Author: Linda Blanchard
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100 Objects 32: Medieval Cross Slab St Petrock’s
You may well have walked over this stone many times as it lies hidden beneath the rug at the door of St Petrock’s Church, possibly to try and protect it from further erosion. We don’t know where this originally came from but possibly it was once placed over a grave which is long forgotten and…
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100 Objects 31: Carved stone at St. Petrock’s Church
Close inspection of the south west buttress of the church tower will reveal this beautifully carved but damaged stone set into the corner. It is carefully positioned to reveal two faces, one carved with a quatrefoil ( four leaves) and to the rear a saltire (diagonal cross). One side face is blank and the other…
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100 Objects 30: Medieval field systems
If you are out walking when the sun is low in the sky or snow has begun to melt you may see curved ridges in many of the fields around Parracombe. These are know as ‘ridge and furrow’ and are a remnant of ancient farming methods. Peasant farmers were allocated strips of land on which…
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100 Objects 29: Star of David on Christchurch Tower
As you are about to enter Christchurch porch look up and to the left you will see that one of the stones in the tower wall is inscribed with a small Star of David. So far we have not been able to find out when or why this stone was inscribed so if you have…
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Object 28 Christchurch Foundation Stone
Dated 12th September 1877 the foundation stone at the South East corner of the churhc was laid by John Nott Pyke-Nott. The Reverend Peter Leakey was Rector of Parracombe at this period and the Reverend Pike-Nott was Pastor. It would be interesting to know his relationship with a previous incumbent John Pyke. The Rev Leakey…
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100 Objects 27: Village Hall Foundation Stone
Did you know that there are twelve foundation stones for the village hall and I’m sure each one has a story to tell? For Object 27 I have chosen just one. This was laid by M Forbes Henningsen from Pekin China. Does anyone know who he might be? Other stones were laid by people who…
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100 Objects 26: Graffiti on the wall at Renaissance House
These two inscriptions can be found in the roadside wall near Bodley Cross. They are on separate stones and seem to be two sets of initials. We have no idea when they were carved into the stone or why. The AL & GS is deeper whilst the other is more of a surface scratch. It…
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100 Objects 25: “11 ft” inscribed on a stone
This stone is in the wall of the barn by the roadside at Renaissance House near Bodley Cross. The barn was probably built in the second half of the 20th century and it looks like some of the stone is re-used from another structure. We don’t know what the figures refer to, one suggestion is…
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100 Objects 24: Inscribed daisy wheel. St Petrock’s Church
How many of you have noticed this “daisy wheel” inscribed into a column in St Petrock’s church? There’s also an incomplete version just above it and they would have been drawn using a compass. Daisy wheels are found fairly often in older buildings, usually near doors or windows, and it is believed that originally they…
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100 Objects 23: Red Phone Boxes
We have two surviving iconic red phone kiosks in Parracombe. One just above the Village Hall and the other at the junction of Church Lane and Parracombe Hill. We are currently using one as a local resource centre for sharing books, games and DVDs. Until September of 2021 the box at the junction of Church…