Category: History
-
Chanter’s Barrow
This is the easternmost barrow of the eleven Chapman Barrows which we have named Chanter’s after the the Reverend Chanter who carried out an excavation over 100 years ago and published some drawings at the time. On site it is easy to see where the trench was driven into the mound, but it is not…
-
Over 50 years of revelling
Parracombe Revels came about because the villagers had so much fun celebrating the coronation of Elizabeth II that they wanted an annual event that could involve the whole community. Channelling the coronation, a Revel Queen was crowned each year, there was a gala on the Coronation Playing Field and usually a concert or play (with…
-
Parracombe 100 objects Village Walk and Map
Parracombe in One Hundred Objects Self-guided Walk The Parracombe in a 100 Objects Project aims to highlight objects within the landscape and village, or held in private possession, which give hints about daily life in the village from early times to the present day. Page down to see the ‘figure of 8’ route which includes…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…