Roger Conant's Christmas 'Peace Tree'
From the top: East Budleigh’s ancient All Saints' Church, where the families of Sir Walter Raleigh and Roger Conant worshipped; the village’s High Street; Salem Chapel, on Vicarage Road, location of East Budleigh Heritage Centre.
This December will see a renewal of a local tradition in the shape of a Christmas Tree Festival in East Budleigh Heritage Centre.
The first Festival proved so popular that the tradition grew rapidly, progressing from around a dozen trees to over 50 in 2016.
The statue of Roger Conant in Salem, Massachusetts. Image credit: John Andrews and Destination Salem
The 2023 Festival will include an unusual exhibit which pays tribute to East Budleigh-born Roger Conant, founder of the city of Salem in Massachusetts which will mark its 400th anniversary in 2026.
Decorated with many flags from all over the world, the ‘tree’ created by East Budleigh’s Roger Conant Club has a serious message in its setting of the appropriately named Salem Chapel.
Portrait by Sir Godfrey Kneller of the English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704), internationally known for his political liberalism which included the principles of non-aggression and religious tolerance. Image credit: Wikipedia
Surprisingly, Salem Chapel has no connection with the city that Conant founded. ‘Salem’, from the Hebrew word ‘shalom’, simply means ‘Peace’, similar to the Arabic greeting ‘salamun alaykum’ that means ‘Peace be upon you.’
The Chapel was built by Dissenters in 1719, with help from local landowner Richard Duke, a friend of the philosopher John Locke, pictured above.
Roger Conant has been described as a sort of anomaly in the hard and violent times in which he lived.
The ‘Peace Window’ in the Conant Memorial Church at Dudley, Massachusetts, funded by Hezekiah Conant. It represented Roger Conant separating the combatants at Cape Ann in 1625. Sadly the ‘Peace Window’was destroyed by a storm in 1946. Image credit: Chris Mayen
A 19th century descendant, the American industrialist and philanthropist Hezekiah Conant, wrote of his ‘Christian forbearance and love of peace’.
The Christmas 'Peace Tree' has a colourful display of flags, sadly representing those nations which do not have as happy a relationship with each other as they might.
On the positive side, the tree stands out for its ‘baubles’ carrying a message of peace. The display includes recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize along with anti-war quotations from a host of well known or interesting figures from over the centuries, from an Ancient Greek poet to a Buddhist monk.
The portrait of Sir Walter Raleigh in All Saints’ Church
Even East Budleigh’s Sir Walter Raleigh is included. Not many people know that Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite courtier arranged for a high-ranking Spanish official, Don Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, to discuss peace with Spain with the Queen at Windsor Castle, where they conversed in Latin.
On his way back to Madrid overland Don Pedro was captured by French Protestants, and the precious Letter of Peace that he was carrying from Elizabeth never reached the Spanish king. Two years later the Armada set sail on its ill-fated voyage.
Topped by a dove with an olive branch, Roger Conant’s Christmas 'Peace Tree' has something positive to offer in today’s world with its many terrible conflicts.
Alongside the ‘tree’ Festival visitors can see – pictured above - a copy of Budleigh artist John Washington’s painting ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers’ which is on display in All Saints’ Church, depicting this hero of East Budleigh. Roger Conant was, it has been said, a leader who ‘preferred the public good to his private interests’.
He is celebrated by many of his American descendants today for his moral courage, tolerance and integrity. An increasing number of them are making the journey across the Atlantic to discover where their famous ancestor was born.
The East Budleigh Heritage Centre’s Christmas Tree Festival will be held on Saturday 2 – Sunday 3 December, 2023, from 10.00am to 3.00pm.
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