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A MERRIE TALE ABOUT AN ALE

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  Marking the 400th anniversary of the death of Sir Walter Raleigh (or Ralegh; pronounced either Rally or Rawly). Born between 1552 and 1554 at Hayes Barton, East Budleigh, Devon. Unjustly executed in London on 29 October, 1618. Explorer, courtier, fashion icon, parliamentarian, diplomat, politician, soldier, ship designer, poet, historian, businessman, chemist and botanist with the reputation, in later life, of being a physician... and Great Devonian. Saturday, 5 May 2018 A Merrie Tale about an Ale ‘Twas in the merrie month of May that with my good lady we paid a visit to Master Jhonathan’s Black Tor alehouse, on the outskirts of the fair village of Christow in our fair county of Devon.  Master J. is the clever alemaster who has learnt that this blessed year of our Queen Elizabeth the Second, the sixty-sixth of her reign, is also the 400 th anniversary of my ignoble death at the hands of that Scottish upstart and total creep unworthy to sit on the throne of England. ...
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WAR HERO’S HOME ON THE MARKET

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Or should that be ‘WAR HEROES’ HOME’? Estate agents do not normally include the biographies of previous occupant of the houses that they’re selling. But ‘The Cottage’ on Budleigh Salterton’s West Hill is surely an exception.   It’s also a thatched property, making it something of a rarity in the town.   Not only is ‘The Cottage’ a charming period house in an almost rural setting only a few minutes’ walk from the centre of Budleigh, but it was also the home of a distinguished army officer decorated for his bravery during Word War One.  Major Cyril Kitchin DSO, who lived there with his wife Norah Ella Kitchin née Leach, was typical of a certain group of Budleigh residents of the past in that he served with the British Army in India in the days of the Empire.   He died on 2 April 1944, aged only 61, and is buried in St Peter’s Burial Ground on Moor Lane in Budleigh. His son, Squadron Leader Peter James Robert Kitchin DFC, had an equally distinguished wartime record,...
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THE ROGER CONANT SUPPER FRIDAY 15 MAY EAST BUDLEIGH VILLAGE HALL

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                                      The Roger Conant Club is organising a very special Supper on Friday May 15 th as part of the East Budleigh History Society’s Peacemaker Festival.  The event will take place at the Village Hall, East Budleigh commencing at 7.00 for 7.30 p.m.     The Supper will take the form of an American-themed buffet to celebrate the recently-announced ‘twinning’ of East Budleigh and the city of Salem, Massachusetts.  Salem, ‘a city of peace’, founded by Roger Conant is celebrating its 400 th  anniversary this year. With this in mind, guests are invited to dress up for the evening with American colonial/Pilgrim being the theme but such dressing up is entirely optional. The main courses of the Supper will comprise salmon, chicken and ham, preceded by delicious canapés and followed by a wide choice of desserts such as Boston cream pie, pumpkin...
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MPs pro-environment and anti-inappropriate development

  MPs involved with petitions to protest against development of greenbelt land or housing without appropriate infrastructure. Clive Betts (Labour Sheffield South East)  underlined his opposition to proposals to use land in Eckington Way, near Crystal Peaks, for a travelling showpeople site and industrial uses. ‘I am calling on  Sheffield City Council  to reject this plan and recognise the profound impact this will have on communities in Sheffield South East, not just around Eckington Way but also with the unfair release of Green Belt land.’ Saqib Bhatti (Conservative, Meriden and Solihull East):  Associated with a petition concerning the "grey belt" definition in the National Planning Policy Framework, advocating for better protection of Green Belt land. Sarah Bool (Conservative, South Northamptonshire.) Has actively opposed large warehouse developments, such as the DHL application, which threaten rural areas and green belt-adjacent land in her constituenc...
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The Conant Courier 2. Winter 2025

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  COPY AND PASTE THIS LINK TO YOUR BROWSER TO READ ALL PAGES  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1L6hQZJROXgWUw9nzr24UNxLRjW8i6HIz/view?usp=drive_link
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The Conant Courier 1. Autumn 2025

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COPY AND PASTE THIS LINK TO YOUR BROWSER TO READ ALL PAGES  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m6Vb9W8kPSIP_BhqHhN-0FqC2K5XrW4B/view?usp=drive_link
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East Budleigh's maypole, Thomas Morton and Merrymount

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It’s not so long ago that the tradition of maypole dancing was revived in East Budleigh. An ancient English tradition which Roger Conant’s family would have enjoyed? Unlikely. In the increasingly puritanical England of the 1640s, maypoles were condemned by the Long Parliament as ‘a Heathenish vanity, generally abused to superstition and wickedness’, and were banned outright, along with Christmas and other ‘ungodly’ practices. Well before then, Roger would have had problems had he tried to introduce it in New England at the settlement of Naumkeag, later to become Salem.  With the arrival of Governor John Endicott and ‘godly’ Puritans in Naumkeag in 1628, such ‘pagan’ practices were viewed with horror.  Shocking news was received by Puritan leaders around that time of May Day events taking place just over 20 miles away from Plymouth Colony, in the settlement once called Merrymount and now known as the town of Quincy. Governor William Bradford in his  History of Pl...
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