The Devon-Newfoundland Story: A Celebration of Historical and Cultural Connections - 2017

As published by The Devonshire Association For the Advancement of Science,

 Literature and the Arts

In the first two weeks of April 2017 the Devonshire Association (www.devonassoc.org.uk), in collaboration with the Devon Family History Society (www.devonfhs.org.uk), is planning a celebration of nearly 600 years of contact and interaction between Devon and Newfoundland.

The Association, which was founded in 1862 to promote the study, understanding and appreciation of every aspect of Devon, is an active organisation with over 1300 members. It has both historical and existing links with Newfoundland: several of its present members have collaborated with Newfoundlanders in history, archaeology and music, and in the 1970s and 1980s the Association had a Newfoundland Branch, based in St John’s. Developing these connections is one of the aims of the planned celebration; another is to make ordinary Devonians and Newfoundlanders more aware of the importance of each place in the history and development of the other, and of how much culture they share.

Powderham Castle - rose garden

The celebration will be county-wide, but particularly centred in Exeter, the county town, and in Bideford, a North Devon port town with strong historic Newfoundland connections. The core event will be a weekend of talks, workshops and exhibits: starting with a reception on Friday April 7th in Exeter’s Royal Albert Memorial Museum, awarded UK Museum of the Year in 2013; and continuing on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th with a symposium in Devon County Hall in Exeter, in which a series of talks by experts from both sides of the Atlantic will explore aspects of shared history and trade, dialect and folklore, music, mumming and dance. Alongside and interspersed with these will be an informal programme of exhibits, short talks and conversation in which family history interests can be shared and discussed. Both before and after this central weekend, there will linked events in other Devon towns, and excursions to these and to other places with particular Newfoundland connections.

These will include a tour on Thursday 6th to Dartmouth, Totnes, and to Compton Castle, the seat of Sir Humphrey Gilbert who first claimed Newfoundland for a British colony, and still owned by the family. Friday 7th will explore Exeter, a walled city founded by the Romans, with fine mediaeval and later buildings; and will visit the pretty adjacent port of Topsham. Monday 10th will visit Plymouth, with its citadel and old harbour. On Tuesday April 11th Bideford and Barnstaple will run a full programme of events, including talks, museum visits, displays and pottery workshops – North Devon pottery was widely used in C17th and C18th Newfoundland, and is still made. Throughout the two weeks several museums in Devon towns are mounting special exhibitions linked to the overall celebration. There will be a concert of folk music involving musicians from both Devon and Newfoundland, which will explore their shared traditions and may tour between several venues in the county.

William Willis Bemister (1789-1863)

For those interested in family history: as well as the weekend event it will be possible to visit Tree House in Exeter, the research centre of the Devon Family History Society; and the Society is also planning a family history help desk on April 11th and a talk and display on April 15th, all in Bideford. Devon will be in early Spring, and we hope that many Newfoundlanders will take the opportunity to visit this beautiful, historic, amazingly varied county and take part in this celebration of our common heritage. For those wishing to explore on their own we will provide details of car hire companies and bus and rail timetables. If you may be interested in coming please email devonshireassoc@btinternet.com without commitment, and we will keep you posted with developments. You will be made very welcome.

Devon 2017

Devon 2017
as posted on the website of The Wessex Society of Newfoundland

DEVONSHIRE-NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR CONNECTIONS:
A proposal for a themed excursion to Devon, APRIL 2017

The Devonshire Association (DA), a society founded in 1862 to promote subjects linked to Devon in the science, literature and the arts, is exploring the idea of hosting a two-day symposium in April 2017 in Exeter which would focus on the historic and cultural connections between Devonshire and Newfoundland. The Wessex Society of Newfoundland and others have been invited to participate. A DA steering committee has been up and is currently making plans to develop a program which envisions having presentations on a wide range of subjects including music, history and folklore, and also a half day in which Newfoundlanders & Labradorians could meet Devonians informally to explore family histories and genealogies. There would also be a reception in a historic building, probably St Nicholas’ Priory in Exeter, and a concert of shared music.

The Devonshire Association also plans to seek the interest of the Devon towns historically most involved with fishery, trade and colonization of Newfoundland – Dartmouth, Totnes, Plymouth, Teignmouth, Bideford, Topsham, Newton Abbot – in arranging exhibitions and satellite events, over perhaps a one or two week period. Coach tours could be arranged throughout the county area.

It is hoped that this would be an attractive enough event to tempt visitors from Newfoundland for a themed holiday. At present April 2017 is being considered as a good time, when Devon is already into spring and we are still emerging from winter. Nothing is yet fixed, however, and the Devonshire Association is discussing timing, venues, other participating organisations, probable costs, and sources of funding.

Meanwhile they are asking our views on the proposal. Are we interested? If so, is the timing appropriate?

We will discuss these ideas in more detail later and examine such important issues as costs. It seems possible that a group tour throughout Wessex and the West Country could be feasible which, in addition to the proposed Devonshire Association event in Exeter and South Devon, could include visits to places such as the Salisbury Plains (taking in Stonehenge and Aldershot), the New Forest of Hampshire, Bristol, Poole, Dorset and Somerset with a day or so in London to conclude.

The following is a letter to the Wessex Society received in December 2014 from Robin Wootton, President of the Devonshire Society outlining their proposal.

I am writing to all the people with whom I have already been in contact about a proposed Devonshire Association event exploring historical and cultural links between Devon and Newfoundland. This is an update on progress.

The suggestion originally came from the DA’s Music Section, and preliminary ideas have since been explored by a small informal group comprising Paul Wilson and Marilyn Tucker (musicians, with Newfoundland connections), John Allan (archaeologist, with Newfoundland interests) and myself. Bill Gilbert, who knows Paul, Marilyn and John in both capacities and was visiting them earlier this year, took part in one of our meetings.

The Association’s Executive has now taken on the initiative, and has set up a formal steering group chaired by the Vice Chairman, John Mather, with the same people plus Sadie Green, an authority on North Devon pottery and its transatlantic trade, and Julien Parsons, of the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. John himself is a retired Geology professor.

The original idea has grown considerably. We now envisage the event as a longer celebration built around a two day symposium with contributions from experts an a wide range of subjects, history, dialect, folklore, music, artefacts; but also involving a half day in which Newfoundlanders and Devonians could meet more informally to explore family histories, genealogies etc. There would be also be a reception in a historic building, probably St Nicholas’ Priory in Exeter, and a concert of shared music. We hope also to interest the Devon towns historically most involved with fishery, trade and colonization in Newfoundland – Dartmouth, Totnes, Plymouth, Teignmouth, Bideford, Topsham, Newton Abbot – in arranging exhibitions and satellite events, over perhaps a one or two week period. Coach tours could be arranged. The Devonshire Association itself has a historic connection with Newfoundland. We had a Newfoundland Branch in the 1970s and 80s; and it would be nice if the old relationship could be renewed.

We are hoping that this would be an attractive enough event to tempt visitors over from Newfoundland for a themed holiday. At present we are considering April 2017 as a good time, when Devon is already into spring and Newfoundland still emerging from winter. Nothing is yet fixed, however, and we are still discussing timing, venues, other participating organisations, probable costs, and sources of funding.

We should be very glad to have your views on the proposal, and particularly on the timing.

With my very best wishes for Christmas and the New Year,
Robin Wootton

For more information and to contact the organizers