An essential part of these monthly Reports is an account of our last Open Meeting, and a “looking forward” to our next Open Meeting, which in the case of this month’s Report will be our September Open Meeting, which will also be our AGM.
This Report of our last Open Meeting in June is unfortunately “second hand” inasmuch as I am relying on accounts and reactions of the evening from our Secretary and other Members of the Group, the reason being (shock, horror !) that I was not actually there on the night !! In mitigation I can only say that this was the first time since the Group was formed in 2001 that I have missed an Open Meeting (believe it or not) ! My absence was unavoidable, and was due to a gift of tickets (purchased in February) for the Leonardo de Vinci exhibition now on at the Buckingham Palace Gallery.
However, I was reassured to hear that the talk by Phil Badcott from Torquay Museum on “William, Prince of Orange and his 1688 Revolution in South Devon” was very well received and very informative, with many interesting facts and information about this little known historical event in our own backyard ! There was a reasonable attendance, including a number of non-members. Our display of old photographs and maps about “A Century of Farms and Farming in Marldon” was also well received, and an enjoyable and interesting evening was apparently had by all.
My visit to London also threw up an interesting and previously unknown (to me) connection with William of Orange and Mary, his Queen, when we visited Westminster Abbey. You may have heard of, and seen, the famous Coronation Chair in which our Queen (and every other Monarch since the 14th Century) was crowned. Well, now on display in the new Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Galleries in the Abbey, is a little seen copy of the Coronation Chair, made in 1689 for the joint Coronation of William of Orange and Mary. This was the only occasion in our history on which two Monarchs have been crowned joint rulers (Mary was a monarch in her own right as daughter of James 2nd), so a second Coronation Chair was required. A copy was duly made and was used by Mary (although her claim to our throne was stronger than William’s).
Our next Open Meeting is on FRIDAY 13th SEPTEMBER, and is also our AGM. Our Guest Speaker is Paul Rendell, who is well known to us, and will be remembered for his talks about Dartmoor and more recently about the making of the film of “War Horse”. His subject on this occasion is “Nature in the Garden”, which I am sure will be of interest to the many keen (and not so keen!) gardeners in the Village.
However, before we start thinking about September and our AGM, there is a much more important event which will take place at the end of this month, and that is of course MARLDON’S APPLE PIE FAIR – the most important day in the Village calendar. As you know, all profits from the Fair (which is organised by the Village Hall Council) go to the maintenance and improvement of our excellent Village Hall, which is one of the best (if not the best) Village Halls in Devon. As you will see from the Village Notice Boards (and from the Hall’s own website) our Hall is extensively used not only by Village organisations and individuals, but by organisations, clubs and groups, as well as birthday parties, wedding receptions and other celebrations from outside the Village.
This year’s Fair is especially important from the fund-raising aspect. As you will probably be aware, at the beginning of this year there was a serious rockfall at the rear of the Village Hall, extending upwards to the edge of Tor Field (which is above and behind the Hall). Although the fall stopped just short of the Hall itself, extensive remedial works needed to be carried out to prevent any further falls. These works have been carried out by the Village Hall Council, but at a very substantial cost, hence the need for this year’s Fair to be more successful (if that is possible) than ever before. So please, come to the Fair on SATURDAY 27th JULY, and bring your family, friends and neighbours – your Village Hall needs you !!!
Tony Chidlow .. Chairman
Marldon Local History Group 