Colyton Vintage Tractor Run, Seaton, Devon

Starting at the Colyton Peace memorial Playing Fields, an annual event of vintage tractors and other agricultural vehicles parade through local East Devon towns and villages, collecting money for charity. The photos were taken in June 2016. I just happened to be walking along from the seafront in Seaton - where there the bank holiday market was held - when I saw a tractor coming around the corner.

I hadn't really planned to do anything with these. Anyway, I dug them out to see what I had and decided to make an article of this event that's peculiar to this part of the world. On doing the research I found that 120 agricultural vehicles took part that year. My photos are just a tiny fraction of that as I only stayed for a short while. 

The Run began in 2000, and has continued up to this year so far - apart from a hiatus of three years from 2020 to 2022 inclusive. The 2020 run was to have been the 20th anniversay but was instead celebrated on June 11th 2023.
There was a change in the route that year, altered to Beer, through Seaton, Axmouth, Musbury and Whitford, before heading back to its starting point.

Much as I like tractors I haven't made a study of them so I don't recognise any of these unless I can see the name on the tractor. The one below is a case in point!

Massey Ferguson is a very well known brand that even I recognise the name. The original company was started by Daniel Massey in 1847, merged with A. Harris, Son and Company to form Massey-Harris Limited, then with the Ferguson Company of Moira in Northern Ireland. 

That is an extremely potted version of what is a complex and interesting history. :)

The 2016 run was journeyed from Colyton and along the Jurassic Coast, through Seaton Town Centre and traditionally ending at Branscombe Village Hall, until the change in 2023.

 

The tractor seen below also had its name on the front. An Ursus, it was built by a Polish agricultural factory, which was founded in Warsaw in 1893. The name ursus is Latin for Bear.

 

And that's about it for this one. Just a short article but I thought it might be of interest. A couple more photos below.

I just managed to squeeze this one in before the end of the month. Next one up is the lovely group of Arts & Crafts houses and bungalows on what I call the Higgledy Piggledy road. Real name coming up on the post!

My new flat bed scanner is an absolute dream. A Canon Canoscan Mk 9000F, it's so fast that I don't even have time to sit down inbetween scans and takes a fraction of the time it took on my lovely old Lexmark followed by the not quite so lovely Epson Expression. No printer with the Canon but it does scan slides and negatives too and I don't really use a printer anyway.

Anyway, I'm well chuffed and am looking forward to the next set of photos when I can take them. Definitely onwards and upwards now, lol.

Cheers and have a lovely Lammas / Lughnasadh Day.* :)

*Lammas, meaning Loaf Mass, is celebrated on 1st August, and was significant to the Celts and Anglo-Saxons, celebrating the wheat harvest and thanksgiving for the abundance of food. Also a Christian holiday that honours the first fruits of the harvest season. Now celebrated in churches as Harvest Festival.

The Deer Stalker, Exeter, Devon

 

This is only a tiny post with just two photos but as I don't have anything else for the Odds & Ends series I've allowed it to have an article to itself.

Situated at the Eastern entrance to Northernhay Gardens is this delightful statue called the Deer Stalker made of bronze on a granite pedestal. It's Grade II Listed and was sculpted by the artist E Bailey Stephens ARA. It was erected in 1878.

Although it's not so evident on the photos, the stalker depicted is wearing a kilt to show his nationality as a Scot. Holding back his enthusiastic hound he shades his eyes looking for their prey.

I don't have a photo including the plinth but the plaque on there containd the Exeter Coat of Arms, beneath which is :

"The Deer Stalker by E B Stephens ARA presented to his native city by a number of friends and admirers of the sculptor. During the Mayorality of H D Thomas Esq AD 1978."

That's it for now. I do have a lot of B&W photos taken in Exeter. Some can go on an article (or more) of Exeter Buildings, but there may be one or two stand alone ones which can have a post of their own like this one. 

Meanwhile, I have just come out of a period of chronic fatigue, more or less housebound for 5 weeks until a few days ago, only managing to get out once during that time. Since then I've been out several times to get my strength and walking ability back, going to a convenience shop just down the road. I don't think I can get to Beer village again anytime soon though, as I still can't walk very well at all, so I'm going to shelve the Fore Street articles for now. If I can't get there I'll continue with what I've got, but for now I'll finish some photo shoots here in Seaton.

I would say 'Onwards and Upwards', but it's been more like 'Backwards and Downwards' recently, lol. Not sure what's coming next but there's still plenty to do with the photos I have and will be getting soon...I hope!

Cheers. :)

 

Infant School & Masters House, Seaton, Devon

 

 

Following on from the Former Schools post I took some more photos of these two delightful cottages. So I've decided to write another article specifically for them rather than just slot the extra photos in the original one. There's also quite a lot of interesting information to add too.

First off, I must apologise for the photos. I didn't realise they weren't focussed properly and although I've tried to correct it in post editing, they've actually got worse.

Anyway, what I'm going to do is manage with these for now then exchange them for others after taking more. Fingers crossed!

Built in 1840, it's a Grade II listing and comprises one building containing the school room on the right and the master's house on the left. The main door is between them with the inscription 'Infant School 1840' on the porch.

Slotted between houses with higher roof lines. altogether they form what is named Yew Terrace, according to the 1889 Ordnance Survey map, and is along what was once Sidmouth Street, now called Harepath Road.

This lovely little infants schoolroom is designed in a Tudor style throughout with moulded portico and finial above the entry porch, comlimenting the dripmoulds above the windows. The porch is delightful with its slightly pointed archway and fitted benches either side. There's also a mural on one inside wall and if I can get permission I'll take a photo and add it with the new ones when I have them.

A single storey, the school room consists of large, leaded pane windows, each consisting of three mullioned and transomed lights. In the window below, I just about managed to capture a small inside window at the rear of the school room. Comprising two lights with diamond panes, the left light also includes a stained glass monogram.

Now two separate cottages privately owned, the buildings are called 'No 11 and the premises of The Women's Institute' in the Listed Buildings entry. The listing date was 1983 and had belonged to the the WI for some time before that. I'm not sure when they sold it but I think it was sometime during the early 1990s. 

Now onto next door to the Master's House at No 11, which is now called Cherry Cottage. This one consists of two storeys with three small leaded windows on the first floor with two larger ones either side of the door on the ground floor.

The walls are roughcast in stucco with a plank door and flat hood above. There's a brick chimney stack at the roof ridge.

The building is attributed to a Captain Proby, who'd also built Ryall's Court School. It took a while to find out which one with dates that match but eventually tracked him down. He was William Henry Baptist Proby - born in 1794 and died in 1839 - and had gained the rank of Commander in the Royal Navy

Although he'd died a year before it was built he was instrumental in arranging for its construction and was also part of the commission to build a workhouse for the poor in Seaton.

Something I found very interesting was a log book for Seaton Infant School by William Henry Baptist Proby, which was in auction at Toovey's Antique & Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers. The section concerning significant events at the school was written circa 1876-1920, which was long after our William died. However, he did have a son with exactly the same names as himself so it was probably him following in his fathers footsteps.

The significant events included general attendance, visits and school inspections. An inspector's report is quoted in the auctioneer's description of contents that "the school is doing 'very fairly in reading, writing and numbers...singing is fair, needlework is very fair' but 'desks of proper construction ought to be provided' ".

It's so lovely to imagine the little ones in their Victorian clothes sitting on bench forms and reading aloud or plying their needlework.

I've always loved seeing both these cottages as the garden on the left is a gorgeous cottage garden and the right one has such delightful architectural features. It also contains the loveliest of single roses with an incredible scent that I always pause to enjoy.

 

And there we have it!

As soon as I can I'll take some better photos of the schoolroom. I was going to do that before writing this article but I'd already left it so long - and I didn't want to go back on my promise this time. Anyway, I'm honestly not sure what's next as almost everything relies on getting more photos. 

However, I do have another new scanner! I didn't like the 'new' one I'd set up for various reasons. Although unused, I'd had it in store for quite a long time, so I crossed my fingers and spent a fair bit of money on another one. It's a flat bed that also scans negatives and slides, which is much better. I have scanning to do from a recent photo shoot too, so that's good. New stuff! :)

Cheers for now and I hope to see you very soon. Oh, and having made up my mind when I started my website (then blog) that I won't do any politics - apart from the odd little rant about Councils and silly decisions regarding my subject matter - but I do want to say this...

Chin up, keep as well as possible, and don't let the wossnames get you down! :)

Mid Year Update

Hello everyone. I just about made it for the Summer Solstice. Not much news really, at least not much good news that is, lol. I did finally set up the new scanner & printer, which took two mornings to do. The first day was setting up the hardware, which took far longer than I anticipated.

Then the next day I downloaded and set up the programming, etc. I've never known anything to be as complicated; it was a total nightmare. Digital is not my friend, I'm afraid.

And on the third morning I scanned a set of 36 photos. I also have another, later set, but I was too exhausted to do more then. Sadly, I'm not very happy with the prints from the film processors. They are quick and have great offers but their prints are a bit hit and miss. The first set were very garish and the second set the colours were really bad with the grey asphalt paths and walls coming out brown with an orange cast and some browniness in the sky too.

Anyway, I sent off for a new negative scanner, which turned out to be totally worthless. Deciding I probably ought to invest in a digital camera I found out that you need a smart phone to access the instruction manuals. I have disabilities which prevent me using a mobile or a smart anything so that's out! So not a very good couple of weeks, lol.

All is not lost though. My old neg scanner is a lot better than the new one but I can't find the disc and instructions for setting it up on my current pc. However, I think I might know where they are (possibly at the bottom of a magic drawer where everything disappears) so the hunt will be on once I've got a bit more time.

Meanwhile, I took these photos of the balcony garden today with my little point and shoot Fujifilm camera. It's been a lovely day, finishing off some planting out and tidying the garden, taking photos and baking a cake. So now it's time for a meal, followed by cake and wine for the longest evening.

Oh, and by the way, the next post up will be the Infant School & Master's Cottage in its own article with more information and photos. :) 

Happy Solstice everyone. Love and peace. 

Cheers, Eileen. :)

 

Fore Street, Beer, Devon - Part One

 

This is a village with the most amazing variety of architectural styles, many of which are late 19th and early 20th century Arts & Crafts buildings, along with the much older vernacular cottages and parish church.

I've taken photos of Fore Street buildings on several different occasions and I still haven't quite got everything! A long winding street down to the sea front with a stream running down one side, crossing over to the other side towards the end. As I wrote in my article about the stream and its conduits, the name of the village Beer comes from the Anglo-Saxon word Bearu, which means 'grove' as Beer was once surrounded by woods, and nothing to do with the alcoholic beverage! ;)

Several of these buildings have pages of their own, so I'm just giving some sketchy details of those, along with the link for the articles containing more information and photos. 

Starting at the Square - at the top of Fore Street - the first conduit, photo above, is on the corner with Fore Street and the Causeway and is right outside the delightful thatched Shepherd's Cottage, which was originally two separate cottages made into one.

Dated to circa late 17th or early 18th century, it's a Grade II listed building, more of which can be read about here. There's also an article about the two conduits and stream, here.

The name Fore Street is the Devon equivalent of High Street in small towns and villages, although in cities it's usually the forerunning street leading up to the High Street, as can be found in Exeter, which is the county town* of Devon.

*County Town being the capital city in the county.

Next door is a cottage attached to Durham House Hotel, Durham House being the first of the Arts & Crafts revival buildings.

This wonderfully higgledy piggledy building is dated 1897, with a facade of Beer Stone from the local quarry situated above the village. Including gorgeous stained glass windows, a tiled hallway of Minton ceramics with some lovely Victorian Gothic features, it's an absolute delight.

More can be seen here.

And then we have Colebrook House next door to that. Like Durham House, it isn't a listed building, but it nevertheless has its own fabulous Arts and Crafts style and is also sharing the same continuous roof line. 

Some of the buildings on Fore Street have been attributed to the architect David Carr, who lived in Beer and worked for the Clinton Devon Estates. I suspect that he designed more than was credited for, as they have the most wonderful features different to - yet nonetheless akin to - his style, including these two buildings.

Like Durham House, it isn't a listed building, but it nevertheless has its own fabulous Arts and Crafts style and is also sharing the same continuous roof line. 

The entrance can be seen below, situated on the corner with a fab tiny window with drip mould above. The corner stone has been moulded into shapes above that, which is rather unusual.

More about Colebrook House can be seen here.

And a photo looking back along the street, below, showing Colebrook House and Durham House on the far right.

After this are a few buildings that I missed out, including the building on the left of the above photo, and all of them in that same style. However, the following one after those is the wonderfully quirky Steam Gallery with its slightly wonky chimney above the corner entrance.

Now this one was accredited to the architect David Carr, and similarity to Colebrook House can be seen in the corner entrance. Other features can also be seen on various other non-attributed buildings, such as the cute mullion windows above the large shop ones and its off-centred nature.

That's another one which can be seen on its own article along with the Marine Gallery here.

I missed out the following three buildings before the next entrance way, then opposite the parish church of St Michael is this delightful building with three gables, containing three separate occupancies including the central Gina's Restaurant.  

I don't have any information about this one but it comprises three floors and has a lovely Edwardian style balcony running along the first floor of all three residencies. The second floor contains windows in each gable on the steep pitched roof. The top floors might belong to the shops on the ground floor, or are possibly self-contained flats - and they could also be rented out as holiday flats.

And outside this is the second Conduit, seen below with the stream looking back up the street.

This next cottge along reminds me of the iconic childhood drawing of what a house should look like; a central door with a window each side and windows above those on the first floor.

Interesting canted window bays on the ground floor with sash windows above, the door, seen below, is really lovely with a panel of leaded glass containing a fab compass design and the house name Valhalla in the fanlight above.

Constructed with local stone and flint rubble with brilliant white quoins, door and window surrounds, it's attached to - and looks similar to - the Congregational Church next door. It's one of several which has the intention of fitting in with the surrounding styles.

The church, of course, is next.

Opened in 1856, it has been enlarged twice for growing congregations, once in 1880 then again in 1920. As it isn't a listed building there's not much information. However there are some snippets of interest, as well as interior photos complete with decorations for the annual Fisherman's Harvest of the Sea festival in the full article, which can be seen here.

This is followed by a terrace consisting of five bays. The first one by the church is the former Congregational Hall, then to the left is the White House Cafe, which is also a fish & Chip shop. Built circa late 18th to early 19th century, they are listed Grade II buildings.

Each section consists of two gabled attic dormers on the roof with the inbetween bay containing the door for the hall and a canted oriel window on the first floor. Attractive string courses run across each ground storey and first floors beneath the windowsills.

And next along is the delightful Woozi's Deli.

Called the Diamond House in the Listed Building entry, it's a Grade II building comprising a three storey house with shop premises on the ground floor.

Quite different to others along Fore Street, this early 19th century building is chequered with an ashlar and knapped flint decoration. Quoins on the sides of the front match the rusticated window surrounds on the second floor. Two diamond shapes sit in the centre of each of the top floors, which can be seen a bit closer below.

I don't know what those small metal pieces are beneath the bottom diamond but the central one directly beneath is something that's seen outside many shops in East Devon. They're for small christmas trees; the pipes are angled so that the tree trunk fits inside the pipe and sticks out obliquely. Festooned with lights, they look fabulous against the long winter nights.  

And the last one on this stretch before the turning into Clapps Lane is Pegasus Cottage, above on the left.

I haven't been able to discover anything about this building and it isn't on the Listed Buildings Register either. A two bay of different levels at the front gives it that higgledy piggledy look, especially with the entrance tucked in the corner between them.

A bas relief of pegasus is depicted on the wall between the two first floor windows on the side elevation. The windows have wrought or cast iron window guards, which were prevalent in Regency buildings, but may have been used later for this building. Another one can be seen on the ground floor to the left, with a lovely tiny garden in front, seen below.

If I can revisit I'll take more photos of this as there are more interesting features and may well deserve an article of its own. :)

As you can see I decided to put this post in more than one part, as there's too much to include in one go. So, I'm leaving it here at the moment. There are still a few more buildings on this side of Fore Street, but not many photographed on the other, so the two sections will make a decent second part. However, if I manage to get over there and take more photos it might be split three ways instead!

Having looked more closely at everything - Google Street View is one of my best friends! - I'm tempted to write stand alone articles of more buildings too. If so, I'll add the links to this post.

So, there we go! I'm all fired up for returning so I'll do my best. Meanwhile I've taken photos of the delicious Arts and Crafts houses & bungalows nearby my road and will be scanning those as soon as they're processed. 

Cheers for now. :)