1930s Butchers Shop, Seaton Devon

Starting life in the mid 1930s, the butchers shop was originally called Eastmans. It later became a part of the Dewhurst chain. Latterly, it was GK Meats for many years then in December 2015 it was taken over by Lloyd Maunder, when some very interesting original features came to light during renovations.

I took the two photos above and the one below whilst having a walk around Seaton looking for interesting details. This was when it still belonged to GK Meats. Being a Sunday the shop was closed but I loved the original mosaic pattern on the doorstep and the glazed wall tiles in the entranceway. The owner, Glen, told me later on that the chains are original and were used for displaying carcasses, such as rabbits, pheasants or even a pig. This was well before 'Health & Safety' rules and regulations, of course! ;) 

I took the rest of the photos sometime in October 2016, after reading about the interior decor discovery in the local newspaper.

Apart from the glazed tiles and door mosaic, the exterior features include the lovely details above the windows and doors. The door, below, leads to the accommodation upstairs, and it too has the original decor on the door panels and window above it.

During the renovations the wall cladding and a false ceiling were taken down, revealing the original glazed tiles underneath. Matching the colour of the tiles in the entrance, the interior ones comprise of lovely foliate swathes beneath the ceiling and other decorative patterns lower down beneath a dado.

Sadly, Lloyd Maunder stayed for less than three years, as the Seaton branch wasn't as financially viable as their other shops. However, one thing we can be very grateful for is the renovation work they did to reveal the original shop decor.

   
Now a Micro Pub, the shop still retains those features. I haven't been inside myself, as I don't go out in the evenings these days...or hardly drink at all either, come to that, lol. The newspaper photos I've seen look good, though.

Here's some blurb about the pub taken from Whatpub.com.

"This Micro Pub is situated in an old butchers shop. There are four real ales and four real ciders served straight from the casks which are stored in the old cold room. There is no fizzy beer or lager and no music. The emphasis is on conversation but NOT on mobile phones. The landlord always wears a hat, which is reflected in the pubs unusual name. Snacks such as crisps and biltong are available."

Called All Hat and No Cattle, shortened to The Hat, I came across the saying 'All hat and no cattle' in the Urban Dictionary, which means...

"A slang phrase from the Southwestern United States, indicating a person is more image or projection than actual substance. It is probably derived from the regions contempt for people who are not cowboys or ranchers but who try to mimic the frontiersman image through superficial adoption of the regions folkways."
 

I had no idea what Biltong is, so I had to look it up. For others who haven't heard of it before either, here's what Wikipedia says about it.

"Biltong is a form of dried, cured meat that originated in Southern African countries (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana and Zambia). Various types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef to game meats such as ostrich or kudu."

So there we have it! A fabulous resurrection from the past, showing the lovely kinds of detail that were often used in shops some 80 to 90 years ago. :)





 

United Reformed Church, Seaton, Devon

Talking to a friend several years ago, she told me that there's some stunning stained glass inside this church. As it happened, there didn't seem to be a time when it was open apart from services, so it was a long time before I actually got to see it. Meanwhile, one day whilst wandering around town with my camera, I decided to take photos of the exterior anyway, and although there wasn't a lot to see I really enjoyed spending some time here. Eventually I was able to find a time when it was open to see the interior for myself...and it was well worth the wait!

This church was built specifically for the Congregationalists in 1894, as a more suitable venue for worship than the Independent Chapel on Fore Street that had been previously used. The name change occured when the Congregationalists and the Presbyterians merged to become the United Reformed Church in 1972.

Constructed with local flint, it's fairly typical of a Victorian Gothic church and has a few nice features such as the head stops at the ends of the hood moulds, which are of a foliate design. The quoins and window dressings are made from Bath and Beer limestone, the latter from the local Quarry above the village of Beer.
 

The panelled door with its light wood has a more modern look, and although the ironwork strap hinges are meant to emulate the Gothic style they too have the feel of a modern interpretation. I love the design of them...ornate, yet also simply and beautifully made, with the attention to detail that is sometimes lacking today.

Inside is a fairly large vestibule, which I discovered was used for a regular Wednesday coffee morning. Coffee & biccies and the chance to get inside and take photos! :) 

The vestibule and main body of the church are divided by means of this wood-panelled and stained glass screen. Even though my friend had told me about the lovely stained glass, I had no idea just how gorgeous it is until I actually saw it.

The vestibule was enlarged in 1992, at which time the last two rows of pews were removed and the screen moved forward. I love the various geometrical designs in the windows and the Arts & Crafts flora in the door panels.

The rest of the church windows are quite simple with cathedral tinted glass windows, like the one situated in the vestibule. As opposed to plain glass, they have a very subtle blue tint, which is more evident with the smaller pieces of glass. Because the glass isn't clear the outside is seen as just a blurry colour - possibly to keep the congregation's attention from wandering - but it does also have a very pleasing effect, below.

Other exterior features include four gate pillars, two each side of a low wall in the centre topped with wrought iron railings.
 

The floral carvings are an absolute delight and I love the way that weathering has given the quatrefoils such an endearing quality.

And the original date stone, below.

Sandwiched between two buildings, the church looks deceptively small because only the front can be seen from the street. One side can be accessed by an entryway to the church hall at the rear. Some lovely y-tracery windows adorn the length, set within the striking contrast of mellow red brick.

The photos below are of the original chapel windows and roof in Fore Street, where the Congregationalists began.

It still amazes me that you can walk past a building regularly for years, yet when taking a longer and considered look it can have the power to surprise and delight you with its details. It's almost like a gift from the building itself, that taking the time to know and understand it gives the means to discover its secret uniqueness and character. :) 

And a few more photos to finish off with.

   

Harris's Dairy, Seaton, Devon

I was once told, some forty or more years ago, that this building was originally a bakehouse. I hadn't found anything to contradict that when I wrote the article for my now defunct website. However, I've since discovered its true history, therefore I've changed the title to reflect that.

It's just around the corner from where I live, and I've always loved to see its state of decay and dereliction. There is something wonderfully photogenic of old wood, slate, stone and brick, together with wild flowers and ferns growing out from the stonework.

The small field, at the edge of which it sits, is usually fenced off, but the gate was open on this particular day. I happened to have my camera with me at the time, so it seemed rude not to take up the invitation! It isn't big or sensational; used as a storage/work shed, it looks similar to many 'long house' styles of outbuildings, which is quite typical of the East Devon area, but there is some interesting history, and I love the building for its wonderful idiosyncrasy.  
 

The above photo, along with a couple of the others, is also on the Pebble Buildings page. You can see why as this building is choc-a-bloc full of pebbles in the walls, along with a mixture of bricks, flint rubble and large stones.

Some time later, I saw the owner in the field and stopped to chat. I asked him about the history and told him what I'd been told about it. He said that it had never been a bakery, but only ever a dairy, and that the building next to it was used by Newenham's Repairs. 

Having looked at some old OS Maps I saw that this building was on the oldest map dated 1891. A house next door to the field entrance was also on there, written in as Eyewell Cottage (Eyewell Green being the road opposite) and both were surrounded by trees...possibly an orchard. On the later map of 1968 - 1973, Eyewell Cottage is now written as Elm Cottage; now called Elm House.

The field once belonged to a Nursery, as shown on the 1933 map. The term nursery referred to a plant nursery, where trees and plants were grown for sale or replanting elswhere. Nowadays the name is much less used and a local one - Otter Nurseries in Ottery St Mary - has just recently changed their name to Otter Garden Centres instead, reflecting the more common term now in use. The owner showed me the ridges in the field where the greenhouses once stood and they can be seen on the 1936 OS map.

A few years ago I took several on-line courses in Archaeology and in one of them we had a fun project concerning Stratigraphy. Instead of digging a trench we had to look out of the window and select a building to see how it developed by looking at its different layers. I cheated a bit and looked from my balcony where I could just about see this building...if I squeezed into the corner and leant over the railing, lol. It was such a good choice as there are so many additions and bits of patchwork, from old red brick, wood, pebbles, flint and rubble, to some breeze blocks blocking a window on the end by the road.

Taken from across the field (above) you can just about make out the wedge-shaped end of the building on the right side of the central houses. I was trying to get some details of those houses as it looks as though the outbuildings had been part of something else which had been partially demolished. The owner of the field, however, told me that they were built like that.  

A close-up from my balcony, showing the adjacent road opposite the old dairy and its shed at the bottom of the photo. And below, one showing the building from its entrance on the main road, with its breeze blocked window.

One of my favourite buildings. :)