in the hope of a good crop that summer.

Lustleigh probably held its own ceremony during these times but it lapsed until Cecil Torr, who lived in Wreyland, revived it in its present form. Torr wrote:

“ There is a May Day festival here, for which I am responsible. There used to be dancing around the Maypole at the Flower Show and other festivals but none upon May Day itself: and I put an end to that anomaly“

THE FIRST TWO LUSTLEIGH MAY QUEENS

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Mabel Bunclarke – 1905
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Olive Chudley – 1906

When the ceremony was resurrected by Cecil Torr, the May Queen was crowned on a rock on the hill above Wreyland  at Long Tor Farm (now on private land).

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A few years ago the old rock was cleaned to reveal the names of the May Queens of Lustleigh from 1905 to 1940

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Muriel Brimblecombe – 1913 at Long Tor
Muriel Brimblecombe – 1913 at Long Tor
Winnifred Horrell – 1930 (Front row, third from Right is Joan Bourne, who married Eddie Elllis and ran The Dairy for many years)
Winnifred Horrell – 1930, on the church steps. (Front row, third from Right is Joan Bourne, who married Eddie Elllis and ran The Dairy for many years)

We hope for good weather on May Day, however it doesn’t always turn out quite how we would like it…..

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This particularly wet May Day was in 1927, the May Queen was Phyllis Wills and this photo was taken in the school playground

rainy 2rainy 1Two wet May Day Festivals, at Long Tor Farm, dates unknown

Two 1930’s May Days….

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May Queen’s Attendants 1935. Two of these girls were Lustleigh May Queens later on. That year, Barbara Weeks was the May Queen. Pictured here are – Eileen Dray (Queen in 1937), Rhona Lake, Dorothy Allin, Edna Dray (Queen in 1939) and Maureen Dray.
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1936 – The parade heads down the hill past what is now Primrose Tearooms, with Veronica Yeoman as the May Queen. Note the many trees on the village green.

This lovely handwritten programme is from 1939 when Edna Dray was May Queen

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Before the school closed in 1963, the children congregated in the playground before the parade commenced

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Janet Horrell in 1957
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Iona Jones – 1960

 

Although the May Day festival continued throughout WWI, the ceremony lapsed after the start of WWII, the last one taking place in 1940.

It was not until 1954 when it restarted, in a new location Town Orchard, where there was a suitable rock for the crowning ceremony. Newspaper reports at the time tell  of large amounts of granite being blasted out of the ground in order to create a flat space for the Maypole dancing to take place.

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Gillian Williams and her attendants on the new May Rock in Town Orchard – 1954
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May Day 1958 and Helen Beard is May Queen. If you look behind the May Rock you can see an old WWII Nissen Hut (rather spoiling a lovely view!)
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Wendy Harvey – 1971
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Two May Queens 66 years apart! Presscutting from 1971, Mabel Bunclarke (May Queen 1905 not as the text states 1904) meets Wendy Harvey

If you are looking for a Lustleigh May Queen, enter her name into the search box: 

Lustleigh May Queens

YearNAMERESIDENCE
1905MABEL BUNCLARKE
1906OLIVE CHUDLEY
1907ANNIE MENHENNET
1908AMY WYATT
1909FLORRIE VALANCE
1910ETHEL SQUIRES
1911ALICE HOWARD
1912DOROTHY MOTTON
1913MURIEL BRIMBLECOMBE
1914JANIE LAKE
1915GUINEVERE MORECOMBE
1916IRENE CROCKFORD
1917MAY YEOMAN
1918GERTRUDE PARKER
1919GLADYS WALDRON
1920VERA HILL
1921MAY WONNACOTT
1922PHYLLIS YEOMAN
1923FLORRIE AGGETT
1924JOSEPHINE WILSON
1925ROMOLA WILLS
1926DOLLY WHITE
1927PHYLLIS WILLS
1928KATHLEEN COOPER
1929MARY MARSHALL
1930WINIFRED HORRELL
1931BRENDA OSBORNE
1932MAY CLARKE
1933WINIFRED OLDING
1934NELLIE WILLS
1935BARBARA WEEKS
1936VERONICA YEOMAN
1937EILEEN DRAY
1938PHYLLIS WILLS
1939EDNA DRAY
1940ROSIE OLDING
1941 -1953 NO CEREMONY
1954GILLIAN WILLIAMS3 POUND COTTAGE
1955MYRA BROCKKELLY COTTAGES
1956PATRICIA POWELLHIGHBURY
1957JANET HORRELLBROOKFIELD
1958HELEN BEARDHAMMERSLAKE
1959CHRISTINE MOOREROCK COTTAGE
1960IONA JONESBLACK HOUSE
1961JAYNE NELSONBROOKFIELD
1962JENNIFER PERRYCLEAVELANDS
1963RUTH MATTHEWSMELROSE TERRACE
1964CAROLA WOODGERWREY COTTAGE
1965JAQUELINE KENNETTCOMBE ORCHARD
1966PATRICIA JOHNSONBICKLEY
1967ANGELA WOODGERWREY COTTAGE
1968VIVIENNE JENKINSTABLE HOUSE
1969SUZANNE BEAUMONTHILL HAYES
1970JANE AGGETTALWOODLY
1971WENDY HARVEYSTARPARK BUNGALOW
1972JULIE GERMONBROOKFIELD
1973DIANE AGGETTALWOODLY
1974CAROLINE WILLIAMSPOUND COTTAGE
1975ANNETTE STEPHENSST ANDREWS
1976CATHERINE BEAUMONTHILLHAYES
1977DEBBIE SEABROOKCOMBE HILL
1978HEATHER WRIGHTPETHYBRIDGE
1979JULIE OSBORNEBROOKFIELD
1980SUSAN AGGETTALWOODLY
1981REBECCA FRENCHTWYNYEO
1982JEANETTE PALMERWREY VILLA
1983LISA ROWETHE MILL
1984DEBBIE GOODFELLOWBROOKFIELD
1985SARAH JANE LILLEYNUTCRACKER COTTAGE
1986CAROLYN TAPSONCLEAVE COTTAGE
1987SALLY ANN LILLEYNUTCRACKER COTTAGE
1988REBECCA MERRIOTTBROOKFIELD
1989KIM HOPWOODBROOKFIELD
1990CORALIE OLVERMELROSE TERRACE
1991ABIGAIL MABEYCOMBE HOUSE
1992KATIE JACOBYCASELEY COTTAGES
1993SIMONE OLVERMELROSE TERRACE
1994LISA ROBERTSBROOKFIELD
1995NATALIE DAVISCOMBE SPINNEY
1996REBECCA DREWETTBROOKFIELD
1997LAURA DALEROCKMEAD
1998LOUISE BAUDOUYMOORLANDS COTTAGE
1999DAISY BEAREIDE HOUSE
2000EMMA WILLSBROOKFIELD
2001JOELY BADGERCOLUMBINE
2002HARRIET KNOWLESCOMBE HOUSE
2003LUCY JAMESKEMERTON
2004ANNIE REDDAWAYDARTMOOR FARM HOUSE
2005CHLOE MAY WRIGHTPETHYBRIDGE
2006ANNA BELLROSE COTTAGE, BROOKFIELD
2007JESSICA BEAREIDE HOUSE
2008ALICE JAMESKEMERTON
2009KIRSTY HEATHERLOGANSTONES
2010BRYONY MAY BELLROSE COTTAGE, BROOKFIELD
2011LAUREN HEATHERLOGANSTONES
2012CELIA COLEMANWOODLANDS
2013ABIGAIL PELLINGWOODCOT
2014HARMONY BIDDERPETHYBRIDGE
2015ABIGAIL CARROLLBRIDGE PARK, BROOKFIELD
2016TALIA SULLIVANBROOKFIELD
2017AMY JAGGSLITTLE QUILLET
2018MAISIE ROPER MELLAND
UPHILL, MAPSTONE
2019KEEVIE OAFF
COMBE BARN
2020NO CEREMONYDUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
2021NO CEREMONYDUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Mays Queens since 1905 through to 2021

The Ruins of Boveycombe

Extract from Parish Magazine November 2011

If you go down to the woods today…. you might come across a small group of archaeologists and volunteers excavating the site of the ruins of Boveycombe Farm.
For those of you not familiar with the area, if you walk from Heaven’s Gate down to Hisley Bridge, approximately half way down, either side of the bridle path are a few granite walls – all that is left of one of the earliest tenements in the parish.  Prior to work on-site, in depth research into Boveycombe’s past was carried out in our archives room, by one of the archaeological team. We thought it might be interesting to look at a little of the history of this farm, abandoned (for what reason we do not know) probably in the 1940’s.

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Is this the remains of Boveycombe farmhouse? The first building you reach is to the left of the path as you walk downhill.

The Devonshire Lay Subsidy of 1332 is the first real mention of Boveycombe. It was one of the eight tenements of Lustleigh (the others being Pepperdon, Foxworthy, Pethybridge, Mapstone, Caseley, South Harton and Barncourt).  By 1603, the reign of Elizabeth I was over and James I was about to become King. In 1615, Boveycombe was “held by William Grose, rent 8/- 8d, heriot* the best beast and acreage 50 (acres?)”. Richard Caseley, aged 30, held the reversion. This meant that on the death of William, Boveycombe would pass to Richard. By 1628, Nicholas Gray was resident at Boveycombe and the acreage had decreased to 32 acres. Martin Trend held the reversion.

By the next time the Manor of Lustleigh was recorded in 1742, Gilbert Babbacombe farmed Boveycombe’s 33 acres of “land, meadow and pasture” and the rent was £2 10/-. The farm remained in the same family until the 1837 Tithe map shows it in the ownership of John Gould, and occupied by George Wills, the total acreage now recorded as being 69 and a half acres.

The recent history of Boveycombe is patchy, but it is noted in the Archive by Ann Jones, formerly of Lower Hisley, that she and her sister Tish Roberts met George Crocker, who was probably the last person to farm Boveycombe, growing potatoes there in the early 1940s.  The current excavations have revealed that one building, probably the farmhouse as it had remnants of internal lime plaster, straddled the bridle path diagonally. There is also another building – possibly a barn – on the right  as you walk downhill.

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As you continue downhill, you reach the remains of a small building to the right of the bridle path, possibly a barn.

Another mystery is the old cart track that leads to the farm. On the bridle path beneath Lower Hisley it can still be seen on the right hand side. This path followed a route between two fields of Higher Hisley, dropping steeply down through the woods and into the farm.

* Heriot – payment to Lord of Manor on death of the tenant, the best live beast or dead chattel.

Queen Victoria – Golden and Diamond Jubilees

Extract from Parish Magazine June 2012

As the nation prepares to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II, how did the people of Lustleigh celebrate the jubilee of Queen Victoria?

Queen Victoria is the longest serving monarch in the country’s history, reigning for 64 years between 1837 and 1901. In June 1887, the nation celebrated her Golden Jubilee. It was for this occasion that the Lych Gate and steps to the church were built. As early as 3 a.m. the village was preparing for a party with a feast of beef and plum pudding for the men of the village. For the children and woman folk………….. “An excellent tea was prepared” (probably by themselves, after having cooked the beef and plum pudding for the men!).

Ten years later, on 22nd June 1897, celebrations were again the order of the day for Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Several weeks beforehand a committee was formed – in fact two as one dealt with celebrations for the men folk and the other for the women and children. Special prayers were said on Sunday 20th and God Save the Queen was sung, including a new verse composed by the Dean of Rochester.

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On the stroke of midnight, 60 shots were fired in the “village square” and at 5 a.m., another salute took place. The church bells then rang before a short church service at 8 a.m. where Holy Communion was held. Photographs of the choir, congregation and village children were taken on the church steps. Following a similar theme from the Golden Jubilee celebrations, the men feasted on beef and plum pudding – with tea for the women and children at 3 p.m. For the rest of the afternoon there were sports with a drum and flute band from Moretonhampstead and a string band from Plymouth providing music. Bonfires were lit on the Cleave and at Bullaton Rock. Dancing followed by the light of bonfires until a late hour.

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As a lasting memorial to the event, the church chancel was “painted in fresco” by Mr. Reginald Hallward, Honourable Secretary of the Guild of Clergy and Artists. An unnamed parishioner gave a brass, fixed in the arch leading to the south transept, with a border of the rose, shamrock and thistle in the national colours of red, white and blue and on it were painted the letters V. R. I.
Most of the information for the above was taken from the Lustleigh Parish Magazine, May – July 1837 and 1897, which are held in the Archive Room.

The Early Lords of the Manor of Lustleigh Part 1

From the Domesday Book we can see that in 1065, in the reign of King Edward the Confessor, the manor of Lustleigh was held by Ansgar and prior to that by one Walter.  There is quite a gap in the records until we come to the early part of the 13th century when a William de Widworthy held the manor from 1200 to 1224. His wife was called Juliana and they had a daughter Alice and a son Hugh. Alice married a member of the Le Prous family from Gidleigh and they had a son – William Le Prous.
Hugh de Widworthy inherited the manor from his father and in turn his daughter – Emma Dinham – inherited the title. Emma and her husband Robert were Lord and Lady of the manor until 1291, but having had no children the manor passed to Emma’s cousin William le Prous.
There is an effigy of Sir William le Prous in the wall of the south transept of Lustleigh church.

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In the north wall are effigies of a knight and a lady. As all records of these have been lost, there is some dispute about who they are. One view is that they are in fact Sir Robert Dinham and Lady Emma Dinham. Another theory is they are William de Widworthy and his wife Juliana. On the death of Sir William le Prous in 1316, the manor passed to his daughter Emma, who was married to Roger de Moelis. From then on several ancestors and relatives of theirs held the manor of Lustleigh: Firstly inherited by their daughter Alice de Moelis and her husband John Daumarle. Secondly by their son – Sir John Daumarle and his wife Isabella. Thirdly – as John and Isabella had no children – the manor passed to Clarice, Sir John’s sister. She was married to Richard Grenville. There is some uncertainty as to who succeeded them, as by rights it should have been Clarice’s daughter Alice Carndon and thereafter to their daughter and her husband – Joan and John Durford. Historical evidence suggests that these three women were tricked out of their rightful inheritance by the machinations of the sons of Isabella by her first marriage to John Tremayne.
The next verified information cites William Burleston purchasing the manor at the end of the 14th century. It is not clear if he bought it from Joan Durford or one of the Tremayne sons; in 1403 Burleston sold the manor of Lustleigh to Sir John Wadham. To be continued in part two together with a somewhat macabre tale befitting Halloween…

 

The above is taken from: Chapter V, “The Story of Waye”, by Hugo Pellew and based on research by Dr. M. H. Hughes

The Early Lords of the Manor of Lustleigh Part 2

The Fragmentation of the Manor (and a story fit for Halloween)

As we left the story last month, the Manor of Lustleigh consisted of a number of farms and cottages, all of which were owned by Nicholas Wadham. There were also a few free tenements that he did not own but from whom he received a small annual “quit rent” in acknowledgement that he was their Lord.

 

This simple and easily understood system was about to change and be replaced by a much more complicated one. Nicholas Wadham died in 1609. He was buried in the Parish Church at Ilminster Somerset. As he and his wife had no children, the title to Nicholas’s many estates and properties in Devon and Somerset went, as was the custom, to his three sisters. They each inherited a third of his estates and so in the case of Lustleigh each sister owned one third of the Manor.  If this situation arose today the estate would probably be physically divided into three equal shares however this was not so in those days. So, the sisters inherited “an undivided one third of the Manor of Lustleigh”.

 

The eldest of the sisters was Florence, the wife of John Wyndham of Orchard Wyndham, Somerset. Even in those days, the Wyndhams were a famous family. Four of Henry VIII’s queens – Jane Seymour, Catherine Howard, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Parr – were related to them. Two of the family attained the rank of Vice-Admiral of England in the 16th century. Later Wyndhams held high ministerial posts in the reigns of George I and George II.

 

There is a fascinating and somewhat macabre tale regarding Florence. When she married john Wyndham the couple lived at Kentsford near Watchet. In the second year of their marriage Florence became ill, died and was buried in the family vault of St. Decumans Church nearby. That night the verger, a man named Attwell who had assisted at the last rites, returned to the vault, prised open the lid of the lead coffin and proceeded to strip the corpse of her jewellery. The story goes that having secured all but a valuable ring that he was unable to remove, he drew his knife and started to sever the finger. To his horror, blood began to flow and the “corpse”, struggling to a sitting position, demanded to know where she was. The terrified man fled leaving behind a lantern, which Florence now thoroughly alive, took to guide her as she staggered over fields to her home. She was unable to rouse anyone at the house however, some of the servants were awoken by the howling of the favourite hound of their late mistress and went to investigate, only to retreat in terror barring the door behind them at the grim site of a blood-stained shroud that they took to be the ghost of their late mistress. Hearing the commotion her husband, made of sterner stuff, at once ordered the door to be opened and was shocked to see the wife he had just buried standing on the lawn in front of the house. Florence fully recovered and a few weeks later gave birth to a son – John – who when he grew up had nine sons to carry on the family name. So much for Florence who must have been a woman of considerable courage and initiative. The verger was never heard of again despite the family offering a substantial reward to him for being the means of restoring Florence to her family.

 

Florence’s share of the Manor passed to her son John (later Sir John) – that same son who was born a few weeks after Florence’s return from the grave.  Nicholas Wadham’s other sisters Joan Strangeways and Margaret Martin saw each of their shares of the Manor of Lustleigh eventually pass to their Children, John Strangeways and Joan’s four daughters – Anne Floyer, Elisabeth Hamon, Frances White and Jane Richards.

 

The above is taken from: Chapter VII of “The Story of Waye”, by Hugo Pellew and based on research by Dr. M. H. Hughes.

Lustleigh War Memorial – Maunder

Samuel Maunder

In the North East corner of our churchyard, you will find a memorial to Samuel Maunder.  Sam died on June 5th 1915 and was buried there five days later. On the grave, there is a single red rose and a note reading
ALWAYS REMEMBERED BY HIS SWEETHEART MARY MAUDE (MORTIMORE) MARSDEN AND HER FAMILY This rose and the note bears witness to the great love and loyalty that Samuel inspired in another, as will be explained later.

Maunder

Samuel Maunder was born in Lustleigh on December 2nd 1888, the son of William Maunder and Elizabeth née Osborne of Bowhouse Wreyland. He was baptised by Rev. Tudor. We know little of Samuels’s early life as he grew up in Lustleigh, but have found a clue that he was full of mischief. In Cecil Torr’s Small Talk in Wreyland, Torr wrote about the Wild Beast Shows, which moved round the towns of Devon, the camels and elephants being walked along the roads. He wrote that there was a salamander in one of these that an old lady described to him as “a critter as they calls a Sammy maunder”. Torr explained that Sammy was a Lustleigh boy that died in the war that used to play tricks on her, and she thought his fame had spread!

Samuel moved away from the village for three years to serve as a sapper in the Royal Engineers as soon as he was old enough. When he returned to Lustleigh aged about 20, he became an army reservist for six years before being called up in August 1914. We know he had just set up as a fish and poultry dealer living at 1 Pound Cottage when he was recalled to serve with the Royal Engineers. The only clue we have as to how he earned his living before that comes from a local newspaper report in 1913 of the funeral of an ex Kelly miner. The report said that his mates from the Kelly Mine were the bearers at his funeral and S. Maunder was listed as one of them, so it could be that he was employed there. There is no other evidence to support this however.  In 1911 when Sam was aged about 22, Lustleigh joined the celebrations for the Coronation of King George V. One of the events held was a sports day at Woodpark Meadow. Samuel came first in the high jump, second in the quarter mile, and was leader of the winning tug of war team. He was also listed as winner of the cock fighting! This had been banned since 1835 so it must have been the human equivalent,
In the early part of 1915, whilst serving abroad Samuel became very ill with TB and was sent back from France. He was sent to Dunrobin Castle in the North East of Scotland where huts had been built in the grounds for TB patents. The Duchess of Sutherland, who owned Dunrobin Castle, went to Belgium and France in August 1914 to set up field hospitals and worked in some of them. It might be that Sam was one of her patients, which would explain why he was sent to a hospital so far from his home.
Sam died three months after arriving in Scotland. In the July 1915 Parish Magazine the Rev. Johnson wrote about the remarkable demonstration of sympathy at Samuels’s funeral in Lustleigh. He wrote that a large assembly of parishioners of all classes were present at Sam’s funeral, and noted that Samuel had settled down in Lustleigh and had “marriage in view”.
These words “marriage in view” take us forward 100 years to explain the red rose now on the grave in our churchyard and the love story behind it*. In August 2014, the archive was contacted by the granddaughter of Mary Maude Mortimore. She explained that Sam and Mary were childhood sweethearts who grew up together in Lustleigh. Mary was born in Brook House in 1894, one of twelve children of William Mortimore. When the rest of Mary’s family moved to London, she stayed in the care of her aunt and uncle – Lillian and Scott Painter – who ran the Cleave Hotel. Aunt Lillian did not approve of Sam as she considered him of a different class. When Sam returned from France Mary joined him, and his Mother, in Scotland against Aunt Lillian’s wishes.  When Samuel died, Mary stayed on in Scotland for a time, and never returned to Lustleigh She did meet her Aunt again but not until 1934.  Mary never forgot Sam even after she got married. She would often cry when she thought about him years later, and always on Armistice Day. Mary’s son is now 94 years old but still came to Lustleigh last year to visit the grave of his mother’s great love, even though Sam was not his father. It was during this visit that flowers were put on the war memorial, and the rose on the grave.

Chris Vittle

* One hundred and thirty-nine friends and neighbours from the village paid for Sam’s memorial (a list of their names is held in the Archive Room).
On Friday 5th June 2015 there will be a muffled peal rung in memory of Samuel Maunder who died 100 years ago, the second of those on our memorial to die in the Great War.