Heritage Weekend 2009: Budleigh-based collection’s glimpse into the past

Striking images and fascinating memorabilia from a vanished age will be on display at East Budleigh’s Salem Chapel over Heritage Weekend on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September.

Budleigh Salterton’s Nick Loman has been collecting pictures, documents and artifacts for more than 30 years.

Above: A view from the past of Fore Street Hill in Budleigh

The result is an impressive archive giving a unique insight into life as it used to be in Budleigh, Exmouth and the surrounding villages.

Having spent his working life as a fish merchant, Nick, of Swains Road, has a special interest in the local fishing industry, and felt that there was a need to preserve memories of it for posterity. Visitors to Budleigh today wouldn't necessarily realise how much importance the industry had for the town, as there is no real sign of how much fishing went on, he believes.

Above: A map of 1895 showing the hamlet of Kersbrook, north of Budleigh Salterton

“A hundred and seventy people attended my last talk about the history of fishing, which shows the huge interest there is in this area,” he says.

Other subjects which make up Nick Loman’s collection include the railway, Budleigh Salterton’s main street and its hotels, of which there were 15 at one time.

The Nick Loman Collection at Salem Chapel is open from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm each day.

From the pre-plastic bag era, a memory of Kersbrook Farm dairy