Thank you to everyone who has lent their precious photographs, books, maps and other documents. They will be carefully looked after and archived where possible; all content will be fully attributed.
PINHOE OF YESTERYEAR by Chips Barber remains an authoritative entry point for anyone interested in the history of Pinhoe – packed full with old photographs, in two volumes.
PINHOE: AS USED TO WAS by Denys Deere-Jones is a lovely book of “reminiscences, personal recollections and youthful impressions”.
PINHOE by Kathleen M. Woodley offers a view of the history and plenty of stories of Pinhoe, based on the central role of the church in village life.
As part of his tour across Devon this autumn, popular historian Dr Todd Gray gave a talk about his latest book, “Uncle Tom Cobley and All” to an enthusiastic audience at Pinhoe Library.
The phrase ‘Uncle Tom Cobley and all’ has passed into common usage and comes from the Devon folk song Widecombe Fair, which ends with a chorus of a long list of names.
Dr Gray’s book tells the fascinating history of this ancient song – once the county’s favourite – and reintroduces audiences to more than 50 variants, most of them long forgotten after hundreds of years.
Following a fascinating update from Chris Wiseman, the connections between the community of Pinhoe and RAF Exeter are deepening. Interest from local people continues to surprise, with new information to keep Chris’s research inspiring us all. Whether it’s a visit with a 94 year old ex-RAF Lancaster crew member, or the tantalising thought of a book on Honiton Clyst, Chris is on an amazing journey to honour the courage and resilience of the pilots and crew who protected the city of Exeter during the war.
We were delighted that Chris was able to give us a special preview of his updated presentation at our last meeting. We’re thinking of putting together some form of book – would anyone be interested? Let us know! mail@portfoliofive.co.uk or contact us in the PINHOE VILLAGE book, in Alicia’s.
Following an inspiring presentation by Jon Freeman from the Great Trees in the Clyst Valley project, any disappointment at not being included in Exeter’s Valley Parks initiative has been replaced by an exciting view of Pinhoe at the city-fringe of a fantastic 25 year vision for the Clyst Valley Regional Park.
Here’s our letter of support for their latest project:
“As a community-led organisation, Pinhoe Village is committed to celebrating the people, place and natural environment of Pinhoe. We very much hope to work with Routes for Roots and have identified great enthusiasm amongst our local residents to connect to the Clyst Valley vision, wholeheartedly supporting the ambition to connect our growing community to the wildlife-rich countryside on our doorstep. We are keen to encourage all age groups into the natural environment, as many in our community are struggling with the scale and pace of local developments.
An increasingly urbanised part of the city, the sense of connection to Pinhoe’s heritage and local distinctiveness remains key for residents. The “Story is in the Map” workshops would bring an invaluable set of skills and support for our many local history enthusiasts, as would the opportunity to explore, protect and develop local knowledge of and access to footpaths across Pinhoe – routes which are being completely disorientated by new developments. We hope to learn how to record, replant and protect our greatly valued trees and hedgerows and to build on our association with such an inspiring vision. The Routes for Roots initiatives would transform our ability to develop local knowledge of and access to our natural environment and would offer huge expertise, valued advocacy and powerful network connections.”
Here’s a useful thought from Shane O’Mara’s new book In Praise of Walking:
“Walking is good for our muscles and posture; it helps to protect & repair organs, and can slow or turn back the ageing of our brains. With our minds in motion we think more creatively, our mood improves and stress levels fall”
22 July 2019: Yet another interesting week at Monday’s coffee morning!
Lynda brought her Dad’s amazing collection of photographs of old Pinhoe and we were delighted that her Mum, Beryl Hitchcock, was able to join us too. There is such a resource of interest and local knowledge in this lovely group and it’s a pleasure to be able to join their meetings.
Ebbie and Lynda
We loved the artwork on Hitchcock & Son’s invoices!
Thanks to an invitation from Margaret, I’ve joined a couple of Monday coffee mornings in the Church Hall. These fabulous ladies are a mine of information and I’ve been making loads of notes each time. They’ve put me right on several points and identified so many people in photographs from Chips Barber’s books. Also, there were THREE dairies in Pinhoe! More as soon as I can write up my notes // Kate
