Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are held in Lustleigh Village Hall – TQ13 9TA at 7.30 pm – Refreshments from 7.00 pm
Members – entry is free on payment of an annual subscription of £10.00 per person (due in January).
Visitors are welcome – charge £5.00
In the summer there are visits arranged, which are bookable in advance and may attract extra charges.
2024 Events Programme
Wednesday January 31st1
Devon Air Ambulance
Over 30 years of steady growth, the pilots and paramedics of the Devon Air Ambulance charity have saved more and more patients’ lives across the county. One of their volunteers tells the story of their achievement.
Wednesday February 28th
The Building of Exeter Cathedral – John Allan
How did the masons set about making the cathedral? Where does it sit in the development of English Gothic cathedrals? Fully illustrated with photos taken in the course of John’s work as the cathedral archaeologist.
Wednesday March 27th
Ancient Tracks on Dartmoor – Emma Cunis
The Dartmoor tracks were used by farmers, tinners, monks, merchants, peat cutters, sailors, the dead and more. Emma illustrates her grandfather Eric Hemery’s research into the history and mystery of these beautiful old ways.
Wednesday April 24th
Devon and Emancipation in 1834 – Todd Gray
Todd looks at the extent of slave-ownership in Devon at the emancipation, his documentary research taking us beyond the polarised views of the present day.
Wednesday May 22nd
Visit: A Taste of Torquay’s Golden Age
For the century after 1840, Torquay was the wealthiest of resorts. Local historian Kevin Dixon guides us round some prominent landmarks ending with the option of lunch in Lutyens’ only pub and an afternoon tour of the Cockington estate.
Wednesday May 29th
Wild Days and Medieval Knights – Andrew Cooper
The story of his secluded South Devon farm from prehistory to the present, beginning with an ancient arrowhead and ending with a live TV broadcast complete with satellite trucks, barn owls and badgers.
Wednesday June 19th
Visit: Ashcombe Tower
By invitation to the Arts & Crafts/Art Deco country house built by the modernist Brian O’Rorke in 1935 for Elizabeth and Ralph Rayner (MP for Totnes). Limited numbers as this private house is not usually open to the public.
EVENT – LUSTLEIGH COMMUNITY ARCHIVE – OPEN DAY
SATURDAY, JULY 6TH, 10.30 am to 3.30 pm
Lustleigh Village Hall
Sponsored by 
Thursday July 18th
Visit: The Italian Garden at Great Ambrook
An important historic garden from before the First World War undergoing restoration, following Angela Dodd-Compton’s talk in September 2023.
Wednesday September 25th
Cries from the Workhouse Steps – John Ellis
From 1836 to the 1940s, the welfare and social care of Lustleigh’s most vulnerable was provided by Newton Abbot Workhouse, eventually the second largest Poor Law union west of Bristol. John explains how this worked.
Wednesday October 30th
‘To charm the eye and captivate the soul’- Rosemary Yallop
John Nash, Humphrey Repton and the Architecture of the Picturesque in Devon. Our county’s role in the Picturesque, England’s special contribution to landscape and architecture in the decades around 1800.
Wednesday November 27
AGM followed by refreshments and entertainment (to be confirmed nearer the date)
The AGM is free and open to all, please join us and enjoy a festive drink on us!