Torrington Crier

04/03/2025

DigtheCastle Update
The story of Great Torrington, the castle and the community, has raised interest across the UK and closer to home. After having a well-earned rest in early 2024, the team at Dig the Castle has been very busy this winter 2024/2025. Leading on from our national award win in July 2024, the project was further nominated at the prestigious Archaeology Achievement Awards, with the ceremony held in Cardiff in November 2024. The project has also been nominated for the Flourishing Culture Awards for North Devon and Torridge, with the awards ceremony being held in Barnstaple in March 2025.
Last year the team also went to the national Museums Archaeology Conference, where we presented the project, and there was much praise for all that the community had achieved. We have also given talks on the castle and project to Rotary clubs in Bideford and Torrington, as well as to national amenity societies, the Bristol and Avon Archaeological Society, and North Devon Archaeological Society. This work is important as it spreads the story of Great Torrington wider afield and we take the Heritage Trail leaflets with us to distribute, to encourage people to come and visit the town!
We have been working hard on turning the raw data from the 2023 excavation into products and resources for the community, and have sought another round of funding to enhance the information boards and signs at the castle site for visitors and locals. We are working on a plan for an event in July, to coincide with the Council for British Archaeology Festival of Archaeology (19th July - 3rd August 2025), followed by another small excavation in September/October 2025, where the public will be able to come along and watch archaeologists excavating live and to view the finds, as they come out of the ground. The project will also be the focus of an article in the renowned British Archaeology magazine: Issue 205, which will hit news-stands in October 2025.
Plenty to be excited about in the year ahead… watch this space!
John Eeles & Emily Wapshott, Dig the Castle Team Leaders

18/12/2024

St Michael & All Angels Church Christmas Services
We warmly invite everyone to join us at St Michael & All Angels Church this festive season, as we celebrate Christmas together. Our schedule includes a variety of services, each offering a unique way to reflect, rejoice, and experience the spirit of Christmas.
Highlights include our traditional Carol Service with the Winkleigh Singers on Sunday, 22nd December at 6:30pm, a beautiful event for the whole family. On Christmas Eve, families are welcome to the Crib Service at 4pm, followed by Midnight Mass at 11pm as we welcome Christmas Day. Our Christmas Day Parish Eucharist will be held at 10am, a wonderful opportunity to celebrate together on this holy day. Regular services continue on Sunday, 15th, 22nd, and 29th December at 10am with additional Said Mass on Thursday, 19th at 10:30 am.
All are welcome to come as you are and share in the joy and meaning of the season at St Michael & All Angels.

06/12/2024

Torridge Vale Social Club Christmas Table Top Sale
Sunday 8th December. Sellers 8am buyers 10 am-1pm, £5 per table. Refreshments available. To book a table call Jacky 07817 948 165, or see the person behind the bar.
Everyone welcome.

05/12/2024

Wishing You All a Very Happy Christmas
From all at the Great Torrington Men’s Shed, home of the wooden Christmas Trees!
Who are or what is the Men’s Shed you may ask? Well it’s based on the idea of an enlarged garden shed where adults can learn and practice wood-working skills.
It also provides a place to socialize and meet like-minded people to help to combat loneliness and isolation.
Here in Great Torrington we are lucky to have an excellent base in School Lane, where we have two sheds and a range of equipment ranging from a wood-turning lathe to a hand drill. This has enabled us to make items for local people for just the cost of the materials, and to support other community projects.
We also have a large vegetable patch along with a poly tunnel and greenhouse. This area has been a great success this year, as thanks to the gardeners amongst us we have had a continuous supply of fresh vegetables.
New members are always welcome, so why not pop along and have a look round and meet the team. We are open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9am till noon at Vicarage Gardens, School Lane, Great Torrington. If you arrive at 10am the kettle will be on for a cup of tea and a biscuit, or maybe a mince pie.
Great Torrington Men’s Shed

26/06/2024

Renovation of Waterloo Monument Commences Torrington Commons
Thanks to public donations and a grant from the Government’s Countryside Stewardship scheme, work is commencing on the restoration of the Waterloo Monument standing on Torrington Commons at Castle Hill. The work will be undertaken by a local builder and scaffolder.
The work will require the er****on of scaffolding around the monument and for safety reasons the footpath around the South face will need to be temporarily closed. To get past, the public will need to walk around the north side. The repair work is expected to last several months, during which time the builder and scaffolder will be transporting materials along the public footpath access. The public are asked to cooperate and take care whilst the work is ongoing.
Progress will be reported in The Crier, along with plans for a re-dedication ceremony.
Any enquiries or problems should be addressed to the Clerk to the Torrington Commons Conservators, Castle Hill, Torrington, Devon, EX38 8AA.

18/02/2024

Co-op Local Community Fund
The Co-op's Local Community Fund (LCF) has been running for a few years now, raising thousands of pounds for local causes. Co-op Member Pioneers are employed by the Co-op for four hours a week, to work within the local community by networking and fostering relationships with local charities and good causes, which reflect the Co-op's commitment to the needs of the local community. Primarily, this focus is on any group, activity and charity which enables people of all backgrounds, disability, race, and culture to support each other and meet both personal and community needs. Volunteering and taking part in community activities can be good fun on so many levels!
This year the LCF is supporting two local charities working in the Torrington community: 1. The Bickford Centre 2. North Devon Against Domestic Abuse (NDADA). By supporting your local Co-op store, having the Co-op App and being a member, £1 of every purchase on a Co-op branded product, automatically gives 1p to the LCF. Co-op insurance and funeral care also has the same fundraising capacity for Co-op members. It is amazing to see the fund grow over the year just with those pennies!
So, I urge you all to continue to support your local Torrington community in whatever way you can. Whether as a volunteer, a participant, a Co-op member by purchasing Co-op branded goods and services, or by passing on awareness of the fantastic work both the Bickford Centre and North Devon Against Domestic Abuse are doing to support individuals and their families and neighbourhoods.
Finally, any local groups or causes who would like to be considered for the next round of the LCF, get your group onto the Co-operate site, where details about making an application can be found.
Jenny Jessop Member Pioneer for Torrington & Bideford
[email protected]
https://causes.coop.co.uk/

16/02/2024

Torrington - a Special Town
Part Eight Torrington Commons
The final feature that, in my view, makes Torrington a special place is the common land which surrounds the town on three sides. The area (365 acres/146 hectares) is freely accessible to all and visitors can walk the twenty miles of footpaths, which include the golf course, ancient wood and flower meadows, steep bracken and gorse covered slopes, and sheltered river valleys. There is a wide variety of flora and fauna to be seen on the commons and lists of these, together with suggested walks, can be found in pamphlets available at Torrington Information Centre.
In about 1194, during the reign of Richard I, 'a large waste called the common' was given to the people of Torrington by the lord of the manor, William FitzRobert. In 1889 the rights of this land were transferred, by an act of parliament, to an elected Committee of Conservators which now administers the commons. The earliest management was mainly concerned with control over the grazing and quarrying but, since 1981, grazing has stopped and various management techniques have taken its place to prevent the area reverting back to scrub and woodland.
One of the first bills to be issued in 1889 prohibited the burning of furze or gorse on the commons, known as 'swayling', but this activity continued, judging by the number of fines listed in the Conservators' minutes for this misdemeanour. Swayling was part of the year's cycle for grazing land. Women would go out and collect 'fuzz-stubs' for faggots and kindling and then the land would be burnt. The alternative was clearing by hand. Before the Second World War, one official swayling went disastrously wrong. The wind changed and four thatched cottages in Mill Street backing on to the commons were completely gutted.
There were far fewer trees on the commons in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries because of animal grazing. There were donkeys and goats, and sheep were run on the commons until 1981. Dr O'Flaherty's billy goat ran loose near seats on Castle Hill and the boys of the town enjoyed baiting him. There was a duck pond on Mill Street common and geese and hens were everywhere. There used to be hunting around Furzebeam, and meets at the Old Bowling Green in the 1960s, as well as informal shooting and rabbiting.
Various sports have taken place on the Old Bowling Green in the past - football, hockey, shinty, golf, the Coronation Sports of 1902 and, presumably, bowls, before it was played at the present site on Castle Hill.
Past generations have happy memories of playing on the commons with their friends, making dens in the bracken and under shrubs, playing football, hide-and-seek and a game called 'tin can'. They would swim in the river and go fishing, catching eels and having mud ball fights, or ride down 'sliding rock' on Castle Hill on tin trays.
In July 2019, in research carried out by the University of Liverpool, within a fairly narrow set of criteria, Torrington was named the healthiest place to live in the UK. Obviously, the commons play a large part in this assessment of the town. They are a tremendous asset to both townspeople and visitors and, hopefully, will continue to be protected. There has been a lot of new building in Torrington in recent years but the commons are like lungs for the town, providing an open space in which people can take exercise, especially valuable during Covid lockdowns, and wildlife can thrive, and they play a large part in making Torrington a special place.
Moira Brewer

15/02/2024

New Look for the Winter Garden
Here at RHS Garden Rosemoor, the snowdrops are beginning to stand tall and the coloured stems of the Cornus are producing a fiery display of yellow, orange and red. Even though the Winter Garden is at its peak, there are also subtle and promising signs of spring emerging through the soil.
Now that our annual Glow - Festival of Lights has come to an end, we have begun the exciting Winter Garden remodelling project. We will be starting with the removal of the top half of the Model Gardens, where we will be relocating, propagating and saving lots of plants and shrubs; these will be replanted in other areas of both the Formal Gardens and over in Lady Anne’s Garden. Once the site is cleared, the hard landscaping can begin to take shape. The project is an inspiring one, it has been designed by Jo Thompson (RHS Chelsea Gold Medallist) and the new planting selection has all been selected in house. We are looking forward to introducing larger swathes of colour, an abundance of seed heads for frost interest, layers of complementing textures, and lots of more winter structure.
Look out for the variation in colour on the Helleborus x hybridus flowers, the beautiful aroma of Sarcococca confusa AGM and the striking red berries of Skimmia japonica. It’s also a great time to start thinking about washing the stems of any feature Silver Birch trees (Betula)- all you need is a bucket of water, a sponge or soft brush and gently wipe away any moss, algae and loose bark which has built up over the year.
Grace Barker Horticulturist
Top: Helleborus hybridus ©RHS/Mark Bolton
Above: Skimmia japonica ©RHS/Philippa Gibson

14/02/2024

The History of Rolle Fountain
The Grade II Listed drinking fountain in the town square was a gift to the people of Torrington from the Honourable Mark Rolle, Lord of the Manor, in August 1870. It was not just for decoration but provided the townsfolk with drinking water and a means of telling the time.
The fountain is built of stone and granite and consists of a Gothic style square on plan, with a crocketed spire of carved stone and a round basin for drinking water on each face. It no longer functions as a drinking fountain and these four basins are now filled with flowers, which are maintained by local volunteers.
The structure is 18ft (4.5m) high and approached by two rows of steps. In the higher portion is a clock with a face on the north and south sides. The clock needs to be wound twice a week and this was done for many years by Derrick Reed who was followed by Colin Beer.
The fountain stood in the middle of the street and, when roads were far quieter and High Street was a two-way street, cars passed on both sides of the fountain. (See photo)
An inscription on the fountain tells us that it was restored by public subscriptions during the Mayoralty of Thomas J. Dyer in 1928-9. It underwent further restoration and cleaning in the 1970s and again during the first decade of the 21st century.
The fountain is 150 years old now and very fragile, the stone is very soft in places, and it is in need of some further restoration. The Town Council is currently exploring options for this work. Repairs are very expensive and require specialist skills, so it is very important that, together, we take care of this important historic monument and remember that it is not a suitable place to climb and that the basins/flower beds were not built for people to sit on. If we take care of the fountain, as a community, it can be preserved for future generations.
Moira Brewer
Many thanks to Moira Brewer for writing this brief history of the Rolle Fountain on behalf of Great Torrington Town Council, it is very much appreciated.

13/02/2024

Torrington RFC Youth Section
The first half of the season is now well behind us. We are all very aware of how quickly the second half of the season goes, as we are all looking forward to some warmer, brighter times!
Games for the youth section are well and truly back underway. Here is just a small reminder of training times for different ages.
Wednesday evening for all age groups:
U7 boys and girls: 5.15-6.15pm
U14 boys: 5.15-6.30pm
U10 boys and girls: 6.30-7.30pm
U12 boys: 6.30-7.30pm
Games are all on Sunday mornings at various clubs.
There was a great crowd up at Donnacroft to watch the U14 boys’ first proper cup match. It resulted in a 45-5 defeat for Torrington, against a well-drilled Exeter Saracens team that will undoubtedly go on to do well in the cup. Nice for the lads to experience an official referee, rather than me making lots of mistakes! They played well in parts, and should be pleased with their performance. Onward and upwards for them and all teams. We are always looking for more players where possible, and even more coaches, which would enable us to start more teams. If you are interested, or know of anyone that would like to discuss it further, please get in touch! If nothing else, we'll keep you watered and fed and you’ll also have some good fun in the clubhouse.
Off the field, we are still working hard to create two more changing rooms behind the current ones. This will enable the kids to have their own space and create additional room for the girls and boys to be able to have their own changing areas. There is lots more work to do and it’s difficult in the winter months, but we aim to keep chipping away with it as far as funds allow. Lots more fundraising to do in the meantime!
For any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Adrian Avery, Youth Chairman
[email protected] 07780 665 378

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12/02/2024

Torrington in Bloom
A Happy New Year to everyone and let’s hope we can soon get back outside to work on the beds and containers in an around the town before everything is washed away by the river Torridge! Only joking, but it has certainly been wet over the past couple of months. Maybe by the end of February the soil may have dried out a bit… as long as it doesn’t freeze!
Of course, this doesn’t mean our busy volunteers aren’t already working hard tidying up, pruning, carrying out repairs, noting down areas that will require more attention following all the wet weather and, of course, replacing those plants that also succumbed.
We held our AGM in December at which our Chair, Barry Cubitt, agreed to continue in-post for another year, as did our Vice-Chair Dave Squire and our Treasurer Paul Watson. Our Secretary, Pat Stark, also agreed to continue in-post. Other committee members all agreed to carry on supporting our efforts.
The Committee gave a vote of thanks to RHS Rosemoor for their continued support and there will be more work carried out in Rack Park during the spring by the new apprentices.
The Committee would also like to thank the Town Council and especially our trusty town ‘technicians’, Andy and Colin, for their continued support.
We are also very grateful to all those organisations who give us financial support, without which we would not be able to function as a unit.
Watch out for lots more narcissi coming through, especially on the banks leading from the lower entrance from Warren Lane. These should provide a lovely burst of colour in the spring. We were also delighted with the way the flowerbed by S&G Carpets has flourished over the year and bulbs have also been planted here to fill a few gaps.
Cherry Hammon

11/02/2024

Two Singing Opportunities for 2024 The Plough Arts Centre
Ploughcappella Choir: Monday evenings 7.30-9pm
Join Rosa Rebecka as she brings songs from across the world including her native Sweden, as well as more recent music in English of course, with beautiful harmonies and playful singing explorations. Rosa is a hugely experienced and talented singer, songwriter and choir leader, dedicated to celebrating the joy of singing in all its forms.
Visit www.ploughartscentre.org.uk or phone Box Office on 01805 624624 for more details.
Heartsong: First Sunday of the month (not Aug or Sept) 2-4.15pm
‘Heartsong’ is a brand NEW monthly harmony singing group on the first Sunday of the month, at the Plough Arts Centre with the inspirational Alison Whittall (former leader of Ploughcappella). With a candle in the centre and compassion in our hearts, we are invited to sing together ‘a cappella’ in a way that is both powerful and restful. Join Alison in songs of peace, freedom and joy, featuring contemporary, gospel, world music, harmonic temple, Taize and original sounds. Our Cafe will open for a tea break.
£12 Full, £10 Supporters £8 Concession (benefits); no card payment will be available so please bring cash.
https://www.theploughartscentre.org.uk/