Friends of the
Church of St Mary Magdalene Huntshaw
A hidden gem in rural North Devon
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Thank you to Simon Jessop for the photograph
A Review of 2021
Despite the ongoing pandemic we managed to put on a few events
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Halloween Skittles and
Social night
Saturday 30th October saw Halloween celebrated in style. The ghouls, ghosts and goblins were out in force and we even had a plague doctor complete with his intriguing doctor's bag. The evening concluded with our version of the Rocky Horror Time Warp. Scary stuff and not for the fainthearted. Oh and we did get in some skittles! Photos to follow.
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The ancient skill of dowsing
came to Huntshaw
On a sunny and warm afternoon in October a group of enthusiasts were introduced to dowsing. We all had a go and there were gasps of amazement as the dowsing rods did their thing. We were taught a few basics to begin with before going forth with rods at the ready. The novices among us were allowed to dowse for water pipes and electric cables before progressing to the advanced art of dowsing for energy forces. The rods were swivelling frantically to and fro and were beyond our control. Its seems that there is a lot of energy in Huntshaw.
It was a fantastic afternoon with many of us trying dowsing for the first time. Our grateful thanks go to Gwynn Paulett, chair of the Devon Dowsers and to his team of professional dowsers. The event was in aid of the Huntshaw Bell Restoration Fund and was organised by Richard Sears. See the photos for examples of this fine group in action.
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For more information on the bell restoration fund email rsears2017@gmail.com
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Friends Annual General Meeting
The Friends AGM took place on Saturday 9th October and we are delighted to welcome Les to the committee. A few events were put into the diary (tentatively) including a celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.
Let the bells ring
out over Huntshaw!
The bell restoration project was launched
Our listed bells and their oak casings are in need of repairs. A professional survey has found that the three bells are sinking under their own weight on the medieval oak bell frame. This was because some areas of the frame were decayed with supports fallen away from the trusses, and also the oak beams underneath holding up the frame had settled. The middle bell (from 1665) was found to be cracked.
The total cost of the project is around 36k and Richard Sears, who is leading the project, has raised almost 17k to date. So we are half way there. On 14th and 15th August an exhibition on the bells was held in the church and one of the exhibits was a to-scale model of the belfry. Richard also gave a fascinating talk on the bells. See photos below. Other events are planned and for more information see The bell restoration page If you would like to help in any way, please email rsears2017@gmail.com
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Festival church
Covid has slowed everything down but we progressed our plans to become a festival church
There are a few more hoops to go through but we are hopeful that 2022 will see this happen
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For information on Festival Churches follow these links:
https://www.churchofengland.org
or https://afchurches.org/ ​
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Exhibition on Cuthbert Mayne
launched in August
On 11th December 1561 Cuthbert Mayne became Rector of Huntshaw. He was just 17 years old. He had a fascinating and controversial life that ended with his execution in 1577. He was beatified in 1886 and canonized along with the other Martyrs of England
and Wales in 1970 making
him Huntshaw's first and
only saint
An exhibition on his life and death is now available in the church.
The Huntshaw Graveyard Survey
The Huntshaw Graveyard Survey was launched at an open day in August. The survey is the culmination of seven years of intensive research by Richard Sears. Richard was born and grew up at Huntshaw Mill and has maintained strong links with the village. He has written two books on the history of Huntshaw. The survey has attracted global interest with inquiries from as far as Australia and North America. Feedback has been very good.
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The survey consists of six sections including a 240 page record of each headstone, ledger and memorial complete with photographs, inscriptions and background history. There are records of 800 people buried in the churchyard over the past 400 years but there will have been many more than this as records have been lost. The survey makes fascinating reading.
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Two files containing photographs of all the headstones with their inscriptions are now available in the church. One copy can be loaned out if you would like time to study the information. Contact rsears2017@gmail.com if you wish to do this.
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Thank you for your hard work and commitment Richard.
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And also .....
Harvest Festival
Our first Harvest Festival for two years took place on Saturday, 11th September. A service in the church was followed by a harvest supper in the parish hall. A cold buffet included numerous delicious puddings. A good time was had by all.
Open Day Sunday, 8th August
A successful day that saw the launch of new displays. An impressive display on our three listed bells included two models of bells in their oak casings, one of which was a scale model of the Huntshaw bells. A graveyard survey proved popular with family historians who came from as far as Crediton to search for their relatives. Finally a display on Cuthbert Mayne, Huntshaw’s first and only saint, described his life and death (in all its gory detail). He became rector of Huntshaw aged 17. The day ended with a service.
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The Quinquennial Inspection took place on 15th February and the report is helping us to plan our repair and conservation programme for the next five years.
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Book Reprint: Our popular book
on the history of Huntshaw
written by Richard Sears, has
been reprinted. All proceeds
from sales go to the church.
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And finally:
The community area at the rear of the nave now has a new
carpet. And very nice it looks! Our display boards have been
put to use with new displays and two wheelchair ramps have
been installed.
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And outside a picnic table is in place with a fantastic view to the west. One of the sheds has had a new concrete floor and both sheds have new doors. It is regrettable that the roof has now blown off but this will be replaced as soon as possible. The external doors have been treated with preservative and varnished.
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Wild life friendly churchyard
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After much talking and planning we have got this going. An area at the rear of the church has been
set aside to grow wild and there are many grasses and flowers taking hold. The butterflies are loving it. Our bug hotel has lots of guests staying but our bird boxes have yet to be occupied.
