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Widecombe-in-the-Moor
Widecombe Things New and Old
Robert Dymond
Robert Dymond, a local historian and Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, was born in Exeter in 1821, the son of an Estate Agent. He bought Dunstone and Blackslade Manor in 1869 and lived in Blackslade Manor House until his death in 1888.
He was a respected member of Exeter’s community joining numerous local societies. More details on Robert Dymond and his family can be found in Stephen Wood’s book ‘Widecombe-in-the-Moor – A Pictorial History of a Dartmoor Village’ (the source of most of these biographical details).
From our current point of view, it is Dymond’s book ‘Things New and Old Concerning the Parish of Widecombe-in-the-Moor and its Neighbourhood’ that is of primary interest. This was published in 1876 to raise money for the renovation and restoration of Widecombe Church, which he felt was in disrepair and deteriorating rapidly. He wrote the work largely himself and it provides a fascinating record of Widecombe as it was in the second half of the nineteenth century, with an interesting collection of short pieces that are individually easy to digest.
We are providing a transcription of each of those pieces for you to pick out and read what attracts you. It will also enable a search to be made of the book so that you can easily find your area of interest.
These pieces will be added gradually over the coming months until the whole book is available (it's over 100 pages long so it will take a while!).
Contents List
1. Widecombe Parish - an Introduction
3. All Round Widecombe - a perambulation around the high ground above the valley
4. The Dart and Webburn - a short poem about the two rivers
7. The Old Clapper Bridge at Dartmeet
9. The Contents of the Parish Chest
12. Lines on a Gravestone, Without Inscription, in the Chapel Yard at Dartmoor Prison - a poem
13. Dartmoor and the Singers of Brent
14. Reminiscences of Widecombe Between Thirty and Forty Years Ago
16. Review of Rowe's Perambulation of Dartmoor
17. Jonas Coaker - the Poet of Dartmoor
18. A Poem on Widecombe-in-the-Moor by Jonas Coaker
19. Two Literary Worthies of Widecombe
20. Opening of the Grandfather of Devonshire Railways
21. The Music of Moorland Waters
23. A Few Devonian Words and Phrases
24. Dartmoor Ferns
25(1). The Widecombe Thunderstorm Part 1
25(2). The Widecombe Thunderstorm Part 2
26. Snow on the Moor
27. Bazaar at the Bath Saloon, Torquay
The information on this page was last modified on October 30 2017 10:09:42.