Budleigh Past and Present

Above: On show in Fairlynch. (L-r) Harry Dickason, Victor Campbell, George Abbott, Raymond Priestley, Murray Levick, Frank Browning.   These six men, the northern party of Captain Scott's last expedition, stand outside the entrance to the snow hole in which they have just spent the 1911-1912 Antarctic Winter in darkness. Photo taken 24 Sept 1912. Photo credit: Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge Half-through the final year of Fairlynch Museum 's exhibition about the epic story of Scott's Northern Party it seems an appropriate moment to record some recent enthusiastic comments from visitors, made since this season's opening in mid-April. Free admission is bringing in many more of them than in previous years, and 2012 being the centenary of Scott's death - as well as that of   R.F. Delderfield's birth along with the Year of the London Olympics and the Royal Jubilee - may see even more in the coming months. The 'Survival!' ex...

  The Art of War   Budleigh's Brook Gallery is now, like Fairlynch Museum , a member of the recently launched Budleigh in Business group. Owner Angela Yarwood and her team have been busy with further exhibitions. Along with the town's festivals, events at the Fore Street gallery are making it an increasingly lively hub of the arts in East Devon .   Internationally celebrated artist Stephen Chambers RA joined the team at the Brook to launch his solo show on Saturday 14 July. The exhibition runs until 21 August 2012. The Professor Trained at Central St Martins and Chelsea School of Art, Stephen Chambers was elected a Royal Academician in 2005.    He has held solo and group shows in galleries across the world including a large retrospective in the Frissars Museum , Athens in 2002.   Of note is his collaboration on three dance projects with the Royal Ballet: Sleeping with Audrey, Room of Cooks and This Ho...

Devon Dub Fest: not just about camper vans Budleigh Salterton is fast becoming a festival town par excellence with celebrations of literature, jazz, science, classical music and Budstock well established with plenty of enthusiastic supporters.   Now Fairlynch Museum Twitter followers have been joined by yet another local music festival now in its second year and boasting its own quirky flavour. Based this year in the extensive grounds of Bicton College, Devon Dub Fest was formed, as the organisers say, by "a few of us VW lovers thinking that a VW festival was missing a little closer to our own homes."   Quirkhill, described as "a young four-piece indie-punk band from Devon , deliver a unique and punchy contemporary sound that draws influence from a great and distinctive retro indie era. The creative energy, which fuels their song writing, is evident in all their edgy original tracks." Influences include The Horrors, Radiohead and Muse ...

Above right: The silver-studded blue butterfly (Plebeius argus) is one of the wildlife   jewels of East Devon heathland.   Photo credit: Olaf Leillinger Bats at Bystock, Dartford Warblers, Reptile Rambles... They're all part of East Devon Heath Week along with many other attractions in an annual series of events that aim to celebrate the fantastic heathland landscape of the region. Above: Woodbury Common's heathland, a peaceful haven for wildlife Each year the Heath Week takes place at the end of July, when Woodbury Common and its wildlife are at their best. Not a snake but a harmless and beautiful sloe worm Photo credit: Devon Clinton Estates Heath Week offers a unique opportunity to take part in a wide range of activities ranging from the active to the relaxed and the light-hearted to the serious. The fun starts on Sunday 29 July 11.00 am at Woodbury Castle . Download the East Devon Heath Week events leaflet for more info...

Guests at the Budleigh in Business launch party at Bicton College's EaRTH Centre in May W ith the imminent launch of a community email newsletter local businesses - including Fairlynch Museum - will find yet another useful way of publicising themselves online. Launched on 21 May this year, Budleigh in Business has hit the ground running with a rapidly growing membership and a lively programme of events.   "We are an ever growing group of new and existing businesses and individuals who have come together through our shared enthusiasm to see the area we live and work in be the best it can be," the BiB website explains. "We believe that, working together we can have vibrant local shopping, busy cafes, restaurants and pubs, a range of high quality local services and become an all-year-round tourist destination." BiB's Marketing Co-ordinator Trudie Burne is now telling people about exciting plans for the next venture.   "One of our...

Two recently published books marking important local centenaries are now on sale at Fairlynch Museum 's shop. Copies of Antarctic expert Meredith Hooper's The Longest Winter sold out within months. A new stock has arrived in readiness for Budleigh Salterton's Literary Festival in September when the author will be one of the distinguished guest speakers.   Antarctic author Meredith Hooper, left, with Fairlynch Museum Secretary Iris Cooper The Longest Winter is the harrowing account of former Budleigh resident Murray Levick, the doctor with Scott of the Antarctic's Northern Party who survived the six-month polar winter in terrible conditions.   Internationally acclaimed for its depth of research and readability the book was published to coincide with the Scott 100 celebrations.   Marking 100 years since the birth of East Devon author R.F. Delderfield, the centenary edition of Butterfly Moments by author Marion Lindsey-Noble appeared earlier thi...

From his birthplace in East Budleigh, Devon , Sir Walter Raleigh wishes his American friends across the Pond "A Happy Independence Day." A Raleigh corner is one of the permanent displays in Fairlynch Museum . We are only a few doors away from The Octagon, the building where Sir John Millais stayed when working on his famous painting 'The Boyhood of Raleigh.' A blue plaque commemorates the artist's stay in Budleigh Salterton.   Across the Pond the state capital of North Carolina and its second largest city was named Raleigh in 1792 to honour Sir Walter, sponsor of the Roanoke Colony. A bronze statue, which has been moved around different locations within the city, was made in honour of the city's namesake. There's even a neighbourhood in the city of Raleigh called Budleigh. The 'Lost C...

With St Peter's School preparing for centenary celebrations this September the hunt is on for photos and other memorabilia which could be used in an exhibition.   The photo above, with scaffolding in the background, shows children at the ceremony of laying the foundation stone for their new school. The stone was laid on 18 September 1912 by Lady Alice Louisa Ewing, the sister-in-law of local landowner Mark Rolle. It can still be seen in the front of the existing building. Fairlynch Museum is always on the lookout for local memorabilia of interest to Budleigh Salterton historians. "We have a good record of the early days of St Peter's School including detailed logbooks in Fairlynch Museum 's Local History Room," said Museum spokesperson Michael Downes. "But we're always keen to find out more, and it may be that people in Budleigh or even further afield may have items like old photos that they would be willing to lend for an exhibiti...

It looks as though Fairlynch's new policy of free entry is paying off in terms of increased visitor numbers. Chairman Roger Sherriff reports that well over 1,000 people have been welcomed by the Museum's volunteer stewards since charges were abolished at the beginning of June.     "That is over four times the number for the same period last year," says Roger. "And we are confident of a continuing increase as word spreads about what a wonderful museum Fairlynch is, with so many interesting collections and exhibitions." No entry fees are demanded but donations from visitors are most welcome to maintain both the collections and the fabric of the 200-year-old building, one of the very few thatched museums in Britain . The above poster shows Exmouth Town Crier Roger Bourgein announcing free admission at the Museum. Copies have been sent to local schools.