A Trip down Memory Lane - Moretonhampstead History Society
Mon 9 Sep 2013
Founded in 1965, the Moretonhampstead History Society was and has since been involved in recording and cherishing our parish’s rich heritage. With over a hundred members, our monthly meetings in the Union Inn and summer field trips are very well attended by members and non-members alike.
Our Society has benefited from Heritage Lottery grants to put some of our records such as the parish registers into databases and to create a website at www.moretonhampstead.org.uk that makes these databases freely available alongside many other text and visual historical sources. This is frequently favourably commented upon by the many visitors to the site, especially UK and overseas family historians who want to connect with their roots in our parish. Until recently, however, the paper archives were stored somewhat haphazardly in a dozen boxes in private houses, and were not available to either local people or visitors.
Eighteen months ago, in partnership with the Moretonhampstead Development Trust, we secured further funding from Heritage Lottery and Teignbridge District Council for a permanent home for the existing and future local archives. This is now located in the Green Hill Arts and Heritage Centre (in our redundant Victorian primary school next to St Andrew’s church) that was featured in the last issue of The Cottage. These are listed at www.moretonarchives.org.uk and family historians and other researchers can contact us through the website to arrange to come along and look at them for themselves. We are also sell books and booklets on Moreton’s rich history.
Perhaps the most exciting and challenging part of the project has been to mount static and audio-visual displays. The foyer of the Green Hill Centre now has a permanent heritage exhibition and a large touch-screen with five optional displays. We have also put on exhibitions in the gallery and from October 12th to November2nd (daily 10am-4pm except Mondays) ‘Down on the Farm’ will celebrate the working lives of local farmers.
On Wednesday September 11th at 7.30 pm Dr Ian Mortimer, the Society’s President and celebrated historian, will give a fund-raising talk for the archives at Moretonhampstead Parish Church. Based on his recent best-selling book and popular TV series, Ian will give us ‘The Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England - new, improved, with added diseases!’. Tickets at £7 (£5 for members) are available at Green Hill and Tourist Information Centres in Moretonhampstead and on the door.
Bill Hardiman (Chair of Moreton History Society)
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