Bishopsteignton audio memories

Interviewer

So, without further ado, let’s press ahead. Oh, I have to tell you where the village is first of all. It’s a lovely village with estuary views, and it’s sandwiched between Kingsteignton and Teignmouth. It’s Bishopsteignton and the first person that I met there was Philip Gourd. I met everybody in the Community Hall – well, just about everybody, anyway – and I met Philip and I said “Philip, what do you like about Bishopsteignton?”

Philip Gourd

Well, it’s got such a lot going for it. Really no-one has any excuse for ever being lonely. It is such a social village; it’s like John Major’s classless society also because everyone goes with everybody else. As an example, here, right where you’re sitting in this large hall, once a month on a Wednesday there is a community lunch and all the single people come. They enjoy each other’s company. They have an excellent meal – a very reasonable meal – and anyone who comes to the village as a newcomer, especially if they are on their own, they are invited to come here and there is no looking back, they just go on, so if anyone is an isolationist, well, that’s up to them but there is no need for anyone to be as such.

Interviewer

That’s nice to hear a Community Centre being used for the community.

Philip Gourd

It really is. There’s such a lot going for it and there are so many organisations. I can’t name them all just out of the top of my head. One particular one – now of course we are going on to an age group but forget age groups, there is something for all age groups, but this particular one is called the Probus Club. There are Probus Clubs all over the country.
PRO BUS – Professional Businessmen retired, and they meet on the second and third Tuesday morning through the season here at our lovely Cockhaven Manor Inn and there is a different speaker, there is a Speaker Finder, they have a cup of coffee, they have a sit down. There is an excellent speaker and then after that they can adjourn to the bar to continue their conversation but it’s a wonderful thing and it was formed in 1972. Goodness, that makes it coming up to a quarter of a century, doesn’t it, nearly? Well, it will be soon, and it’s stronger than ever. It took off from the start and there has been no let-up. There are always people who are wanting to join the Probus Club. It’s nice.

Interviewer

What was your line of business?

Philip Gourd

Well, generally transport. Removals, bus service, coaching, that sort of thing. We did removals all over Europe, we did coaches all over Europe. Nice, but Bishopsteignton is still pretty good to come back to.

Interviewer

So how do you spend your days now?

Philip Gourd

Gosh, if you saw my diary. I wonder how I found time to live when I was….. Chairman of all sorts of things and Secretary of one or two things. One very enjoyable thing I do is guiding, once a month there’s a rota for a nearby village, Shaldon. They have a 1785 day on Wednesdays. We dress up in 1785 garb and there is a free walk around and the visitors love it. You see, Shaldon has a lot going for it (?) And also, very enjoyable, taking people as a guide over Ugbrooke House. That’s most enjoyable – marvellous place so, oh yes, I’ve got plenty to do.

Interviewer

We are visiting the village of Bishopsteignton this week and Jim Quantick was born and bred in Bishopsteignton. I asked him what his childhood was like in the village.

Jim Quantick

Delightful really. It was a hard life, but I was quite happy. The school here was a grand place. It was run by a chap called Wallis. He was the headmaster who was well respected throughout the village, as headmasters were in those days and I was educated here until the age of 10 when I moved to West Lawn in Teignmouth. I used to walk to school from here. I was a server in the parish church and in the choir. When I was acting as a server during mid-week the vicar used to give me breakfast and I would then walk on to school, so really, I had a good life here, I really did. I was reluctant to leave the village but of course the war cropped up and like a lot of other silly people I went off, you know. Thinking we were going to save ourselves from any future wars, but it didn’t come off, did it? Those are the main things I remember about my childhood.

I used to carry milk down to the various properties – small houses – down on the main road here in cans. About five cans with wire handles. On frosty mornings it was blinking cold. One dear old lady used to give me a spoonful of malt and cod liver oil in the morning. I hated it, but she used to stand there and make me take it, while I was there. The chap next door was a bank manager, taught me to use a typewriter and a fellow a couple of doors away found me my first job. I became an apprentice carpenter and joiner and I used to cycle to and fro to Newton Abbot. I started work at the princely sum of, in today’s money, 20 pence a week. After six months it went up to 40 pence. I couldn’t buy very much from that. My first new bicycle I bought was a Hercules at £3 19s 6d if I remember. Well, £4 roughly, and I enjoyed my work at Newton Abbot.

The whole atmosphere of the village has changed over the years. We have very many newcomers to the village but they have mainly blended in and as a member of the Planning Committee when I was on the District Council I encouraged new development, rightly or wrongly, because I felt this was becoming too much of a dormitory for old people, and with the improvements in the roads around the area people could commute freely to Exeter, down to Plymouth and so forth so they are encouraged to come here and they have helped to enliven the village in its activities. On the District Council, as I said I was on the Planning Committee, and I picked up a lot of other committees over the years. I became Chairman of the British Legion, Chairman of the Bowling Club, Secretary of the Cricket Club, Vice-Chairman of various other organisations. It was quite varied. I was also a Harbour Commissioner, which I thoroughly enjoyed, and that’s one organisation that I regret having to leave. Now I don’t do very much. The Chairman of the Village Hall Committee asked me to set up a Short Mat Bowling Club about three years ago and I did that, but I handed over the management of it to a committee and I think it’s running very successfully. There are so many organisations in the village. We have a Bowling Club, but unfortunately no bowling green at the moment and they play all their games away. I personally play at Bitton Park in Teignmouth and I thoroughly enjoy that.

Interviewer

This is Village Voice from Bishopsteignton where I met Corinne Darville and I could tell from Corinne’s accent that she wasn’t a born local, so I asked her where she came from.

Corinne Darville

I come from North London.

Interviewer

And how do you come to be in Bishopsteignton?

Corinne Darville

Well, I moved down here 15 years ago. I think we were just fed up with, you know, city life really. We just thought we would have more peace and quiet down here and, you know, it’s very nice, a lovely village. We like it very much here.

Interviewer

How easy did you find it to adapt from London life to village life?

Corinne Darville

No problem. No problem at all. When I left my neighbours in London they said “Corinne, you’ll never stick it. You’re not the type” but I ‘m still here.

Interviewer

Now I understand you are involved in the Children’s Theatre. How did you get involved in that?

Corinne Darville

Well, mainly, my daughter – she was 7 when we came down here and I was approached by one or two people, you know. They said, “Why don’t you get her in the Children’s Theatre?” so I did and offered to help, and I’ve been there ever since. We keep trying to get new members on the committee but it’s very hard, you know. People don’t want to get involved so I’m still there. I’ve been there about 15 years on the committee.

Interviewer

So, had you had any previous experience in Dramatics?

Corinne Darville

No. I’m not involved with the production side, nothing like that. It’s just someone has to hold the Children’s Theatre together and there are just a few of us doing that. We do fund-raising and things like that.

Interviewer

So how many youngsters are involved in the Theatre Group?

Corinne Darville

When they sign on usually it’s March time. Sometimes we have 45 sign on – yes, about 45. Sometimes a few drop out for various reasons, but I think last year it ended up with about 38 or 39 at our last production.

Interviewer

And how many productions do you put on each year?

Corinne Darville

Only one. Only one production. Usually it’s the last week in November or the beginning of December. It just depends when we can get the dates, and it’s on for three nights – Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Interviewer

Whereabouts do you perform?

Corinne Darville

In the Village Hall.

Interviewer

Are the facilities quite good there?

Corinne Darville
Yes, very good.

Interviewer

At least, working with children, you have a ready-made audience. You have mums and dads and aunties and sisters and cousins.

Corinne Darville

Oh yes, that’s very nice. We do have a ready-made audience.

Interviewer

What type of productions have you put on in recent years?

Corinne Darville

Well, last year we did Cinderella. I think we did Sleeping Beauty. Robinson Crusoe was one. I remember that because my daughter was in that.

Interviewer

Do the children seem to get quite a lot out of it?

Corinne Darville

Oh yes, because it’s not just for acting. I mean there are children who, perhaps, can’t act, but I think it is wonderful for them because there are a lot of shy children and I think it helps them. They come into the theatre and it helps them get over their shyness. I’ve seen children so shy, that I have thought “My goodness me, will they ever get out of it?” but they certainly do, and I have seen them years afterwards and they even get cheeky now! Yes, it’s very, very good for them and I think it helps them through life as well and also, they are mixing with a lot of the children who belong to the primary school and they all know each other, and they really thoroughly enjoy it. You have only got to look at their faces and they enjoy it. So, you know, it’s nice for them.

Interviewer

This is Village Voice from Bishopsteignton where I met Jean Knapman, and I asked Jean how long she had been in the village.

Jean Knapman

I’ve been here since I was six months old.

Interviewer

You had no choice in the matter really then, did you?

Jean Knapman

No, but I wouldn’t move now, to be honest.

Interviewer

Have you had an enjoyable time here?

Jean Knapman

Yes, very much so.

Interviewer

What have you done in the village?

Jean Knapman
Ooh, grew up, got married.

Interviewer

Tell me about your life, Jean.

Jean Knapman

You don’t really want to know that! I’ve lived here all my life, well since I was six months old. I went to school here, as did my father. I got married. I didn’t marry in the village but we came back here to live. I’ve had two children – they are now grown up and one daughter lives here with her children. I became involved with the Children’s Theatre, with Guides. I used to take Guides and Brownies. I used to be a Brown Owl. Then I became involved in raising funds to purchase this building, which is the old village school, so that we didn’t get it pulled down or didn’t get it turned into houses because it’s a listed building. It’s now the Community Centre. I have been Parish Clerk for the past 18 years which has taken a large slice of my life, but very interesting. I belong to the Flower Club, so all in all, I’m very busy. My husband doesn’t see an awful lot of me.

Interviewer

What exactly does the Parish Clerk do?

Jean Knapman

Keep the Councillors in order! Take minutes at meetings, try and keep the village affairs in order on the advice and with the help (well, not with the help) on the orders of the Parish Councillors, basically. It’s a hard job but it’s a very interesting one. We attend meetings, go to various meetings, wander around the village, around the parish, to check things are all in order. Even look after the local cemetery, so it’s a very busy job.

Interviewer

Now, you say you managed to save this building. When was that?

Jean Knapman

1978/79 we actually signed the deeds for it. We purchased it from the Church Commissioners. It used to be the old village school but it belonged to the Church and we bought it then to stop it being turned into, I believe, they wanted to turn it into old people’s flats and it basically became just Save Our School. My sister and a crowd – Mr Searle over there – we became very involved. They got a petition up, we raised funds, we went to Teignbridge and from their Rural Aid Fund we were granted money. We purchased this building I think for about £20,000, and then we turned it into a Community Centre.

Interviewer

It must give you a great sense of pride when you walk past and see it there.

Jean Knapman

Well, it is nice, especially when you went to school here anyway. Yes it is, it’s nice to see it working and it is very heavily used.

Interviewer

I’ve just been looking for the plaque, actually, that says you did go to school here.

Jean Knapman

Ah, it’s probably in the Museum! No, it isn’t. There are photographs of me in the Museum, but….. !

Interviewer

You’re the first museum piece I’ve ever interviewed!

Jean Knapman

Oh, there you are. A few more here I think.

Interviewer

And you’re also involved with The Flower Club.

Jean Knapman

That’s right, yes. Very much so.

Interviewer

What do you do for them?

Jean Knapman

I am now President. I used to be Chairman, and again we have meetings once a month and we just make sure everything is in order. We are doing a Flower Festival in August but that is in the Catholic church in Teignmouth and we just generally all muck in together and enjoy it.

Interviewer

Do you enjoy spending time in your own garden?

Jean Knapman

Yes, very much so. I love my little garden, yes.

Interviewer

I’m surprised you find the time. You seem a very busy person.

Jean Knapman

Oh, I am but you know what they say – if you want anything done find a busy person.

Interviewer

And the next person we are going to talk to is Roy Halsey. I asked Roy how long he had been in the village.

Roy Halsey

Just over 6 years.

Interviewer

And how did you come to be here in the first place?

Roy Halsey

We liked the area. We moved down from Watford in Hertfordshire and we started up our own printing business down here which we couldn’t do in Watford. There are about three printers to every square yard up there, so we thought we’d come down here and start afresh.

Interviewer

So, what does Bishopsteignton have to offer?

Roy Halsey

Quite a lot actually. It’s a village which is, of course, near the sea which is very nice. Faces south so we get the sun quite a lot and has views over the Teign river and the Teign estuary. It has a mixed population of young people and not so young people and there is a lot going on in the village every day and every week of the year. There is no season in Bishopsteignton. It’s a complete year-long programme.

Interviewer

And I know one of your consuming interests is gardening and you were able to find an outlet for it here in the village, weren’t you?

Roy Halsey

Yes, I was very fortunate when we moved down here. One of our neighbours was the Chairman of the Garden Club at the time and he happened to be retired from the London College of Printing and when he found out that I came from Watford and was also in printing he adopted me, so to speak, and after three years I took over as Chairman of the Garden Club when he thought he was too old to carry on.

Interviewer

So, how many members do you have?

Roy Halsey

Nearly 100 members of the Garden Club and we get most of them come to the monthly meetings. It’s a very successful club. I like to think one of the most successful clubs in the village although I’m sure that other chairmen will say that theirs is the most successful one as well.

Interviewer

And what goes on at those meetings?

Roy Halsey

Well, we meet; we have different talks on gardening and nature generally. There’s a sales table, refreshment’s provided and it’s just generally a nice social evening once a month which is visited, as I said, by most of the members.

Interviewer

Now you mentioned experts there, and you’re a bit of an expert on the rose, aren’t you?

Roy Halsey

Well, what is an expert? You know an expert to some people is somebody that knows more about it than they do, and I’ve been labelled with that title, which is very nice. I am pleased to represent The Rose Society down in the south west and I do give talks to other garden clubs and societies throughout the area.

Interviewer

And you were at The Chelsea Flower Show recently.

Roy Halsey

Well, not Chelsea. The Hampton Court. Chelsea is just for the trade people whereas Hampton Court is for trade and for amateurs and The Royal National Rose Society hold their national summer show at Hampton Court Show at which we showed at last weekend and did quite well.

Interviewer

How many prizes have you won over the years?

Roy Halsey

Well, at home I would say we’ve got over 50 medals and we must have won pretty near three figures in the cups we’ve won over the years.

Interviewer

That’s a tremendous achievement.

Roy Halsey

Yes, I’m glad we have to give the cups back each year, otherwise that would be a lot of cleaning to do.

Interviewer

Have you ever had the chance to name a rose?

Roy Halsey

No, I haven’t. That is left to the breeders and I haven’t gone into that yet. Perhaps in a few years’ time when I have a bit more time. Maybe I’ll go into breeding and name a rose then, but not at the moment.

Interviewer

And how about your business life Roy? Has your printing business proved a success here?

Roy Halsey

Yes, it took a couple of years to get going but once we had been approved by the locals, so to speak, we got local work and yes, we’re doing quite nicely now, thank you very much.

Interviewer

Ian Barclay this week visiting the village of Bishopsteignton. Now, in the Community Hall I met Edward Perkin and I asked Edward, in all the time that he had been in the village, whether he had noticed many changes; whether he thought the village had changed.

Edward Perkin

Considerably actually because the village was more the old village at that time. But of course, after the war, Bishopsteignton was designated for a development area like many other villages in the area and of course a considerable amount of development went on in the village. Some people were very pleased about it. A lot of people, of course, kicked up merry hell about it but development did take place and I will say that, obviously, some people – what we term the newcomers into the village – fitted in to the village activities. The others didn’t want to know, but apart from that the village is extremely well and we did find, in many cases where organisations were falling apart, and members were falling off that a lot of the newcomers did come in and save them. There’s no doubt about that, and we were very pleased with it. The British Legion, for instance were very grateful for many of the ex-service people coming to live in the village to join the British Legion.

Interviewer

You actually served in the Services yourself, didn’t you?

Edward Perkin
For a short while in the RAF, yes.

Interviewer

How did the war disrupt your life in the village when you first arrived?

Edward Perkin

Well, I volunteered for the RAF. We were farming at the time – I was only young at the time, but I spent my time in the RAF and then I came back and then I went farming in my father’s farm. He gave up so I took it on.

Interviewer

How did you take to the life of farming after the RAF?

Edward Perkin

Ah, well, of course we’ve been farmers all our life anyway so there was nothing new but I’ve been farming ever since and of course enjoying the activities within the village like the British Legion, the village hall and many others – the Scouts and the Guides, etc – for many, many years and that’s it. I am retired from it now and all I belong to now is Chairman of the Village Hall and Chairman of the Trustees of the Village Hall and the Community Centre because the Community Centre comes under the umbrella of the Village Hall but I must say, as Jean said just now, that a tremendous amount of voluntary work went on within the village to raise money to purchase this place, which was utterly marvellous.

Interviewer

I think Jean said it cost £20,000. How did you manage to raise a sum like that?

Edward Perkin

Well we did get grants for it; there’s no doubt about that. We applied for grants and of course carnivals went on in the village and a tremendous amount of hard work went in with many people in the village to raise the money to purchase it, and I must say that our bookings, between the village hall and this – this is why we felt that we must have it – runs in the region of somewhere of 700 bookings a year between the two of us and I think that’s quite good for a village of this size; 700 is a lot of bookings.

Interviewer

Do you think it’s good for a village to have a rallying cause like raising money for a hall like this?

Edward Perkin

Oh yes, most definitely. It’s the same as the Scouts. We raised money to buy the Scout Hut and it was the Scout and Guide Hut. Then we joined forces and we managed to get the Scout Hut and the Guide Hut and it’s still in existence now, and they are doing very well, I believe. I retired from it several years ago. I was in for several years, but I retired from that.

Interviewer

I was very surprised to hear that you were involved with the Guides, because…..

Edward Perkin

Ah yes, well I’ll tell you a little story about that. You see, what was happening, when I was on the old Newton Road, we were trying to find a place. We were trying to find somewhere for a Scout Headquarters, and nowhere could we find a place for the Scout Headquarters. They used to meet at the village hall and prior to that it was at the Methodist Hut. We couldn’t find anything anywhere but, in the end, I was made Chairman of the Scout and Guide Organisation and I said “let us join together. It’s silly for two organisations to be miles apart. Let us join together and we can share a headquarters”. So, what happened then, the new school came into being and soon as ever the first brick was laid to the new school, we then approached Devon County Education Department to say “What’s going to happen with the old canteen? This would be ideal as a Scout and Guide Headquarters”. So, we went to Exeter to the Education Department. They said, “well alright then, what are you saying?” So okay, they put our names down as a possibility for a Scout and Guide Headquarters. We negotiated it, and in the end the Devon County Education doubled up the grant – a direct grant to be able to purchase it – and we purchased it and paid for it and it has been running as a Scout and Guide Hut, and of course Brownies and Cubs as well, ever since, and it’s now run by a new committee and trustees who run it now, but it certainly saved the situation as far as the youth were concerned.

Interviewer

Then I met John Sullivan. Now, John is Chairman of the Twinning Association, so the natural question was where is Bishopsteignton twinned with?

John Sullivan

Bishopsteignton is twinned with a little village called La Roche Maurice which is near Landernau in Britanny. It’s about half the size of Bishopsteignton but very similar in character. It’s a commuter village, just as this one is but at the same time it has got its old rural population still there. It also has a golf course nearby, just as we do, and all in all we think that it’s a very good match. It also has a primary school and so far, in the 6 years since we were founded, we find that we have progressed steadily. The membership of the Association in Bishopsteignton has grown steadily and more and more people are travelling both to France and also coming from our twin village back to us to stay.

Interviewer

How was the link established?

John Sullivan

Well, in the first place it started as a sort of a joke. Six years ago, I wanted to learn to play this French game of petanque (boules as it’s sometimes called) and I discovered that in a pub across the river they were going to play it one Sunday morning. So, I went across there, and it started to rain and they opened the pub up early for us and on my second pint somebody said to me “Why the hell haven’t we got a twinning association?” I forgot all about it and then in the middle of the following week we got together and decided to take the matter seriously, and then began the great search for somewhere. We set up some criteria, one of which was that it had to have a primary school like ours, and secondly that it shouldn’t be too far from the ferry port of Roscoff because we were very anxious to enable youngsters, by which I mean young teenagers, to go across to La Roche to stay with families over there and in turn, for the youngsters from our twin village to come across and stay here, and La Roche Maurice is only about 25 minutes’ drive from Roscoff, the ferry port that you travel to from Plymouth and this makes this exchange of youngsters really quite easy. And so, then came the search. So I wrote to the Department of Finistere because that was close to Roscoff, and they sent me back a list of 60 villages who were interested in twinning with us, and so we set to, and we short-listed 10 of them and we spent a little anonymous weekend, 3 car loads of us, prowling around these 10 villages and one we rejected out of hand. I remember vividly, it was rather like one of these mid-west villages on cowboy films where there was a sleepy dog and a banging door and one café with dead flies in the window so we leapt into our cars and moved on to the next one and to cut a long story short we eventually found that this little village of La Roche Maurice suited us and we made explorations between the two of us and we’ve now been going for just over 5 years, nearly 6 years. After that length of time it’s normal to exchange Charters and we went across to France a few weeks ago and there was a great ceremony in La Roche Maurice – a pipe band and a folk band – and there was the signing of the Charters on the podium with speeches in French and English and the church bells rang and the National Anthems were played including the European National Anthem, I hasten to say, and the whole event went marvellously. They have a sports hall over there, which is a very large one, and 400 people sat down to celebrate this event, and the market square was re-named Place de Bishopsteignton and so we came back, and we have the French coming again in 10 months’ time and we, of course, have to put on an event of comparable nature and so the village had a public meeting, which I chaired, a few days ago to start the planning for this great event which will be in May. It isn’t just for the French visit; it’s a village festival in its own right, into which the French visit will slot, as it were.