Along with displays by Torrington Museum, The Clinton Estate Archive, Quarry Hill, Brian Barrow War & Millitary archive and George Copp with his display about Marland clay works, railway and the old brick yard. This was our biggest event of year with over 300 photographs on display.

The hall was buzzing all day click here to be there. People who had left village came back and met up with old friends and acquaintances that they had not seen for a long time; some stayed all day!

We had spent the previous month gathering in photographs and scanning and cataloging them for the exhibition, most of the photographs were displayed as A4 prints and copies were available to purchase on the day. Visitors also helped identify unknown faces in photos and we made contacts with people who had stories to tell. The day was enjoyed by all but the group members did sleep very well that night!

Petrockstow Village Festival

The village of Petrockstow held a festival for the weekend of 1st & 2nd July 2pm – 6pm both days.

The Petrockstowe Local History Group put on a display about Petrockstowe Revels in the school room of the Methodist Chapel. The display included Revel Queen regalia, Revel programmes, oral histories about past Revels, a May Pole and many Revel photographs

The festival also comprised open village gardens, plants on sale, a variety of displays by village groups. In the Baxter Hall the Art Group exhibited their art work, there was a crafts exhibition in the Methodist chapel, the opportunity to buy arts and craft work and a flower festival was held in the church

A Peter Christie Talk

Sex, Lies and Slander in Elizabethan England, a talk by Peter Christie

Peter Christie gave a fascinating talk on Elizabethan England, particularly the operation of the Consistory Courts in the Church. These dealt with much that is today handled by criminal courts as well as the spiritual matters that todays Consistory Court handles. Many examples of crimes, punishment and quotes from court records were included

A Philip Jenkinson Talk

Philip Jenkinson gave a wonderful talk on his personal experiences as a prisoner of war. He brought along many items to illustrate his talk including a silk map, some flags, documents, photos and many other items as well

A Tim Jenkinson Talk

Tim Jenkinson, from the Milestone Society, gave us an interesting talk on milestones and Turnpike Trusts. His talk was illustrated with a slide show

John Hawkins Slave Trader

John Hawkins was so brilliantly portrayed that nobody can remember his real name!!!

A superb evening thoroughly enjoyed by all who now have a greater understanding of how the slave trade came about and operated

The 'Petrockstowe Past & Present' Book Launch

Our target was to sell 200 books at the launch, we managed this just a few days afterwards as further orders came in

Books can still purchased from local book shops or via the website, click here to read how

The 'Dowsing' by Alan Neal

An extremely interesting evening where we all ended up wondering around the hall with rods in our hands finding water pipes under the floor. A fascinating subject really brought to life by being able to experiment ourselves after the talk

A walk and talk on the Rolle Canal by The Rolle Canal Society

One of the rare fine evenings ; we all enjoyed a walk down to the sea lock where the Rolle Canal joins the tidal estuary of the River Torridge

Grandma's secret life by Peter Christie

An very interesting talk about life in Grandma's time. Times were certainly different then!

The Barber Surgeon by 1646

The history of the Barber Surgeon brought to life by 1646; quite terrifying for members of the audience who 'volunteered' to assist!

Hairy Hands, Devils & Black Dogs by Paul Rendall

An interesting talk by Paul Rendall about Dartmoor legends and folklore

A Petrockstowe Film Show

An evening of 5 films from 2 to 40 minutes in length; covering local cider production to the BBC coverage of Angela Bridgeman's wedding. We hope to show another film show next winter

Maritime History with Barry Hughes

An interesting evening with Barry Hughes telling all about the maritime history of the area

The history of the Police by Simon Dell

A talk about the policing of the area and the history of the police force; very interesting and informative from Simon Dell, an ex-policeman currently serving as a police support worker

A talk on Witchcraft by '1646'

A lot of information about withcraft from the '1646' with their usual superb presentation by Master Jake & Mistress Nell

A talk on Three Centuries of Food by Jen Hood

All that interesting information AND samples of food to taste from the Medieval, Tudor & Stuart periods as well! Actually the food was not really that old... Just cooked to the recipes of the time. Tasted good too, we did have good food back then, well for the well off anyway!

A talk on the life & times of a Devon Vet by Jim Hindson

A really good evening enjoyed by all who came along to listen to him!

A talk on the village life and the history of Widecombe on Dartmoor by Radio Devon's Tony Beard

A really good evening enjoyed by all, Radio Devon's own Tony Beard drew a good crowd and the evening was rounded off with pasty, cider and other Devonshire Fare!

A walk took place at Buck's Mill by Chris Braund

A really good day that was enjoyed by all of those who were able to go on the walk, a great day out...

A visit to the local clay works kindly arranged by the staff there

A speldid tour was put on, and re-run over a few days to accommodate us all. As well as this a talk was given by George Copp about the history of the works. Mining clay is much more interesting than it sounds and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it

A was given to the group about the history of immigration by Janet Few

A really good talk that was certainly very useful to all of us who are interested in researching our family history

A was given about the life of the Jack Tar in Nelson's Navy by Roy and Lesley Adkins

A good talk that certainly gave us a good idea of the Jack Tar's life in the time of Nelson, a life that we learned was quite a perilous one; no fun at all!