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Further Items from Peter Christie's 'Looking Back' Column
In the North Devon Journal (2011)
Provided by Peter Christie
Extracts from past issues (1861-1986) of the Journal
2 | 1 | 1851 | Nicholas Perry, described as 'a disorderly character' is fined 25p for being drunk in Torrington. The Mayor and councillors of Torrington attend a church service on Christmas Day 'as usual'. |
5 | 1 | 1911 | Electric light is installed at the Barbrook Wesleyan chapel in Lynton. Pensions are paid to elderly Workhouse inmates for the first time. |
4 | 1 | 1951 | Plans are announced to make Barnstaple a 'Garden City'. Bideford town council ask householders not to give Christmas tips to local dustmen. |
3 | 1 | 1986 | Halley's Disco at the old Strand Cinema in Bideford has 600 attend the first night. 80 locals at Bishopsnympton sign a petition in favour of a village pub. |
9 | 1 | 1851 | A Durham Ox 'of speculative notoriety' is auctioned at Torrington for £35. Thomas Dillon and Richard Hanger 'two notorious poachers' of Dolton are gaoled for 3 months. |
12 | 1 | 1911 | The Torrington Castle bowling green is relaid at a cost of £35. 'A capital ground has been secured' for the newly reformed Barnstaple Rugby Football Club. |
11 | 1 | 1951 | Brigadier C.Peto MP for North Devon calls for Britain to be ready for war with Russia. A local estate agent reports that half of all house sales in North Devon are to people from the Midlands. |
9 | 1 | 1986 | Two magistrates receive parking tickets whilst hearing a case at Barnstaple. Claude Squire, Mayor of South Molton, goes on a New Year's Day swim at Croyde for charity. |
16 | 1 | 1851 | Mary Jones aged 70 dies after 40 years as an inmate of the Pilton Poorhouse. Second Back Lane in Barnstaple is renamed Trinity Street. |
19 | 1 | 1911 | A huge cliff fall on Lundy demolishes the only approach to Pilot's Quay. 54 South Street, South Molton is sold for £216. |
19 | 1 | 1961 | Bideford 'flying saucers' turn out to be Chinese fire balloons. A hovercraft link between Ilfracombe and South Wales is being developed. |
16 | 1 | 1986 | A plan to turn Bideford Quay into a 'Medieval Waterfront' attraction is unveiled. Bob Domleo of Umberleigh becomes chairman of Devon NFU. |
24 | 1 | 1861 | The Overseers of Marwood are summonsed for not repairing the parish roads Charles Hopper of Woolsery is accused of poaching at Leworthy Barton. |
26 | 1 | 1911 | The government order a limit on the number of pebbles being removed from the ridge at Westward Ho! Not a single birth has been registered at Abbotsham for a year. |
26 | 1 | 1961 | Combe Martin council is to spend £5500 on development land next to their car park. Bideford Art School may become a 'Youth Centre'. |
23 | 1 | 1986 | It is suggested that the new North Devon Link Road is called The Golden Coastway. The West Country Inn at Hartland is attacked by an arsonist. |
31 | 1 | 1861 | South Molton churchgoers are advised to take hot water bottles to church as it is so cold. In Barnstaple Mary MacManus calls Harriet Jones 'a turn up nose gipsy-breed fortune teller.' |
2 | 2 | 1911 | Appledore Boy Scouts are 'entering into their work with a zest that is encouraging.' Lynton town council order A.Rose to close 'Rat's Castle' in Queen Street. |
2 | 2 | 1961 | The Yelland power station blacks out after a lightning strike. Ilfracombe Conservatives raise just 37p in annual subscriptions. |
30 | 1 | 1986 | The North Devon Journal-Herald switches from machine typesetting to computer production. 8000 people sign a petition to keep the maternity wards at the NDDH. |
7 | 2 | 1861 | Barnstaple town council discuss sewage problems at the town's prison. South Molton town council give £25 to the town's Mechanics Institute to buy books. |
9 | 2 | 1911 | Barnstaple Soup Kitchen opens and serves 750 quarts to the poor. In Bideford the Old Ship Tavern, Three Tuns, Princess Royal and King of Prussia pubs are closed. |
9 | 2 | 1961 | 100 houses are to built at Shoreland Road, Barnstaple Messrs.Jones' drapery shop in Ilfracombe High Street is wrecked by a runaway car from Oxford Grove. |
6 | 2 | 1986 | A huge fire destroys the upholstery business of Clifford Coates in Bideford. St.Peter's church in Barnstaple is desecrated by vandals using it as a toilet. |
14 | 2 | 1861 | Mr.Harris of Lynton makes uniforms for the town's Rifle Corps. The Torrington Penny Bank is opened in the Market Hall - £8 is deposited. |
16 | 2 | 1911 | A new Lodge of Freemasons opens at Holsworthy. At Torrington TB patients take the 'open air cure' on the Commons. |
16 | 2 | 1961 | Vera Jarvis wins the Westdown Shrove Tuesday pancake race. An 18 year old labourer goes 'berserk' in the Barnstaple Rock Club. |
13 | 2 | 1986 | A bomb alert sees 200 customers leave the Three Tuns in Barnstaple's High Street. The 'true' figure for unemployment in Ilfracombe is put at 35%. |
22 | 2 | 1861 | Sam Williams a Barnstaple apprentice runs away to Cardiff - he is gaoled for 1 month. The steam boiler at Molland copper mine explodes and kills 2. |
23 | 2 | 1911 | The Ilfracombe Women's Social & Political Union hold a meeting to get votes for women. The 22 North Devon midwives are said to be 'on the whole satisfactory.' |
23 | 2 | 1961 | Landkey parish council are to spend £30 on improvements to their parish hall. Westleigh Methodist chapel is reopened after 7 years of fundraising. |
20 | 2 | 1986 | A horse dies of anthrax on a Newton Tracey farm. The New Inn at Goodleigh is for sale at £130,000. |
28 | 2 | 1861 | The furniture workshop of George Nichols next to Torrington Market catches fire. Two itinerant 'quacks' are fined £1 each at Barnstaple for obstructing the streets. |
2 | 3 | 1911 | Police oppose a new licence for the Bath Hotel, Westward Ho! as the resort is 'declining'. Cutcliffe 'a young coloured boxer' of Barnstaple is knocked out in a local bout. |
2 | 3 | 1961 | The Boni Family of Ilfracombe are to open a new £8000 ice cream parlour/coffee bar in the High Street. Foot and mouth breaks out at Chulmleigh. |
27 | 2 | 1986 | Temperatures of -20oC are recorded at Simonsbath on Exmoor. Hatherleigh is attempting to get a Mayor - after 1000 years without one. |
7 | 3 | 1861 | Mrs.Hartley of York House, Bideford raises £250 for the lifeboats by selling her poems. Sergeant John Hill, a Waterloo veteran, dies in Georgeham. |
9 | 3 | 1911 | Northam council can find no locals to support amalgamating with Bideford. The Cincetorix steamer of Antwerp is wrecked at St.Catherine's Tor, Hartland. |
9 | 3 | 1961 | Ilfracombe Sea Cadet Peter Rothwell wins an RSPCA medal for rescuing a sheep. Foot and mouth spreads from Chulmleigh to Burrington. |
6 | 3 | 1986 | Bideford Pannier Market is saved from a huge fire in a neighbouring furniture store. Plans to build a new library in Barnstaple Cattle Market are announced. |
14 | 3 | 1861 | A letter from a North Devonian in the USA speaks of the new President Lincoln and the 'Southern Confederacy'. Thirza Matthews of Torrington is tried for the murder of her child. |
16 | 3 | 1911 | Mortehoe teachers deny making children sit in their wet clothes after rain. Fremington Quay is lit by the Non-Explosive Gas Company. |
16 | 3 | 1961 | The body of a 14 year old boy is found when Jennett's reservoir in Bideford is drained. Plans for a wall behind the Westward Ho! pebble ridge are 'too expensive.' |
13 | 3 | 1986 | Torridge faces a barrage of complaints over modern style lights erected in Bideford town hall - they are removed. The Reverend Jeremy Bell sets up South Molton Recycle. |
21 | 3 | 1861 | Berry Quarry at Combe Martin collapses and two men die. Thomas Shepherd of Bradworthy returns from the Australian goldfields a very rich man. |
23 | 3 | 1911 | £99 is collected for the Combe Martin Parish Nurse Fund. Barnstaple Conservative Club hears a lecture on the 'dangers' of Germany. |
23 | 3 | 1961 | Sticklepath railway bridge is strengthened with pre-stressed concrete girders. A new 100 space car park is suggested at Wilder Road, Ilfracombe. |
20 | 3 | 1986 | Bideford Rugby Club is said to be bankrupt. A petition is launched to save Hatherleigh's Bridge Inn from being demolished for road improvements. |
28 | 3 | 1861 | John Toms dies aged 65 - he was the Ilfracombe correspondent of the Journal from 1824. Barnstaple town council order the drawing of a new town map at a cost of £105. |
30 | 3 | 1911 | A new Lloyd's Bank opens at the corner of Northfield Road, Ilfracombe. A Bideford member of the Salvation Army charges Mortimer Lewis as father of her illegitimate child. |
30 | 3 | 1961 | All 4 cattle markets in North Devon are closed due to foot and mouth., Bideford's Old Town cemetery becomes a play area. |
27 | 3 | 1986 | The old Town Station in Barnstaple is offered for letting as a wine bar, An arsonist attacks the North Devon Health Authority office in Litchdon Street, Barnstaple. |
4 | 4 | 1861 | The Ilfracombe Coloured Troupe fife and drum band' give a concert. Bideford councillors try to stop smuts falling from the overhead tramway in Barnstaple Street. |
6 | 4 | 1911 | Braunton council buy a recreation ground for £575 to mark the coronation of George V. Miss Ball, an Ilfracombe suffragette, has her goods seized after refusing to pay her taxes. |
6 | 4 | 1961 | A planned one way traffic system for Hartland meets a lot of local opposition. The caravan park at Lynton's Valley of the Rocks is to close. |
3 | 4 | 1986 | Chart-toppers 'The Real Thing' appear at the Tyrol Nite Spot in Westward Ho! A picture of the Exmoor Beast printed by the Journal is denounced as a hoax. |
11 | 4 | 1861 | Edward Welch of Torrington leaves his wife and 4 children for another woman - he is gaoled for 3 months. James Cudmore is fined 10/- for getting drunk at Dolton Revel. |
13 | 4 | 1911 | Torrington football club win their first ever championship - the whole town celebrates. Islanders dig on Lundy to find treasure but only find human bones. |
13 | 4 | 1961 | A recruitment campaign by Barnstaple St.John Ambulance gets not a single response. A Taddiport based midwife is struck off for stealing drugs. |
10 | 4 | 1986 | A fire destroys the huge dining room at the Westward Ho! Holiday Centre. New 'Skipper' trains are introduced on the Barnstaple-Exeter line. |
18 | 4 | 1861 | A sailor on 'the new schooner Alice, owned by the Rolle Canal Company' drowns in the Torridge. Burial fees in Barnstaple cemetery increase by 50%. |
20 | 4 | 1911 | A shunting horse at Bideford station is killed by a train. Johnston's 'portable Britannia Theatre' is wrecked by a storm at Barley Grove, Torrington. |
20 | 4 | 1961 | The referee at a Barnstaple-Bideford football match is stoned by the crowd. Twelve people search for the ghostly 'Black Dog of Torrington.' |
17 | 4 | 1986 | Madeley's Homecare at Pottington is ordered to stop opening on Sundays. A meet of the Dulverton West Foxhounds on Braunton Burrows ignites a huge row. |
25 | 4 | 1861 | Two girls Coles and Stanbury are fined 5/- each for loitering on Bideford Quay 'for the purpose of prostitution.' Torrington masons demand a rise of 4d a day. |
27 | 4 | 1911 | Liberal Parliamentary candidate Sir G.Baring is stoned by youths at Appledore. A new Territorial Army hall is built of reinforced concrete at South Molton. |
27 | 4 | 1961 | 2 new housing estates are announced for Frankmarsh and Sunset Heights in Barnstaple. Posters for a CND meeting in Barnstaple are torn down by opponents. |
24 | 4 | 1986 | Vandals attack the organ in Pilton Church. Bideford Conservative Club vote to admit women as members - after a century of refusal. |
2 | 5 | 1861 | St.Mary's church in Bideford buys a new archive chest. The Torrington Penny Bank has 319 depositors and takes in about £8 per week. |
4 | 5 | 1911 | Ceilings in the Imperial Hotel, Barnstaple collapse after a gas explosion. The Anchor Inn, Hartland is sold for £590. |
4 | 5 | 1961 | Ten men are arrested in Barnstaple for assaulting the police. The Ministry of Transport takes over Barnstaple Long Bridge. |
1 | 5 | 1986 | The Bideford Building Society is to amalgamate with the West of England Society. The 'comedian' Jethro appears at Bees Nightclub in Barnstaple. |
9 | 5 | 1861 | Mr.Morcombe a North Devon 'mine captain' is sued over an unpaid coal bill. W.Goss wins the tender to supply bread to Barnstaple Prison. |
11 | 5 | 1911 | Councillor Fulford, Mayor of Bideford, denounces a 'wild charge' of police at a local election meeting. The Appledore collar factory catches fire and female workers escape via ladders. |
11 | 5 | 1961 | Burton's Supermarket, the first in North Devon, opens in Barnstaple High Street. Butlins decide not to open a holiday camp in North Devon. |
8 | 5 | 1986 | The Torrington Carnival ends in 'disaster' as it travels up New Street and is 'invaded' by cars. A 3 year clean-up plan backed by the Civic Trust starts in Ilfracombe. |
16 | 5 | 1861 | South Molton town council give their Police Superintendent £4 p.a. clothing allowance. The Journal attacks a local newspaper editor as a 'miserable creature.' |
18 | 5 | 1911 | New lighter helmets are issued to the Barnstaple police force. Bideford Methodists hold a bazaar to raise funds for a new chapel at the top of High Street. |
18 | 5 | 1961 | Commercial vehicles are banned from Torrington's Sidney House car park. Frithelstock village school is reopened as the village hall. |
15 | 5 | 1986 | The planned Green Lane development in Barnstaple is said to be over subscribed by shops 3 years before it is due to open. Richmond Dock in Appledore is sold to Vallard Ltd. - a window making firm. |
23 | 5 | 1861 | The Bishopsnympton Friendly Society holds an AGM for its 400 members. Joseph Baugham glove manufacturer of Torrington dies aged 72. |
25 | 5 | 1911 | Barnstaple town council order 2500 Coronation Mugs from C.H.Brannam at 2 1/2d each. W.Tatem buys 8 new bells for Appledore church as a memorial to his father and son. |
25 | 5 | 1961 | A new £100,000 shop and office block is to open in Barnstaple's Queen Street. The area's first Chinese restaurant opens at the Blackmoor Gate Hotel. |
22 | 5 | 1986 | 500 Appledore Shipyard employees stay home in protest as 'political' plans to close the yard. Fred Nethercott (85) retires after 35 years as Chulmleigh's parish clerk. |
30 | 5 | 1861 | 14 year old William Heale of Ashreigney dies from eating unripe gooseberries. The American Civil War leaves the Torrington glove trade 'in a very depressed state.' |
1 | 6 | 1911 | R.Dymond of Barnstaple starts a 'Motor Service to Bude' at 5/6 return fare. Mains water is supplied to Instow. |
1 | 6 | 1961 | Meshaw residents are angry at the closure of the village well. A council estate of 40 houses at Fremington is given the go-ahead. |
29 | 5 | 1986 | 2000 runners compete in a Sports Aid race on Saunton Beach. Five people 'Beat the Bounds' of Bishopsnympton during Revel Week. |
6 | 6 | 1861 | Elizabeth Gould 'an abandoned female' of Sherwill deserts her 2 children in Barnstaple Workhouse - and is gaoled for a month. A 17 year old Berrynarbor bride leaves her husband after 3 weeks of marriage. |
8 | 6 | 1911 | A 'Japanese Fair' is held at Ilfracombe by the local Catholic church. A pavilion at Torrington bowling green is set on fire by a lightning strike. |
8 | 6 | 1961 | A chimpanzee is found wandering at Westdown - no-one claims it. Fremington is to get a new cemetery at a cost of £6000. |
5 | 6 | 1986 | The drivers of 44 new Red Bus minibuses go on strike. Villagers in Monkleigh begin a nationwide petition to demand a referendum on nuclear energy. |
13 | 6 | 1861 | A Bratton Clovelly man needs an 'interpreter' before a judge can understand him. Barnstaple town council are accused of illegally letting some property to a councillor. |
15 | 6 | 1911 | 18 Higher Gunstone, Bideford is sold for £171. Earl Fortescue is charged with the alleged removal of a footbridge at Watersmeet, Lynton. |
15 | 6 | 1961 | Plans to widen Barnstaple Long Bridge are widely opposed. Moves to attract more factories to Bideford are hit by a local labour shortage. |
12 | 6 | 1986 | An Indian family's shop is fire bombed in Bideford - the perpetrators are dubbed 'sick'. Work starts on building Barnstaple's new library. |
20 | 6 | 1861 | Samuel Tucker of Barnstaple is charged by the Chief Constable of Devon with forging his character reference for the police. The North Devon Mounted Rifles muster at Torrington in new uniforms. |
22 | 6 | 1911 | John Braund is fined 2/6 for being drunk in charge of a donkey at Bideford. An open air meeting of the Anti-Socialist Union is held at Braunton. |
22 | 6 | 1961 | A 40' section of wall collapses at Prideaux' garage in Barnstaple Square. South Molton opens its new £32,000 cattle market. |
19 | 6 | 1986 | A light plane crashes at Eaglescott airfield, Burrington - the pilot dies. The world's largest computerised electronic organ is built by Wyvern Organs in Bideford. |
27 | 6 | 1861 | Izet Cole a Bideford 'nymph of the pave' is gaoled for 6 weeks for theft. The butcher's shop of Edmund Clarke at Merton is gutted by fire. |
29 | 6 | 1911 | A 'Coronation archway' collapses in the Square, Barnstaple - a woman is killed. The Pure Chemical Carbon Company opens a new factory at East-the-Water, Bideford. |
29 | 6 | 1961 | Free car parking at Barnstaple's North Walk is to end - 6d will now be charged. Bideford examines plans to move its cattle market to the Pill. |
26 | 6 | 1986 | Trago Mills is looking to open a new store on the site of the Yelland power station. Torridge district council vote to allow greyhound racing at Bideford's Sports Ground. |
4 | 7 | 1861 | The Meshaw Revel 'which consisted of wrestling, getting drunk, and brawling' is replaced by a picnic. George Whittaker is appointed the Journal's Bideford correspondent. |
6 | 7 | 1911 | South Molton Agricultural Show hires an airplane as its major attraction. A Boy Scout troop is formed at Braunton. |
6 | 7 | 1961 | Women on Forches estate, Barnstaple campaign against a rent rise of 12p per week. The Mormon church asks to use Ilfracombe swimming pool for mass baptisms. |
3 | 7 | 1986 | Appledore lifeboat helmsman John Pavitt is awarded a gallantry medal for saving a windsurfer. 110 jobs for a year are created on Torridgeside by the Manpower Services Commission. |
11 | 7 | 1861 | Flagstones are laid at Ford Rock in Bideford to help swimmers. William Stacey alias 'Billy on the Road' is charged with theft at Torrington. |
13 | 7 | 1911 | A ship unloads coal for Lee Abbey at Lee Bay. A warning sign is erected for motorists at the blackspot of Cross Tree Corner, Braunton. |
13 | 7 | 1961 | Petersmarland clay miners go on strike. The Bideford Secondary School headmaster bans his pupils from wearing 'vivid shirts.' |
10 | 7 | 1986 | North Devon Meat at Torrington is taken over by Hillsdown Holdings. Philip Broomhead of Ilfracombe becomes principal dancer of the Royal Ballet aged 22. |
18 | 7 | 1861 | The Barnstaple Fire Brigade captain is accused of 'blundering' at a fire. Bideford Regatta forbids 'coarse sports such as jumping in sacks.' |
20 | 7 | 1911 | The Imperial Hotel, Barnstaple opens a tea room which has 'genuine Chippendale' chairs. Bideford council discuss converting 2 of the butcher's shops in the Market into a 'central fire station'. |
20 | 7 | 1961 | The foundation stone of the Clinton Primary School at Merton is laid. Chris Barber and his jazz band play at Queen's Hall in Barnstaple. |
17 | 7 | 1986 | Tesco begin advertising 250 jobs for their new Whiddon Valley store. The Greenpeace ship Beluga visits Bideford to test the water in the Torridge. |
25 | 7 | 1861 | William Britton, a Barnstaple photographer, sends out wedding invites bearing miniature pictures of him and his bride. The Torrington Rifle Corps is formed with 50 men. |
27 | 7 | 1911 | A Langtree father is gaoled for neglecting his 15 children. The Reverend H.Heaven owner of Lundy retires to Torrington. |
27 | 7 | 1961 | Rebuilding Fremington Army camp is to take 5 years. Holsworthy council are to sell 14 building plots at Doble Square, an old P.o.W camp. |
24 | 7 | 1986 | A 'fiery UFO' is spotted over Combe Martin on 5 occasions. Braunton Methodist churchy is converted into an art gallery. |
1 | 8 | 1861 | The Census shows the population of Barnstaple to be in decline. The Manor of Bradworthy is sold. |
3 | 8 | 1911 | A temperature of 122 degrees Fahrenheit in the sun is recorded in South Molton. Beera Farm, Chulmleigh is sold for £1025. |
3 | 8 | 1961 | The Strand car park in Barnstaple is to become a bus station. Experimental 'No Parking' signs in Hartland's main streets are 'scaring' shoppers. |
31 | 7 | 1986 | An Ilfracombe man chains himself to the door of the Barnstaple DHSS office over 'unfair treatment'. Plans are announced to create a marine reserve around Lundy. |
8 | 8 | 1861 | Mr.Tedrake 'photographic artist' of Northam marries Grace Ley of Buckland Brewer. 300 members attend the AGM of the Hartland New Union Friendly Society. |
10 | 8 | 1911 | Diptheria breaks out at Monkleigh School. Ilfracombe has 30,000 visitors over the Bank Holiday. |
10 | 8 | 1961 | Bishopstawton is to get a new 63 house estate. Refuse dumping in Muddlebridge Pond, Fremington is to continue despite protests. |
7 | 8 | 1986 | Hartland is offered their church hall for £7500. Bideford's James Paterson, North Devon's 'best known and best liked' artist, dies aged 70. |
15 | 8 | 1861 | A Barnstaple councillor denounces the new county police as 'the greatest nuisance in the country.' It is proposed to protect Northam Burrows from the sea.. |
17 | 8 | 1911 | General Booth of the Salvation Army visits Bideford, Barnstaple and Ilfracombe. Tourists from South Wales in Bideford are denounced as rowdy and badly behaved. |
17 | 8 | 1961 | 16 Barnstaple men's hairdressers stop offering shaving to their customers. 'Gangsterism' in Ilfracombe is denounced by local magistrates. |
14 | 8 | 1986 | Rain prevents Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips from taking part in the Molland Horse Trials. The Green Lane shop of Barnstaple furnishers Padfields is hit by an arsonist. |
22 | 8 | 1861 | 15 year old Thomas Patterson has his hand crushed at the West of England Biscuit Factory at the Strand, Barnstaple. The Journal claims its largest ever circulation. |
24 | 8 | 1911 | An aeroplane hired for a fete at Combe Martin fails to achieve take-off. Cinematograph films of local stag and otter hunts are shown in Lynton Town Hall. |
24 | 8 | 1961 | An application for 4 helicopter sites at Lynton is submitted. Three wrecked aircraft in the Taw estuary are damaging fishermen's nets. |
21 | 8 | 1986 | A volunteer task group travel to Lundy to clear invasive rhododendron bushes. Plans are announced to build 100 holiday units, a golf course and a swimming pool at the Yelland power station site. |
29 | 8 | 1861 | A telegraphic wire is about to be erected linking Barnstaple to Ilfracombe. Stereoscopic photographs are taken of events during Ilfracombe Gala Week. |
31 | 8 | 1911 | Barnstaple ironmongers H.Williams & Co light their shop with 'air gas apparatus'. A motor cyclist is fined 10/- for riding through Landkey at 18 mph. |
31 | 8 | 1961 | Braunton is 'rocked' when a German land mine blows up on Saunton Sands. Ilfracombe guest houses are warned to tell the truth about their accommodation. |
28 | 8 | 1986 | Bert Waldron of Torrington, eight times champion town crier of Britain, dies aged 84. Ilfracombe's Carnival is hit by torrential rain but is still said to be 'bright and cheerful'. |
5 | 9 | 1861 | Ann Hodge a pauper in South Molton Workhouse is gaoled for 2 months for destroying her clothes. James Jarvis a Barnstaple tailor drowns whilst swimming in the Taw. |
7 | 9 | 1911 | Polio breaks out at Hartland and Woolsery. A young Barnstaple architect takes 2 years to build a model airplane 56' by 10' in size. |
7 | 9 | 1961 | The ketch Irene leaves North Devon for the last time. Deckchairs at Lynton are 'slashed' by knife wielding vandals. |
4 | 9 | 1986 | Plans to develop shops on the site of the Barnstaple Junction station goods yard are given the go-ahead. South Molton band 'Gebo' release their first single on Pinnacle Records. |
12 | 9 | 1861 | Elizabeth Vickery is charged with brothel keeping in Barnstaple but she emigrates to avoid trial. At Bideford James Paddon leaves his wife - 'she was of such a bad temper, there was no living with her.' |
14 | 9 | 1911 | A man dressed as a 'Suffragette' causes hilarity at Braunton Military Carnival. Three of the first ever 'aerial postcards' are delivered to Barnstaple addresses. |
14 | 9 | 1961 | An effigy of the county education chief is burned at Hartland in protest over school closures. US President John Kennedy sends greetings at the opening of Barnstaple Fair. |
11 | 9 | 1986 | Castle Quay flats in Barnstaple are opened by Sir George Young. The Witheridge Carnival comes to a halt when the float carrying the Queen breaks down. |
19 | 9 | 1861 | Three cottages at Fairy Cross are destroyed by fire. Ilfracombe is infested with Portuguese 'Men of War' jellyfish. |
21 | 9 | 1911 | Miss Mabel Congdon crashes her bicycle into a pony cart at Raleigh Hill, Northam. Captain Dark retires after 40 years of delivering mail to Lundy. |
21 | 9 | 1961 | 14 North Devon schools are closed by striking teachers. Lundy owner Albion Harman fires 'warning' bullets near a Cornish fishing vessel. |
18 | 9 | 1986 | North Devon Conservatives buy a computer to help fight the next election. Torrington Football Club beat Bristol City Reserves 1-0. |
26 | 9 | 1861 | Frederick Maunder's wool factory in Tuly Street, Barnstaple is sold. The Torrington Amateur Band is formed by J.W.Setter.. |
28 | 9 | 1911 | Demand to attend the Barnstaple Picturedrome is so great that 200 people are denied entry. Catherine Parnell, sister of the Irish leader C.S.Parnell, drowns at the Tunnels, Ilfracombe |
28 | 9 | 1961 | £1/2 million is to be spent on extending electricity to rural areas in North Devon. Bus shelters on Bideford Quay are to be roofed over. |
25 | 9 | 1986 | The Journal becomes a tabloid after 162 years as a broadsheet. Bideford publican Ray Lacey plans to open a Playboy-style Bunny Club in his High Street pub. |
3 | 10 | 1861 | Mr.Knight, owner of Exmoor, sells moor ponies at Reading. Matthew Fisher a 17 year old Landkey boy is gaoled for fighting in a Barnstaple brothel. |
5 | 10 | 1911 | Moses Smith 'a coloured man' living in Barnstaple is allowed to keep his right to vote. Plans to turn Torrington Workhouse into 'an establishment for epileptics, imbeciles and idiots' are opposed. |
5 | 10 | 1961 | Three people die in a fire at Bridgeland Street, Bideford. Filleigh will die if it doesn't get more houses a local councillor claims. |
2 | 10 | 1986 | Archaeologists discover eighteenth century shoes in a dig at Barnstaple's Joy Street. Bideford names its riverside walk after its French twin Landivisiau. |
10 | 10 | 1861 | The Journal denounces rises in income tax. F.Knight, owner of Exmoor, bans deer hunting on his land. |
12 | 10 | 1911 | Lynmouth residents are accused of regularly dumping rubbish into the East Lyn river. Arthur Reed, a 13 year old Braunton boy, dies of polio. |
12 | 10 | 1961 | A £60,000 reconstruction scheme for Woolacombe's Narracott Hotel is announced. Chulmleigh Carnival is disrupted by a spoof 'ban the bomb' protestor. |
9 | 10 | 1986 | The developers behind Barnstaple's Green Lanes scheme are told 'to get on with it or get out.' Torrington and Bideford youths fight with bottles and pool cues on Bideford Pill. |
17 | 10 | 1861 | Building of Ilfracombe's new Market is halted due to a lack of stone. Thomas Rew a master mariner of Appledore is declared bankrupt. |
19 | 10 | 1911 | Prideaux & Sons of Barnstaple build 'a very smart two seated torpedo motor body' for a local client. The telegraph cable to Lundy is snapped. |
19 | 10 | 1961 | Barnstaple WI call for 'self defence' classes at local girls' schools. A roundabout is to be built in Barnstaple Square. |
16 | 10 | 1986 | It is revealed that AIDS victims have been treated in North Devon. A new kiln is installed at Brannam's Pottery in Barnstaple. |
24 | 10 | 1861 | John Roger is burnt to death at Viveham Mine, Eastdown. Braunton Great Field produces large quantities of wheat and potatoes. |
26 | 10 | 1911 | The new Liberal Club is opened in Ilfracombe High Street at a cost of £1900. A dead monkfish is washed ashore at Croyde. |
26 | 10 | 1961 | North Devon's population is decreasing rapidly according to the census. A proposed dam in Bideford's Kenwith Valley could lead to 'ghastly consequences' warns a local councillor. |
23 | 10 | 1986 | Barnstaple traders protest against plans for a 'high class amusement centre' in the High Street. A Woolacombe night club owner warns that a council curfew will see the resort become a 'ghost town.' |
31 | 10 | 1861 | Elizabeth Vicary 'an abandoned prostitute, residing at Chulmleigh' is gaoled for being drunk. A public meeting at Lynmouth protests at the closure of local footpaths. |
2 | 11 | 1911 | Sam Andrews is gaoled for 9 months for stealing 18p from the offertory box in Parracombe. Henry Westcott is elected spoof 'Mayor' of North Molton. |
2 | 11 | 1961 | Barnstaple council are to ban all town centre parking. Lynton council veto a planned miniature electric railway at Hollerday Hill. |
30 | 10 | 1986 | James Evans of South Molton becomes North Devon's first qualified ambulance woman. Lynton beat RAF Chivenor 8-0 in a North Devon League match. |
7 | 11 | 1861 | The Bideford farmers Club is set up with a reading room. John Lancey dies in an accident at the North Buckland Iron Mine at Georgeham. |
9 | 11 | 1911 | The Mayor of South Molton suggests building a golf course at Great Hele farm. The Barnstaple Cabinet Company complete a large order for an Argentinean millionaire. |
9 | 11 | 1961 | S.Leffman Ltd. are to open a new 'foundation garment' factory at Ilfracombe. A 4 bedroom stone cottage at Brendon is for sale at £2000. |
6 | 11 | 1986 | A Barnstaple grandmother wins £50,000 in a bingo game at the town's Astor Hall. John Martyn appears at Halley's Disco in Bideford. |
14 | 11 | 1861 | The Barnstaple Liberal Association is set up. Young people congregating under Torrington town hall are said to be a nuisance. |
16 | 11 | 1911 | Lundy runs short of food following 3 weeks of storms. A South Molton councillor accuses his fellow councillors of being 'jellyfish' and having no backbone. |
16 | 11 | 1961 | Plans for a 6 storey hotel and casino are announced for Putsborough. North Devon Civil Defence is 1000 under strength. |
13 | 11 | 1986 | Ilfracombe's town clerk Rose Coombs is rescued after being locked in the Town Hall's toilets. Bideford Football Club players are asked to take a pay cut to help the club's finances. |
21 | 11 | 1861 | A plan for a floating dock at Instow is published. The new Bible Christian chapel at Yarnscombe is opened. |
23 | 11 | 1911 | A National Service League branch is formed in Barnstaple to help defend Britain in time of war. South Molton Carnival is organised by the local Friendly Societies. |
23 | 11 | 1961 | North Devon Jazz Club splits over 'musical differences'. Torrington Chamber of Commerce claim the town council is ignoring them. |
20 | 11 | 1986 | A coffin is carried along Bideford Quay 'mourning' a decision to continue dumping sewage into the Torridge. The 287 jobs at Torrington's milk factory are at risk following tighter milk quotas. |
28 | 11 | 1861 | The steamer Waterwitch sinks near Lundy - its stern washes up at Hartland. At the New Inn, Braunton a girl is saved when her crinoline catches fire.. |
30 | 11 | 1911 | Westward Ho! residents complain that nothing has been done to strengthen the pebble ridge following a major storm. The Bideford Motor Works is selling a 5 seat Ford car for £170. |
30 | 11 | 1961 | A building plot at Caen Field, Braunton sells for £2450. Local Tory and Liberal parties come out in favour of Britain joining the Common Market. |
27 | 11 | 1986 | Barnstaple businessmen call for a 'downstream bridge' to solve the town's traffic problems. Engineers suggest building a tidal barrage across the Taw and Torridge estuary to produce HEP. |
5 | 12 | 1861 | Brandy casks wash up at Hartland and Mr.Pomroy nearly dies after drinking himself senseless. Richard Heath of Barnstaple dies - in his early days he was prominent Chartist. |
7 | 12 | 1911 | A branch of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Society is formed in Barnstaple. Torrington Boy Scouts stage a show to raise funds for a drum and fife band. |
7 | 12 | 1961 | The old retort house at the Barnstaple Gas Works is demolished. Abbotsham is to get up to 100 new houses. |
4 | 12 | 1986 | A farmer near Barnstaple attempts to tape the 'screams' of the Exmoor Beast. Barnstaple's Catholic leaders are accused of 'half hearted' attempts to save their old church. |
12 | 12 | 1861 | Dr.Dempster a Barnstaple dentist is divorced after his wife catches him with prostitutes. At South Molton the New Temperance Hall & Working Men's Institution is opened. |
14 | 12 | 1911 | A Monkleigh inquest hears how a young child died in utter squalor. The Barnstaple Picturedrome is showing 'a great detective drama'. |
14 | 12 | 1961 | Western Counties Building Society buy Perkins fruit shop on Bideford Quay to redevelop a new HQ there. A 200 person shelter at Ilfracombe Town Football Club is destroyed in a storm. |
11 | 12 | 1986 | 47 shoplifters are arrested in a week-long crackdown in Barnstaple. Fremington Scouts stop collecting waste paper as the price collapses. |
19 | 12 | 1861 | George Harvey dies at Bideford railway station when timber he is unloading crushes him. Barnstaple shopkeepers agree to close their businesses on Boxing Day. |
21 | 12 | 1911 | Torrington is worried that 'epileptics, imbeciles and idiots' will be exercised on the Commons. A cottage in South Street, Braunton sells for £255. |
21 | 12 | 1961 | Bingo sessions are to be run in Barnstaple's Queen Hall. Bideford is to spend £2500 a year for 5 years on 'slum clearance'. |
18 | 12 | 1986 | A new music and drama block costing £750,000 is started at Bideford College. A nineteenth century clay pipe factory is excavated in Barnstaple's Alexandra Road. |
26 | 12 | 1861 | Elizabeth Newcombe of Derby, Barnstaple is gaoled for soliciting alms with a 'begging petition.' Mrs.Susan Colwell a Barnstaple midwife is censured over helping at an illegitimate birth. |
28 | 12 | 1911 | A 'Mock Mayor' is elected in South Molton as a spoof on the real one. A 50' long whale washes ashore at Saunton - and locals decorate it with graffiti. |
28 | 12 | 1961 | People using water from the Stoke Rivers village pump find fish in it. A T-Bone steak at Bideford's Tantons Hotel costs 39p. |
23 | 12 | 1986 | Ilfracombe, Instow, Combe Martin and Lynmouth seawater fails bacteriological tests. North Devon council issue compulsory purchase orders to expedite the building of the Green Lane complex. |
26 | 12 | 1861 | Barnstaple shops are closed to mark the death of Prince Albert. Chilcott Farm, Tawstock is destroyed by fire. |
28 | 12 | 1911 | A school inspector says Filleigh School 'has been much hindered by sickness.' The Mayor of Barnstaple, Dr.J.Harper gives a meal to 1000 poor children in the Pannier Market. |
29 | 12 | 1961 | The possibility of a new harbour at Clovelly is being explored by the local MP. Chivenor based helicopters fly Xmas dinner turkeys to a storm marooned Lundy. |
31 | 12 | 1986 | A Buckland Brewer pig farm is ordered to stop flooding the village with slurry. Plans for a new Pentecostal church in South Street, South Molton are rejected. |