Budleigh Past and Present

  The statue of Roger Conant in Salem, USA. Image credit: Teresa Conant; www.wikitree.com    Next to Salem Common stands a 9-foot high bronze statue of the Massachusetts city's founder, Roger Conant, born around 1592 in the pretty Devon village of East Budleigh. ‘An imposing, imperious white man,’ is how one of his embarrassed 21 st century American descendants described it recently, at a time when statues of white men have been crashing down both in the USA and in Britain following the Black Lives Matter movement.   Photo credit: John Andrews and  Destination Salem  www.salem.org It doesn’t help that the statue stands outside a former church which has now become Salem’s Witch Museum. Even if you know that the figure most definitely does not represent a witch – ‘rigid and judgemental’ as it has been described by a modern historian of Salem – the statue with its stern Puritan gaze puts one in mind of the cruel witch trials which took place a dozen or ...

  James ZEBEDEE (1825-c.1894)   * Born at Kenton, near Exeter, on 11 July 1824, he was the son of John Zebedee (1795-1825).      * His wife was Mary Zebedee née Gale, born in 1822 * Their son John Zebedee was born in 1847; their daughter Sarah Ann Adams, née Zebedee, was born in 1852. * In 1851 James Zebedee was working as an agricultural labourer, living at No 1 Starcross, next door to The Courtney Arms.  * In 1862 he was a hostler, looking after the horses of people staying at The Courtney Arms. The early 18th century building on The Strand in Starcross has been converted into apartments.   * In 1872 and 1876 he was the driver of the mail cart between Starcross and Exeter. * On 26 September 1873, the Western Times announced that his household furniture and effects were to be sold at ‘Exe Cottage’, Starcross. * In 1881 he was a coachman living at Paris Street, Exeter, with his wife Mary Ann and her unmarried sister Ellen Gale, both working as cof...

    Matthew Lee YEATES (1777-1847),  banker and Unitarian minister, built and lived at 'Primrose Cottage', now known as  ‘Fairlynch’, Fore Street. * It is said that the thatched belvedere or turret on Fairlynch Museum was built so that he could see his ships in Lyme Bay. * Above is reputedly his silhouette. * His wife  Frances Elizabeth Yeates (1775-1811)  died on 25 March 1811, and is buried in East Budleigh.  * He became a Unitarian minister of religion after the failure of his business, the Exmouth and General Bank, in 1812.    * You can read about him in the book  Fairlynch: The Making of a Museum  (2017) edited by Michael Downes, on sale at Fairlynch Museum, Fore Street.    https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2015/10/object-of-month-october-2015-silhouette.html    (6 Oct 2015)

  Ken WALKER (1923-2018) , artist, lived at 3 Victoria Place.  * His watercolour paintings are recognised as an important archive of the town's architectural heritage. * 'The Changing Face of Budleigh Salterton High Street' was the title of an exhibition to display his work, staged at Fairlynch Museum in 2019.  https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2012/04/budleighs-archiving-artist.html John WALTERS (1845-1894).  Butcher. He lived at 34 Fore Street. * He was responsible for commissioning the intricate carved brick façade on the building previously known as ‘The Creamery’. * This kind of brickwork was carved by skilled brick masons and seen as an external sign of wealth and taste. * The façade is said to have been created in about 1889 by Italian craftsmen. * The building became known as ‘Walter’s Folly’, supposedly because of its height. * John Walters’ father, also called John Walters  (1804-1881), was described as ‘Gentleman’ in the announcement of...

  Frances VAN METER (1909-94),  librarian, lived at Pinewood, Westbourne Terrace. She is pictured above in the Library of Fairlynch Museum.  * Born in Kentucky, USA, before settling in Budleigh, she was one of the founding members of what became the Manchester Center in the Irishtown district, of the city of Lexington. This was a pioneering venture to improve education in one of the most deprived areas of the city.  She retired as Executive Director of the Center in 1966.    https://budleighpastandpresent.blogspot.com/2013/11/people-from-past-9-frances-van-meter.html    (25 Nov 2013)   Reg VARNEY (1916-2008) , actor, lived at ‘Dark Lane House’     Dark Lane * An exhibition to mark the centenary of his birth was staged at Fairlynch Museum in 2016. * You can buy  Our Little Clown , a biography of Reg Varney by Michael Downes, at Fairlynch Museum. * At The Green you can sit on the memorial bench inscribed ‘In loving memory of...