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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
    Title and Preface Pages
 1. Widecombe Parish - an Introduction
 2. The Coffin Stone
 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
 5. Widecombe Church - architecture, history and archaeology, memorials and inscriptions, incumbents and Leusdon Church
 6. The Manors of Widecombe
 7. The Old Clapper Bridge at Dartmeet
 8. Parish Registers
 9. The Contents of the Parish Chest
 10. Dart-meet - a poem
 11. Archery at Widecombe
 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
 15. An Auld Wife's Story
 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
 22. Dartmoor Rainfall
 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
 28. Restoration of the Parish Church of St Pancras
The information on this page was last modified on February 25 2024 13:58:09.