Budleigh Past and Present

A Literary Walk, exploring the writers, scientists and artists who have lived in or written about Budleigh Salterton. The first Walk will take place on Wednesday 19 September 2012 at 10.00 am starting from Fairlynch Museum Garden at 27 Fore Street.  A second Walk will start in the afternoon at 2.30 pm. Some of the writers associated with Budleigh are justly famous. Many of them reveal unexpected insights into the town and its people which are not widely known.  Other writers are not at all well known but their fascinating and sometimes eccentric lives make entertaining reading. The first Walk with Words took place in 2011 as a prelude to Budleigh Salterton's Literary Festival. The Walk is free, but donations are welcomed.

  Crafty collage: Glimpses of the attractive items for sale made by local artisans at past Budleigh craft fairs   Fairlynch Museum is holding a Craft Fair on Saturday 8 September 2013 from 12 midday to 4.00 pm.   There will be between eight and ten craft stalls and plants for sale. Tea and coffee will be available.   Now that we have free entry for all the family how about popping in for a look? You never know what you might discover in the way of a special Christmas present!  

In line with a growing tendency by UK museums to allow the use of cameras on their premises Fairlynch has decided that photography by visitors will be permitted under certain circumstances.   For many years there has been a ban on any kind of filming in galleries and museums but with the growing use of technology such as smartphones many institutions have abandoned the attempt to impose an absolute rule. The Tate galleries, the National Museum of Wales and the National Maritime Museum are among institutions which permit non-flash photography without the use of a tripod for personal use only. Others, like Cambridge 's Scott Polar Research Institute, rule that photographs taken by visitors must not be reproduced or published in any form, including on the internet, without permission.   Nearer home, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter is even more liberal in permitting flash and tripods, although consideration for other visitors...

A recent survey conducted among Friends of Fairlynch has made for encouraging reading. "We're really grateful as Museum Trustees to all the Friends who took such trouble in answering our recent questionnaire," said Chairman Roger Sherriff. Thoughts about the Museum's role in the community have been stimulated by the recent abolition of admission charges. The decision to allow free entry has been approved by virtually all those involved with Fairlynch, particularly in view of the fivefold rise in visitor numbers. Confirmation of the benefits of the new policy came at a recent meeting of the Museum's General Committee with Roger Sherriff's announcement that shop takings had doubled. "Taking into account all cost factors we found that income for a set period before free admission amounted to £740, and for the equivalent period after abolition charges the figure was £800," he said. "So far it's cle...

Lavender House, one of no less than 50 houses in Budleigh Salterton designed by Hatchard-Smith   Instantly recognisable with their red and white decoration and their front doors set within brick arches, the houses built by architect William Hatchard-Smith (1887-1987) are still sought after and appreciated by their owners for their elegance and comfort, their sturdy construction and their attention to practical detail. Plans for one of the houses designed by Hatchard-Smith Lavender House, on Moorlands Road , is a four-bedroomed detached family residence built by Hatchard-Smith in the late 1920s when it was originally named Lavenderhay.   Set within what are described as beautifully landscaped gardens of approximately an acre it has recently undergone an extensive refurbishment programme while retaining much of the original charm and character. The stained glass memo...

Jack Wilson, right, with his rowing partner Ran Laurie With the wonderful news of British sporting success in the 2012 London Olympics it seems right to remember some Budleigh residents of the past who may have inspired today's champions.   John Hyrne Tucker Wilson, known as Jack Wilson, was a British rowing champion and Olympic gold medallist whose family lived at Elvestone on Fore Street Hill. Born on 17 September 1914 in Bristol , Rhode Island , USA , to British parents, he was educated in Texas and Shrewsbury School in Shropshire, before attending Pembroke College , Cambridge . While at Cambridge , he rowed in three successive Boat Races (1934–36) in which Cambridge defeated Oxford . During the 1935 and 1936 races, he rowed alongside Ran Laurie, father of the actor Hugh Laurie, who became his rowing partner after Cambridge and a life-long friend. After graduating from University, Wilson took a post as a District ...

With the Carter bicentenary approaching in 2013 and that of Peter Orlando Hutchinson (1810-97) still fresh in local minds where better to go than to Sidmouth Museum, seen above, to discover how a town only a few miles along the coast from Budleigh commemorated one of its best known characters from the Victorian age. For P.O.H., though born in Winchester , is very much part of Sidmouth's local history. And the town clearly cherishes its illustrious former residents which include four past Fellows of the Royal Society. Sir Ambrose Fleming (1849-1945) worked with Marconi, and invented the diode valve.   Sir Norman Lockyer (1836-1920), shown above, discovered helium and the spectrum of the sun, and was Editor of Nature for 50 years from its foundation.   Sidney George Brown (1873-1948) was an inventor and engineer who devised the gyro-compass...