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Tawstock
Tawstock maps
Historic maps of Tawstock and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Tawstock maps
Tawstock area books
Displaying 1 of 26 books about Tawstock and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Tawstock
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Tawstock.
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In The Hills of North Devon
Shovelled off to Boarding School, aged 7 (just), small boy, shorts, huge trunk, sandwiches and standing on the platform in London shivering and not just from the cold. School train huffing and puffing heading for Barnstaple feeling frankly miserable. All is new, all is not good and others sharing the same fate. Eventually arrived at St Michaels through huge gates, facing huge buildings and hordes of boys, cars unloading, parents fussing, boys blubbing and others tearing about. Write postcard home saying 'have arrived safely', using pen and make sure the blotches noted as tears in feeble attempt to get parents to change their minds and escape home........ That was the start, it got better. Posted to Cingalese and right at the back the great hall at back of long line of desks. 1st night in Orange Dorm a bit strange, woke up wondering where I was. Matron, a star. Most of the masters as well once you got to know them. Couple of scary ones like 'Toad' &... Read more
Tawstock Court Now!
Hello there,
We are planning to hold a Reunion Dinner on 20 September 2009 for all St Michael's Old Boys circa 1940 - 1965. If you would like to come, please phone us on 01271 343242. Regards, Nick Edwards, Bursar
Seven Years of my Childhood.
I was at St Michael's from 1943 to 1950. The school had just moved from Uxbridge because of the war. Old gilded pictures, suits of armour stored. We weren't suppose to go there. Great friends with Barry and Copp. We were known as the three musketeers. Hill, Ireland. Would love to have any contact. We played in the woods, on the terraces. Cecil Cook was our headmaster but died. It was quite a good life especially as my parents were overseas some of the time. In the Earth Google it looks little different. Playing fields where the kitchen garden was, a new swimming pool and a large new building next to it.
Schoolboy Memories
I was a boarder at St Michael's from late 1947 to 1953. The church was bordered by the Golden Valley on one side and woodlands on the other. I remember sketching Tawstock Church and getting a commendation for my efforts. We used to be taken to the church about once a month and added our treble voices to the congregation's praise. If one had to be away from home, the school did offer a different life; but only liveable to the full once one got over the sense of complete abandonment. I would love to hear from any of the local staff - such as Miss Waters or Miss Jenkins, or, Bridget Fitzpatrick who surely invested her whole life in those of others.
Devon memories
Happy Days at Mill Bridge
Hi to anyone looking at this photo, I lived just up the road at Valley Cottages and used to play by the bridge, we all sat on the bridge wall and had our photograph taken. I am on the right with wellington boots on, and my sister Jean is on the far left. The girl beside her is Ursula Edwards and the boy beside me is Colin Hutchings. I remember a Mr Handcock living in the cottage on the right and a Miss or Mrs Day living in the cottage on the left.
I have a picture postcard of this photo which was posted to my auntie in Preston in Lancashire, which years later she gave back to my mum who then gave it to me. The postcard has a 3d stamp on it which is franked by the Post Office with date of 18th Sept 1958.
The Clarke Family of Newton Tracey in The Early 19th Century
Frances “Fanny” Clarke was born about 1810 in Newton Tracey and my interest in both her and the village is because she married Henry Howard, a tin plate worker from Barnstaple. My middle name is Howard which carries on the family name from those far off days. As I have now retired and live in Devon I am looking forward to visiting the parish church at Newton Tracey to see for myself the church where no doubt she and her family worshipped, and the village where she lived. Perhaps I may even find family gravestones in the churchyard? Frances married Henry in 1838 in Islington Parish Church, London and all their many children were born around there. Why ever did they leave beautiful Devon I wonder?
Living in Hiscott Circa 1970s
My name is Jeremy Silwood and I stayed in Hiscott farm in the early 1970s with the family of Mr and Mrs Adair. I met Dianne Adair at a club one evening with my then friend Alistair Symons of Crawley in West Sussex and Dianne and I became boyfriend and girlfriend for 4 years. We intended to marry but her father was a very violent man and stopped the relationship by his jealousy of me and his daughter. I was in my early 20s and now am 58 and recall after losing my sales job in Brighton on Sussex it was suggested by Diane that we move to the farm of 8 acres and breed dogs in the family business. Dianne had two brothers, Glen and Sam, who I understand were very good boxers and moved form the house later and had a lot of police issues and trouble and I gather bought a restuarant. Dianne was my first real girlfriend and I don't know what happend to her after I... Read more
