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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

People from the Past: 3. Reg Varney (1916-2008)

Image
Reginald Alfred 'Reg' Varney was an English actor, most notable for his role as a cheerful Cockney bus driver in the 1970s TV sitcom On the Buses . For ten years he lived at Dark Lane House on picturesque Dark Lane in Budleigh Salterton, seen above.  Millions of television viewers remember him with affection. He has been described as belonging to the old school of comedians, with his dislike of much contemporary television and his pride in never using swear words to get a laugh. Varney was born on 11 July 1916 in Canning Town, which was then part of Essex but is now part of East London. His father worked in a rubber factory in Silvertown and he was one of five children who grew up in Addington Road, Canning Town. He was educated at the nearby Star Lane Primary School in West Ham and after leaving school at 14, he worked as a messenger boy at the Regent Palace Hotel, pictured above. ...
Read more

AROUND THE TOWN AND OVER THE POND - 15. SALEM CHAPEL AT FAIRLYNCH MUSEUM

Image
  Continued from  https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2024/07/around-town-and-over-pond-14-looking.html AROUND THE TOWN AND OVER THE POND A walk around Budleigh Salterton to interest transatlantic visitors. Every so often there’s a diversion which may inspire you to visit places like East Budleigh, Exeter, Sidmouth, Colyton or even places in the United States and Canada.        The walk is set out in parts. Here’s the fifteenth part: 15. SALEM CHAPEL AT FAIRLYNCH MUSEUM  Summary: How East Budleigh’s Salem Chapel and the USA were founded on the same principles of freedom and diversity thanks to an Otterton man’s friendship with one of the Western world’s greatest philosophers. Top: Salem Chapel, East Budleigh. Centre: Portrait of John Locke in 1697 by Sir Godfrey Kneller. Lower: The 1823 facsimile of the final version of the 1776 Declaration of Independence East Budleigh’s Salem Chapel lies on the outskirts of the village, about 500 metres no...
Read more

WW2 100 – 23 January 1945 – A tragic accident in Burma: Captain Gerald Arthur Richards (1909-45), Royal Army Medical Corps

Image
Continued from 21 January 1945 FLIGHT SERGEANT RENNIE ARTHUR LOADER (1915-45) Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR), 518 Squadron https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2021/04/ww2-75-21-january-1945-forecasting-for.html         A photo of Gerald Arthur Richards sent to me by his daughter Louanne   Like a number of war dead whose names are not listed on Budleigh’s War Memorial,  Gerald Arthur Richards is mentioned by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) as having a link with the town through his wife Kirstine. It was difficult to confirm that link, but there were enough intriguing aspects to Gerald’s story to raise questions that I wanted to see answered. Further research led to more East Devon links – to Honiton, Exmouth and further afield. In a very roundabout way I finally made contact with his daughter Louanne, to whom I am grateful for providing information about the family, not least some family photos like the...
Read more