Sidmouth, Esplanade looking East c1955

Heather and Gorse Clog Morris at the Sidmouth Folk Festival

Each August huge numbers of dancers and musicians head to Sidmouth for the annual folk festival - a week long event which celebrates our national heritage of music, dance and song.

This year I was able to play my piano accordian at the festival for the first time for many years as our local morris side - Heather and Gorse Clog Morris from Combeinteignhead - went along to dance on the "prom" on the traditional Sunday outing for local performers.

We were so lucky with the weather as our dancers began at 11 am for a morning session, followed by a lunchtime break in the pubs, and then an early afternoon seesion soon after 1pm. It was lucky because soon after we finished playing our music and dancing on the prom around 3pm the heavens opened! The crowds put up their umbrellas and scattered for shelter in nearby cafes and ice cream parlours. Our dance spot was opposite the Bedford Hotel just a short walk along the prom view shown here so we were able to dash for cover ourselves.

Whitethorn Morris dance at Sidmouth

This view is little different from the one seen by Whitethorn Morris at the Sidmouth International Folk Festival on several occasions in the 1980's. We danced and I played my accordian for the Whitethorn Band on the prom and in "The Arena".  

On the last Friday night of the festival we danced our way through the town in a torchlight procession and extinguished our flaming torches in the sea. Thousands of spectators lined both sides of the streets and it is a magical memory that I shall always treasure.

I revisited Sidmouth in August 2006 and watched dancers at the Festival performing on the prom more or less exactly where this picture was taken all those years ago. The steps down to the beach are different and there is now a high concrete kerb separating the road from the prom - very necessary as the prom was absolutely packed with festival goers crowding round the performers.

On this occasion Whitethorn Morris were not there so I was a spectator myself - it did feel strange without my accordian! I met a busker with an old upright honky-tonk piano on the prom and he let me have a go with a couple of ragtime numbers. When I stopped and turned around I found a crowd of people behind listening to me! It was a hot day so I went for a dip in the sea to cool off with Elizabeth. A lovely day out and it brought back happy memories of our visits to the Folk Festival with Whitethorn Morris in the 1980's!  

I write this today as we have just had a daytrip to Sidmouth enjoying what feels like the first day of Spring in 2007 - walking along the prom, throwing pebbles in the sea and having a picnic sitting on the rocks by Jacobs Ladder. The only thing missing from an almost perfect day out was the music and dancing!

Carter family of Harpford

My forebears came from the village of Harpford. In the Tithe schedule of 1839 Joel Carter rented the small cottage in the centre of the photo and also the cottage on the far right (which had a workshop at the back.) Joel was born at Podbury's Cottage (then a farm) which I think is at the back of this photo - certainly Podbury's is the main subject of the other Harpford photo. In the 21st century all these buildings are still there, little altered externally except that there is now more vegetation - trees/bushes etc. Joel Carter farmed at Harts which was on the outskirts of the village and has long been destroyed. Joel and his wife Mary (nee Paver) had 15 children of whom 9 lived to adulthood.
The lane is still very narrow and the area of the River Otter valley best appreciated on foot.

My Grandfathers Cottage

Podburys Cottage was my Grandfathers cottage. (William Cooper). It was then named Ginko Cottage. My grandfather was a gardener at Harpford House and I believe that this was a "Tied" cottage.

I personally lived in Ginko cottage from birth in 1940 to my grandfathers death in 1946.