Promoting awareness of the archaeology and history
of north Devon
ACTIVITIES
WEST YEO
Archaeology Projects (external)
NDAS hosts CBA SW AGM
Or more transparently put: North Devon Archaeological Society plays host
to the Council for British Archaeology South West Region's Annual General
Meeting. But acronyms save space and breath!
As members were made aware in previous communications, the meeting took
place, at our invitation, in Hartland on Saturday 21st April. Stephen
Hobbs of Hartland secured the use of the Methodist Hall in the village
and between them, Stephen Hobbs and Derry Bryant of NDAS and Larissa Fry
of CBA South-West organised what turned out to be an excellent day. The
weather was perfect, the hall was light, airy and comfortable and the
caterer, whom we had engaged, laid on a very generous spread.
About 20 NDAS members turned up to accompany the CBA South-West members
who had found their way to Hartland from the extremes of the region which
stretches from Gloucestershire to Cornwall.
Before they sat down for the formal meeting, visitors were able to acquaint
themselves with who we are and what we do with the help of an exhibition
of text and photographs put on by Judy Parker. The meeting began with
a welcome from the NDAS Chairman followed by the formal business of an
AGM chaired by Keith Gardener, regional chairman of CBA. The regional
committee was reformed and Terry Green volunteered to join it in order
to represent the interests of our area.
The formal meeting was followed by coffee, after which three presentations
followed one after the other. First Terry Green spoke about NDAS, its
background, its development and its recent and ongoing projects. He concentrated
on the now completed fish weirs survey, the Holworthy
Project and the work currently unfolding at Six
Acre Farm.
This rapid run-through of our activities was followed by a talk from Keith
Gardener. Keith's title was "The Translation of St Nectan from Lundy
to Hartland". He provided an overview of excavations which had taken
place on Lundy in the 1960s and which had revealed several inscribed memorial
stones and had exposed a cluster of post-Roman burials around a central
cella. Echoing the argument put forward by Charles Thomas in 1994* he
suggested that this might once have housed the remains of an important
holy man, perhaps specifically the 6th century south Welsh royal figure,
Brychan. Under the adopted name of "Nectanus" Brychan lived
a life of prayer on the island and some time after his death, his remains
were "translated" to a monastic settlement and church at Stoke
in Hartland.
The third talk of the morning was given by Stephen Hobbs. In this he presented
the development of his ideas on the evolution of the Hartland landscape.
Drawing together prehistoric, ecclesiastical and manorial evidence, he
outlined a developmental process which may be thought to have produced
the distinctive Hartland landscape visible today.
In this process a prehistoric landscape of settlements and monuments would
have been obscured by two transforming powers. Initially- in the post-Conquest
period - the Augustinian monks of Hartland Abbey would have been at work.
More importantly however, the Dinham family who came into possession of
Hartland in the 12th century, would have been keen to express their high
status by creating a deer park, a warren, a swannery and a borough with
a market and fair supported by efficient farming practice. The thesis
is, therefore, that much of the Hartland landscape as seen today represents
the creation of a high status parkland by the Dinhams.
After lunch everyone was invited to join a guided tour of Stoke Church.
The guide was Stephen Hobbs who was very happy to share his extensive
knowledge of the church and its history. The weather was perfect and for
those who had come from afar it was a splendid way to gain an appreciation
of the beautiful coastal setting and very interesting historical context
of this imposing building. The afternoon concluded with tea back at the
Methodist Hall.
All in all, members of NDAS acquitted themselves well, impressing the
regional CBA group with the extent of the Society's activities.
Members owe special thanks to Derry Bryant and Stephen Hobbs for their
organisation of the event and to all those who assisted on the day.
*Thomas, C. 1994: And Shall These Mute Stones Speak? University of Wales
Press.