Budleigh Past and Present

Local archaeologist George Carter’s reconstruction diagram of the wooden shrine at Jacob's Well. Re-drawn by Wayne Bennett. East Devon's ancient churches attract many visitors each year, but the most ancient of our local places of worship could be the one depicted in the above drawing. Jacob’s Well, near Black Hill Quarries, is a Bronze Age Water Shrine on Woodbury Common which was first investigated by Budleigh Salterton archaeologist George Carter in the 1930s. An international team of scholars led by London University's Professor Chris Tilley has been investigating the archaeological and historic landscapes of East Devon with special reference to the Pebblebed Heathlands which lie north of Budleigh An Open Day at the Jacob's Well site is taking place on Sunday 19 September for visitors to view the excavations which are currently taking place. Two slots are available, at 10.30 am or 2.30 pm. To book contact Jim Cobley jamesgcobley@tiscali.co.uk To learn more about thi...

[To mark the forthcoming East Devon Pebblebeds Heath Week (26-31 July 2009), the following article by Chris Tilley, Professor of Anthropology & Archaeology at University College London, celebrates the life and work of former Budleigh Salterton resident George Carter, pictured left. An archaeologist who was clearly ahead of his time, George Carter retired to live in his home town on North View Road; his unorthodox views on the pebblebeds upset many people in the local community.] George Carter is the pioneer and founding figure in the archaeology of the east Devon Pebblebeds, carrying out extensive research in the area from the early 1920s into the late 1960s. He was most active during the twenties and thirties before the outbreak of the Second World War, carrying out many excavations of pebbled mounds on Woodbury and Aylesbeare Commons and elsewhere. He did not have much time or patience with establishment archaeological ideas and positions and fell out with some of the leading arc...