History Group

Timberscombe History Group now has a dedicated website at St Petrock’s History Group which shows hundreds of historical pictures of Timberscombe and its residents with a wealth of background research. The site is searchable and each week will highlight a featured item of interest. You are able to contact us on any of the topics/places/people included on our dedicated site and either Tom or myself will respond to your message – this has already proved to be a valuable way to enlarge our knowledge base with photographs and information, and of course we can correct any errors.

Our thanks go to the many people who have generously donated images and information to the website, reflecting the life and times of a small Exmoor village. The information already provides a unique insight into rural life that might otherwise have been lost. We hope you enjoy it!

Listed below you will see a summary of the Lectures presented to the History Group to date along with downloadable copies of the Newsletters which were issued on a number of topics during Covid. This is a record of the activity of the History Group to date.

Tom Sperling and Marion Jeffrey

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The full report on the archaeological findings are available here.

The scope of the St Petrock’s History Group covers Timberscombe and the surrounding area of Exmoor. We aim to arrange interesting talks which represent the wide diversity of interests of our members. During the pandemic we issued newsletters which are available below. We are now able to resume our meetings and the next will be on Monday 21st March, then Monday 16th May and Monday 18th July. Feedback and topic suggestions are always welcome! Details of our talks can be found in the events section of this website

Newsletter: September 2021

The young people of Timberscombe participating in the 20th Century crazes of Scouting and Country Dancing

Much has been written about shorter childhoods in the earlier 20th century, and certainly in a country village such as Timberscombe, on the surface this would appear to be true. As Timberscombe School Log Books and Admission Registers record, most students finished their schooling when they turned fourteen, with “The Cause of Leaving” being “Left Of Age”.

Access the full newsletter here.

Guided Walk around Luxborough 20th September 2021

On a beautiful late summer’s evening Brian Scott, a History Group member, kindly led a group of 12 people around the village of Luxborough where he was born and where his family has lived for more than 100 years, mainly at Butchers Farm. As the first post-covid meeting of the History Group, it seemed right to be meeting outdoors although it was important to restrict numbers able to attend the walk given that so much of it was to take place on narrow country roads. Brian spoke with passion, knowledge and humour about Luxborough and the impact that industrial progress, the second world war and shifting social trends have had on a small Exmoor farming community.

Newsletters published by the St Petrock’s History Group

Wartime plane crash in Timberscombe

LECTURE TOPIC	SPEAKER	DATE OF MEETING
Our History – Through the Lens	Tom Sperling	20 January 2020
Soldier Jack	Patrick Hoyte	18 November 2019
Lorna Doone	Christopher Chanter	27 September 2019
Archaeology of St Petrock’s Church	Dr Jerry Sampson	16 September 2019
Rev JP Martin – Minister and Author	James Currey	15 July 2019
Somerset Archaeology	Stuart Blaylock	10 June 2019
Timberscombe Iron Age Hill Fort walk	Rob Wilson-North	5 June 2019
Farming and Estate on Exmoor	Sir Antony Acland	20 May 2019
English Church Bells and Bellringing	Sara Coward	18 March 2019
Life below Stairs – Servants in Dunster	Patrick Hoyte	21 January 2019
Timberscombe’s Fallen of WW1	Harvey Grenville	4 January 2019
Timberscombe Iron Age Hill Fort	Rob Wilson-North	19 November 2018
Archiving Images – Quantocks	Keith Edwards	17 September 2018
Stained Glass – our Heritage	Clare Maryon-Green	17 September 2018
A Blacksmith’s Life on Exmoor	Jim Horrobin	16 July 2018
Inaugural Meeting of History Group	Marion Jeffrey	4 June 2018

Our History Through the Lens

Soldier Jack

On 8th November the St Petrock’ s History Group hosted a mesmerising event when Patrick Hoyte, assisted by two readers – one of them was his wife, who stepped in at the last minute – gave us an account of one ordinary man’s experience of the Second World War. That was not all, though, as Mr Hoyte skilfully wove into his narrative, tellingly illustrated with correspondence read by his fellow presenters, the account of how he had pieced together the story. What we were presented was as full of shocks, surprise turns and dramas as an episode of “Who Do You Think You Are?” all delivered with a pace and energy which earned a well-deserved round of applause from the audience after the surprise ending.

I shall say no more as I do not want to be accused of leaking a spoiler, given that the whole story is published as a book, copies of which Mr Hoyte made available at the meeting.
Allan Sutton

Lorna Doone

On the 27th of September, 2019, Christopher Chanter, a Trustee of the Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society presented a Victorian Magic Lantern Slide Show entitled ” DOONE AND DUSTED, The Story Behind LORNA DOONE” . Here Mr. Chanter reads extracts from his privately published article which first appeared in the Exmoor Review 2015 and is based on his research into the origins of the Doone legend in Exmoor.

The reading was followed by a showing of a number of antique and beautifully preserved slides which illustrate the areas referred to in this romantic novel. They were presented by Mr. Chanter, using his Victorian Magic Lantern. This timeless machine and examples of the slides are below. 2019 is the 150th anniversary of LORNA DOONE, which has never been out of print. All photographs are courtesy of Richard Jeffrey.

Jerry Sampson has kindly made available the text of his research which is available in full on https://timberscombevillagehall.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/somerset-churches-project.pdf

On the 16th of September 2019, Dr. Jerry Sampson FSA , presented “The Archaeology of St. Petrock’s Church, Timberscombe”. The talk was a detailed exploration concerning the fabric of the church, with an unique finale. It has always been suggested that St. Petrock’s had two altars, the present one in the chancel and a side altar on the east end of the south aisle, likely devoted to St. Michael. Dr. Sampson’s theory is there was a third altar, dedicated as the Chapel of the Five Wounds. Here, Dr. Sampson points out it’s location in the middle of the south aisle, between the two windows on St. Petrock’s southern wall. The church’s one ornate column (seen in the upper right of this photograph) and the placements of bosses , the lamb boss and the boss of the Five Wounds (pictured below) support his educated belief. To the left, looking upward, are John Gratton, Elisabeth Powls, Martin Booth and the Rev. Caroline Ralph, Vicar of St. Petrocks. (The vase of flowers positioned on the font was in the church this evening as a small tribute to Sue Crawford, a founding member of the History Group, who passed away this same morning).

The diagram on the upper left indicates the probable position of the three altars, in red, with the Chapel of the Five Wounds on the bottom centre.
Bartenders of the evening, Tom Sperling and Alan Hines.
Slides of the Five Wounds boss and the altar positions were supplied by Dr. Sampson. All other photographs are by Marion Moncrieff.

In 1948, after volunteering as a chaplain to the British services in World War II, J. P. Martin, the future author of the six Uncle Books (about Uncle the millionaire elephant, usually attired in his purple dressing gown and illustrated by the reknown Quentin Blake), came with his wife Jane to Timberscombe, to serve as minister of the Methodist Chapel. He was here until 1960, living at 8 Willow Bank, serving his congregation, the community (he was Vice-Chairman of the Timberscombe Cricket Club) and writing about Uncle. His daughter, Stella Martin Currey, wrote of his time here as “A Dance of Joy on a Lonely Road” and on the 15th of July 2019, his grandson, James Currey, was the guest of the History Group.

Before a capacity audience, Marion Jeffrey introduced Mr. Currey. Displayed along St. Petrock’s Rood Screen were photographs of J.B. Martin’s life and family and Quentin Blake illustrations from the Uncle books, published from 1964 to 1973.

As a culmination of the evening, a painting by J.B. Martin, an interior of the Methodist Chapel, was presented to St. Petrock’s Church by Mr. Currey and happily accepted by John Gratton, Church Warden. It was an acknowledgement and celebration of “…in this Somersetshire village our Methodist Church has been, for years, in the habit of joining with the Anglican Church…” as written by J.B. Martin in July 1959.
All photographs by Richard Jeffrey

The full Lecture notes of the presentation given at St. Petrock’s, are available through this link on the Timberscombe website, with the kind permission of James Currey. https://timberscombevillage.com/timberscombe-methodist-chapel/

Stuart R. Blaylock, B.A., Ph.D., F.S.A., Independent Scholar and Archaeologist from Cullompton, Devon, came to Timberscombe on the 10th of June 2019. He spent two hours in the afternoon discussing specifics of St. Petrock’s Church and in the evening gave a presentation on the art and science of how to “read” and explore the history of a West Country building.

In 1955, when the Tudor south doorway of St. Petrock’s was uncovered, a medieval wall painting of King David playing his harp (seen above to the right) was rediscovered along with accompanying fragments of English text-that have not been able to be deciphered. The climax of Mr. Blaylock’s talk was his belief that there were two texts here. He proposes that the lower text, from the Book Of Common Prayer read “Take the psalm, bring hither the tabret (a tambourine), the merry harp with the lute” and more chillingly, the upper text states (from Ps 112 v 10) “The wicked shall see it, and be grieved, he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away, the desire of the wicked shall perish“.

Photographs by Richard Jeffrey

TIMBERSCOMBE HILL FORT

Rob Wilson-North, Head of Conservation & Access for ENPA was the History Group’s third speaker on the 19th of November 2018, with a talk about Timberscombe’s local iron age fort, first reported as an archaeological site in 1992. On the 5th of June 2019, Mr. Wilson-North returned for a walk to the site, entitled “AN EXPLORATION OF THE TIMBERSCOMBE HILL FORT”.

The History Group assembled at the North Porch of St. Petrock’s Church for the 25 minute walk to the hill fort site, on the southwestern edge of the village. Rob Wilson-North is to the left, holding papers.

On location, Rob Wilson-North points outs various locations of the iron-age fort, including where the furnace and borders are thought to have been and describes the particulars of exploring and maintaining an archaeological site in the modern world. All photos by Marion Jeffrey

Sir Antony Acland, the President of the Exmoor Society, was educated at Eton and earned his BA in Philosophy , Politics and Economics at Christ Church, Oxford. Entering the Foreign Office, he has served as Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Luxembourg, Spain and the USA. The Acland family has been associated with Exmoor since 1155. In 1745, Sir Thomas Acland, the 7th Baronet, married Elizabeth Dyke, altering his family name and gaining control of the Holnicote Estate. In 1944, Sir Richard Thomas Dyke Acland , the 15th Baronet, presented the estate to the National Trust.

Sir Antony, accompanied by his wife, Jennifer, spoke to the History Group about his life, his family and his Exmoor.

Marion Jeffrey ‘s introduction to Sir Antony Acland.
Photos: Gabrielle Horrobin

Richard Jeffrey offers a glass to Jim Horrobin (who accepts). Photo: Gabrielle Horrobin

*This meeting will tell you more than you could ever have realised about the proud and ancient tradition of bells and bell-ringing, especially in our part of Exmoor.*

After being introduced by Elisabeth Powls, Tower Captain of St. Petrock’s, a presentation was made by Sara Coward, Tower Captain of Stogumber and a bell ringer since the age of eleven. Here she is speaking of muffled bells, as used for funerals and often on Armistice Day. Photo: Marion Moncrieff

A Ringer’s Meeting held at St. Petrocks on the 13th of May, 1922.

In 2019, at St. Petrock’s Ringing Room, from left to right, Martin Booth, Tower Captain Elisabeth Powls, Allan Sutton, Alan Hines, Gwynie Poole, Andy Cooper, and Eric Lucas
Photo : Jenny Gratton

A talk and slide presentation by Dr. Patrick Hoyte, entitled LIFE BELOW STAIRS. Dr. Hoyte, a resident of Wootton Courteney and a longtime volunteer at Dunster Castle discussed aspects of being a servant from medieval to modern times. With his access to records of the Luttrell family at the castle, Dr. Hoyte was able to provide specific information on everything from salaries, the status of one servant to another and their relationships with their employers.

Dr. Patrick Hoyte , just before his presentation, LIFE BELOW STAIRS, at St. Petrock’s Church. Photo : Gabrielle Horrobin

An undated photograph (possibly the 1920’s) of an outing of the staff
of Dunster Castle and their families.
Photo : Courtesy of the Rural Life Museum of West Somerset

A photograph of the gardening team at Dunster Castle. It would be dated between 1887 and 1900, as Mr. Webber, the Head Gardener is seen on the left and these were his years in that position. In 1900 he left service to open Webber’s Nursery in Minehead. In typical Victorian fashion, each gardener holds the tool that most reflects their particular duty. To the right, a child has entered the photograph, seemingly holding a lamb- hopefully a toy one. Photo : courtesy of the Rural Life Museum of West Somerset

The St. Petrock’s History Group moved to the Timberscombe Village Hall for this presentation by Harvey Grenville, the author of “Timberscombe’s Fallen of World War I”. This booklet was written to commemorate the centenary of the outbreak of World War I, to reflect on its consequences to the village and its people, and mostly to honour the men of Timberscombe who lost their lives. The names of 66 local men are listed on the wooden memorial tablet in St. Petrock’s Church, who served in the war. Mr. Grenville’s book profiles the twelve who gave their lives. Harvey and his wife, Jeanna , then traveled to the grave-sites of the fallen, an experience they shared during this talk. Details of all of the men and with a great deal of supporting background information, are available in a beautifully presented booklet from St Petrock’s Church priced £5. Excerpts are available https://timberscombevillage.com/timberscombes-fallen-of-ww1/

Harvey Grenville holding a copy of “Timberscombe’s Fallen of World War I”, beside the 15^th century font at St. Petrock’s Church. This booklet was a non-commercial endeavour, with all proceeds going to the church. Photo : Gabrielle Horrobin

Attendees gathering for Harvey Grenville’s presentation of IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TIMBERSCOMBE’s FALLEN in the Timberscombe Village Hall. To the right, Tony Webb is seen talking to Mr and Mrs Grenville. Photo : Richard Jeffrey

Jeanna Grenville opened the talk and slide show of IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TIMBERSCOMBE’S FALLEN, describing the personal impact and importance of her husband’s research and writing in creating this book, and how it lead to their visits to the memorial gravesites in 2018. Photo : Richard Jeffrey

At the kitchen window of the Village Hall, during IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TIMBERSCOMBE’S FALLEN are Erica Holmes, Sheila Ridd and Carol Wheeler, serving tea, coffee, cake and biscuits—as they have generously done many times before. Photo : Richard Jeffrey

From left to right, Allan Sutton, Bob and Jenny Masters at IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF TIMBERSCOMBE’S FALLEN Photo : Richard Jeffrey

The third meeting of the History Group welcomed Rob Wilson-North, Head of Conservation &Access for ENPA, to give a Lecture about the background, and what has been understood about our local iron-age hillfort since it was first reported as an archaeological site in 1992. A detailed earthwork survey was completed in 1995, geophysical and geochemical surveys carried out in the early 2000s, followed by an archaeological excavation and Open Day in 2010.

Rob Wilson-North describing to an enthralled audience how the Timberscombe iron-age fort has been investigated and understood thus far. Photo : Richard Jeffrey

A capacity audience at Rob Wilson-North’s Lecture.
Photo : Richard Jeffrey

The second meeting of the St. Petrock’s welcomed two speakers, Keith Edwards and Clare Maryan Green. Mr. Edwards, a leader of the Quantock Hills AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) Service volunteers, conducted a talk about the proper procedures (and what is decidedly *not* proper) when archiving photographs, postcards, paintings and other graphic images. He heads The Quantock Views Picture Archive, a collection of images of this Somerset area, some contributed by people living in the Quantocks and others from a variety of sources.
Ms. Green is a member of the Somerset Guild of Craftsmen and a Freeman of the City of London. She lives and her studio is on the moors of Exmoor. As a stained glass artist, she specializes in painted and fine stained glass. Ms. Green is also a painter, learned about old glass and is partial to sheep.

Keith Edwards beginning his slide show, A VIEW THROUGH TIME-AN ARCHIVE OF IMAGES OF THE QUANTOCK HILLS, concerning the twists and turns of archiving historic images. Photo : Richard Jeffrey

Clare Maryan Green exhibiting an example of stained glass in front of the 16^th century Rood Screen at St. Petrock’s Church, as part of her presentation, STAINED GLASS – HERITAGE AT WORK. Photo : Richard Jeffrey

People of Timberscombe, attending the lecture by Clare Maryan Green and examining samples of stained glass. Visible from left to right: Allan Sutton, John and Pippa Prideaux, Ian Moncrieff, Owen Rush, Erica Holmes, XXXXXXXXX and Carol Wheeler. Photo : Richard Jeffrey

Master Blacksmith James Horrobin (FWCB) launched the St. Petrock’s History Group with a talk and slide show about his life and work, entitled A BLACKSMITH’S LIFE ON EXMOOR. Jim, a life-long resident of West Somerset is a member of the British Artist Blacksmith’s Association and the Devon Guild of Craftsmen. His commissions have included gates for the Metalwork Gallery at the Victoria & Albert Museum, lanterns for St. Paul’s Chapel on Broadway in New York City and The Churchill Memorial Screen at St. Paul’s Cathedral, London.
He and his wife, Gabrielle, live at Furze View, Timberscombe, where he also maintains his studio.

Marion Jeffrey, at the lectern of St. Petrock’s Church, welcoming everyone to the opening evening of the St. Petrock’s History Group and preparing to introduce James Horrobin. Jim is seen to the left. Photo: Richard Jeffrey

**The Doverhay Forge**
A photograph of the Doverhay Forge, at Doverhay, Porlock, that has been identified, by different sources, as being taken in 1900 and 1911. The head blacksmith at the time of this photograph was James (Jim) Norman, who was succeeded by his son, Tom. The forge was next owned by Fred Kent, whose family had been blacksmithing in West Somerset since at least 1832. Later the Doverhay Forge was headed by artist/Head Blacksmith **Jim Horrobin,** who created the designs for some of his most renowned commissions from his studio here. Photograph courtesy of the Rural Life Museum of West Somerset

*The invitation to the village posted for the inaugural meeting in June 2018.*

36 people attended which confirmed there was a desire for the formation of a History Group. Photo : Richard Jeffrey

June 4th meeting agreed that Marion Jeffrey would co-ordinate the History Group for the first year, Carl Farmer would be Treasurer, Tom Sperling would be Photo Archivist and Paul Sheldon would assist with Archiving of objects and images. Gabrielle Horrobin would provide creative input to the production of posters to advertise the meetings, and take photographs of the meetings, along with Richard Jeffrey, to add to the archive. Meetings would be held in St Petrock’s Church on the the third Monday of alternate months and annual membership should be £10, with £1 additional per meeting and £4 per visitor to encourage membership. In view of the support extended by other villages it was decided to name the group Local History Group for Timberscombe, Wootton Courtenay and Neighbours.

Mary Siraut, County Editor of Somerset Victoria County History, kindly gave a Lecture titled Timberscombe and its Neighbours in June 2017 at the invitation of the St Petrock’s Timberscombe Parochial Church Council (PCC), as part of a weekend of celebration of the patronal feast which historically has been celebrated at the beginning of June.

Her research https://www.victoriacountyhistory.ac.uk/sites/default/files/work-in-progress/timberscombe_intro_and_landownership.pdf

Packed attendance at her Lecture in the Village Hall clearly demonstrated the level of interest in matters historical and so in July 2018 a new local group was formed : St Petrock’s History Group for Timberscombe and its Neighbours.

There are a number of interesting websites and history societies which cover our area of Exmoor and some of them are listed here:

Somerset Archives https://swheritage.org.uk/somerset-archives/

Friends of Somerset Archives : https://www.friendsofsomersetarchives.org.uk/