We’re really pleased that we have Exeter archaeologist and illustrator Richard Parker on board as part of our Discovering Dunkeswell Abbey team. Richard worked for many years as an archaeologist with Exeter Archaeology. During this time, and since he went freelance in 2010, he has worked on a range of buildings, from churches and cathedrals to merchant houses and even 1950s and 60s town centres. Richard is also a talented illustrator and because of his background in historic building recording and archaeology he is able to base his reconstruction drawings on archaeological evidence and expert knowledge. His drawings are always full of both detail and personality, with monks, nuns and villagers going about their daily lives or celebrating special events a common feature in his drawings.
Here’s Richard during our recent site visit to Dunkeswell Abbey, examining the standing remains. Once we have carried out the surveys and investigations at Dunkeswell Abbey over the next few months Richard will be ready to start work, basing his illustration on the new information we will have discovered about the site.
Here’s an example of Richard’s work. We look forward to seeing what he comes up with for Dunkeswell Abbey!
Launceston Priory in around 1530
Read more about Discovering Dunkeswell Abbey, a National Lottery Heritage Fund project, here.
We’re delighted to announce that we’ve just received £9,700 from the National Lottery Heritage Fund towards an exciting new community archaeology project called Discovering Dunkeswell Abbey. Working with local communities and project partners, The Blackdown Hills AONB Partnership, we will be uncovering the rich heritage of this nationally significant abbey complex through participatory and fun events and activities.
If you visited the site of Dunkeswell Abbey in East Devon you’d struggle to understand the significance of this substantial monastic complex, since there is currently no signage or interpretation information at the site and only fragments of the 13th century Cistercian abbey survives above ground. There are also many questions left unanswered about the extent and significance of Dunkeswell Abbey, which the community archaeology programme will help to solve.
The project is expected to run for a year, with opportunities for people of all ages to explore and enjoy their local heritage, both as participants and volunteers. Surveying the remains of the abbey and river walking to look for pottery are just a couple of the volunteer activities on offer. Watch this space for more details on ‘Dunkeswell Abbey on Tour’, a series of interactive workshops and events taking the project into schools and the community.
By the end of the project, a newly-commissioned interpretation drawing of the abbey will be installed at the site, alongside information informed by the community archaeology programme. We are also looking forward to training up 5 volunteers as Dunkeswell Abbey Ambassadors – local people who would like to gain an in depth understanding of the abbey and could share it with others in the future.
If anyone would like to volunteer, please contact Catherine Farnell on Catherine@heritageartspeople.uk to register your interest.
Collecting oral histories is an exciting and important part of the What’s On Your Plate? The Food That Makes Our Community project. It was therefore great to be part of an informative and engaging workshop at West Exe Nursery School led by Kaleigh Milden which provided training and guidance on how to collect oral histories.
During the workshop we learnt about what oral history really is and the potential it has as a resource. The Oral History Society website has succinctly summarised the value of oral history as:
A living history of everyone’s unique life experiences
An opportunity for those people who have been ‘hidden from history’ to have their voice heard
A rare chance to talk about and record history face-to-face
A source of new insights and perspectives that may challenge our view of the past.
During the oral history training session, we began to develop the key questions we will be asking when collecting the oral histories and what we really wanted to focus on during the project. We generated a lot of ideas!
Thanks to Kayleigh Milden and all the volunteers who joined us for the morning. We are all really looking forward to talking to members of the St Thomas community in Exeter and recording their memories of food. If you would like any further information or would like to be involved in the What’s On Your Plate? The Food That Makes Our Community project please feel free to contact us.
It’s no longer the Heritage Lottery Fund or the HLF we’ll be referring to when talking about the heritage focussed grant giving arm of the National Lottery Fund. After months of consultation, planning and preparation the fund has relaunched as the National Lottery Heritage Fund. It’s not only the name of the fund which has changed, it’s also the approach, which was informed by people who responded to the fund’s consultation. Here’s a summary from the Heritage Fund website:
A major focus on nature, communities, and on ensuring everyone is able to enjoy heritage
new models of investment, moving beyond grants to include loans and partnerships, designed to attract others to invest money alongside the National Lottery
more support for commercial, sustainable approaches to tackling heritage that’s in danger of being lost
investment and support to help heritage organisations to be more financially sustainable
a requirement for every heritage project that receives funding to be environmentally friendly
simpler, streamlined and more efficient funding
greater engagement and support to help 13 deprived communities that have in the past been less successful securing funding
continued support for large-scale, iconic projects over £5million
So what does the name change and new approach mean for communities?
The focus of the fund is increasingly on social issues and wellbeing and on reaching the widest range of people. These are all aims we strongly support here at HAP. It will be great to see more heritage projects which engage diverse communities, bringing fulfilling and enriching experiences. The focus on nature and landscapes is also exciting news and could work well with the theme of wellbeing by encouraging more people and a wider range of people to explore and enjoy the outdoors. The new approach also favours capacity-building and innovation and enterprising ways of doing things which should see a rise in new and innovative projects, something we look forward to hearing and reading about.
Hopefully it means that groups applying for funding find the process easier and quicker too, with more decisions at a local level and a single open programme: National Lottery Grants for Heritage. All in all it seems like good news for heritage and for people. See more in this short video by the Heritage Fund and read more about their plans here.
It was lovely to be invited along to the St Thomas Library on Sunday for the 5th Local History Day, introducing people to the ‘What’s on Your Plate’ project. This new National Lottery Heritage Fund project is being led by the West Exe Nursery School and HAP were asking local history day visitors to share their childhood memories of food.
As well as collecting memories of post war meals such as Bubble and Squeak and more modern family favourites such as pizza, we had some recipe input from Khaled, who grew up in Syria and met the former owner of Okehampton Road Fish and Chip shop, whose family ran the shop for over 70 years.
Okehampton Road Fish and Chip Shop Former Owner showing the old Family Delivery Van
Younger visitors enjoyed drawing pictures of what they like to eat.
What’s On Your Plate Drawings
It was a really enjoyable day and it was great to see the library bustling with people interested in finding out more about their local history.
