Stoke Gabriel memories
Here are memories of Stoke Gabriel and the local area. You can start now: Add your own Memory of Stoke Gabriel or a Stoke Gabriel photo.
Singing in The Middle Bar!
From early 1970 to 1975, when I left Brixham, we used to go on a very regular basis, winter times Friday/Saturday, Summer time every night (except Sundays) when I could make it, and sing along with my local friends from Paignton and Brixham with a fine lady on the piano, "Winnie" ,what great times we had!! When I have had a few drinks now I can even remember all the words! even now at 57! Is there anybody out there who also remembers those times?? Back in that time - yes! they had 3 bars open in the summer at busy times!! Times you never forget!!!
A Village Entertainment at The Church House Inn
This is the spot where the dancers and musicians of Dartington Morris and their guests Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers performed in August 2008. The view shows some villge women sitting on a low terrace where a crowd had gathered for the dance performance just recently!
I recall there is now a plaque on the front wall of the Inn inviting people to try the village stocks although that doesn't appear in this Francis Frith view.
I brought my piano accordian along and played in the band for Heather and Gorse and also enjoyed a pint of lovely Flowers Best Bitter! There were probably a hundred folks gathered around the front of the Inn and also standing in the road enjoying the show! There was a family of three boys who we encouraged to join in the music making with our band.
Dartington Morris With Heather And Gorse Clog Dancers at The Church House Inn
This view is EXACTLY the spot where the dancers and musicians of Dartington Morris and their guests Heather and Gorse Clog Dancers performed in August 2008.
It was a lovely warm August evening and a crowd of villagers and holidaymakers gathered for the dance performance at 8pm. I recall there is now a plaque on the front wall of the Inn inviting people to try the village stocks but that doesn't appear in this photo.
I brought my piano accordian along and played in the band for Heather and Gorse and also enjoyed a pint of lovely Flowers Best Bitter! There were probably a hundred folks gathered around the front of the Inn and also standing in the road enjoying the show!
Memories of Devon
Happy Days
In Sept 1968 I and my five children arrived and fell in love Dittisham, just too late sadly to save the village school from closing. Eventually after renting first Dunedin Cottage and then Red Rose Cottage we were given a council house and lived there for the next 17 years. We have so many happy memories and all the children, now grown up with children and even grandchildren of their own, like to revisit Dittisham with the own families and friends. They have many stories to pass down and still appreciate the freedom they had living in this idylic riverside village, the wonderful people they met during those years, the good start they had at Blackawton village school with headmasters Brian Gerry and Mr Kemp (Ian?), including the many great events that were held over the years including "The Pied Piper of Dittisham", Dittisham's first Pantomime which, with Brian Fricker's help I wrote to boost the funds for Blackawton school's swimming pool. Despite a roller coaster life as a... Read more
Dittisham Family Connection
My family (Hall) took the lease out on Greenway Farm in the 1850's. I visited this, and Galmpton (3/4 of a mile away) which were Hall "haunts" for many years until the 1890's, when the family seems to have headed to 'all parts'. I would love to know why they left such a lovely area - was farming terrible during those years? I visited in March 2011 and found the area still was 'in the time period' - not ruined by crass development, and extremely tranquil. Good to see the Census results pointed to lime burning, and sure enough, on the river foreshore at the bottom of the farm, the original lime kiln is still there to this day. Truly a magical area if there was ever one.
Past Schoolmaster
My Gt grandfather, William James Hawken was a certified schoolmaster at Galmpton between 1875-1880. His youngest child, Frances Marian, was born there on 10th October 1875. She went on to marry William Henry Birch, who was a son of the iconic Betsy Birch who founded the London omnibus transport system, after the early demise of her husband William in 1846.
Hall's of Galmpton
The Hall family lived scattered about Devon since the late 1600's, from what I can gather. In the 1850's to the 1890's they seemed to settle around Galmpton and Dittisham, later into Torquay and beyond. My GGG Grandfather William Hall, lived in Galmpton as did most of his family. His son, Captain William Hall, master mariner, and his uncle (also William) plied the Dart in a series of small sailing ships, including the "Lord Napier" which in 1898 ran a coastal trade of timber, sand, cement, bricks and other heavy materials. In 1903 the boat hit the "Horse Ferry" spearing a covered wagon with the bow sprit. Two hours after breaking free, it carried on up the Dart and went aground off Noss, taking a week to be freed. Which Captain William may have been at the helm (or was it his crew), is unknown to me. The rest of the Hall's were mainly either farmers or blacksmiths, ending up in Torquay, London and later Australia.
Marriage Between Ivy Alice Gillard to Robert Alexander Bent
This date Oct 6th, in 1945, while serving in the RCAF, I was married to Ivy Gillard in this olden church. It was a bright sunny day. Ivy came to Canada with our daughter Barbara in October of 1946. She loved Canada very much, and even though she returned to her homeland on a few occasions, she was truly a Canadian. Ivy was taken from us in 1979 at age 56. She was born with a defective heart. It will always ben the second most important date in my life. My birth was of course the first. I loved Paignton while there. God Bless you all.
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