Denbury Devon
The Denbury Millenium Tapestry is attached to the front of the west balcony. It was a community project and took local villagers 8 years to design and make. It covers the history of the village from 1100AD
The first panel covers the period to 1100AD. It includes elements of prehistoric life in nearby limestone caves; small Celtic fields on the hillside; two Celts praying at the Holy Well (now Halwell); visiting clergy from Tavistock, the mother abbey. The Domesday book which mentions ‘Deveneberie’ is being held by Aeldred, and he is seen crowning William the Conqueror; depicted in the same style as the crowning of King Harold in the Bayeux Tapestry. denbury tapestry 1
The second panel gives an impression of life here in the Middle Ages. The Saxon Church was enlarged, and the yew trees which now dominate the churchyard were probably planted before the church was dedicated in 1318. The Manor house was well established by this period. Strip cultivation is shown, together with orchards and beekeeping. Denbury was a thriving medieval town, and received its first Charter from King Edward I in 1285, for a weekly Wednesday market and a three-day fair in September.
The third panel depicts activities in the period from medieval times up to the 19th century. The foreground shows the weekly market on the village green, with people selling cider, fruit, sheep, cattle, ponies, ribbons, roast meat and milk. The Union Inn was a focal point for traders and travellers, as well as local people. Denbury was still an important local centre, at one time rivalling Newton Abbot. Inside the shed is a horse driven apple crusher, as found on most Denbury farms. The wheelwright is mending a broken cart and the smith is shoeing a horse. The labourers above the lime kiln fill it with stone and coal before it can be lit and converted into lime for the fields.
The middle (fourth) panel shows the interior of the church, surrounded by two side panels with inscriptions that are to be found round the Tenor bell in the tower. Great care was taken to ensure that the dimensions of the church were accurate, and to find ways of realistically depicting the stained glass windows and slate floor.
The fifth panel depicts the annual fair which was started in the 13th century and ran until 1866, when it was stopped by the prevalence of rinderpest, an infectious disease in cattle. The scene is set in the nineteenth century. The cart in the foreground is being loaded with bales of cloth, which was woven in the village for woollen mills in Newton Abbot. In 1841 Denbury listed a great variety of tradesmen, including 33 weavers. The buildings shown include the Church House Inn, the Baptist chapel, the village school and the Rectory.
The sixth panel shows the village green in the first half of the 20th century. There are two soldiers from World War One, and traditional activities of the time including the South Devon Hunt, Maypole dancing and a charabanc outing. Also shown are a horse-drawn rake, a steam elevator, a cider crushing house, and an aeroplane – an airfield on what is now the site of Channings Wood prison was briefly active in 1935.
The right hand (seventh) panel has elements illustrating village life in the second half of the 20th century: various styles of modern village houses, the village hall, a local nursing home, a playgroup, Bonfire Night, carol singers, a tractor, the prison, and the post office, now the only shop.
- Church of St Mary the Virgin, Denbury Devon
Denbury Devon
The Denbury Millenium Tapestry is attached to the front of the west balcony. It was a community project and took local villagers 8 years to design and make. It covers the history of the village from 1100AD
The first panel covers the period to 1100AD. It includes elements of prehistoric life in nearby limestone caves; small Celtic fields on the hillside; two Celts praying at the Holy Well (now Halwell); visiting clergy from Tavistock, the mother abbey. The Domesday book which mentions ‘Deveneberie’ is being held by Aeldred, and he is seen crowning William the Conqueror; depicted in the same style as the crowning of King Harold in the Bayeux Tapestry. denbury tapestry 1
The second panel gives an impression of life here in the Middle Ages. The Saxon Church was enlarged, and the yew trees which now dominate the churchyard were probably planted before the church was dedicated in 1318. The Manor house was well established by this period. Strip cultivation is shown, together with orchards and beekeeping. Denbury was a thriving medieval town, and received its first Charter from King Edward I in 1285, for a weekly Wednesday market and a three-day fair in September.
The third panel depicts activities in the period from medieval times up to the 19th century. The foreground shows the weekly market on the village green, with people selling cider, fruit, sheep, cattle, ponies, ribbons, roast meat and milk. The Union Inn was a focal point for traders and travellers, as well as local people. Denbury was still an important local centre, at one time rivalling Newton Abbot. Inside the shed is a horse driven apple crusher, as found on most Denbury farms. The wheelwright is mending a broken cart and the smith is shoeing a horse. The labourers above the lime kiln fill it with stone and coal before it can be lit and converted into lime for the fields.
The middle (fourth) panel shows the interior of the church, surrounded by two side panels with inscriptions that are to be found round the Tenor bell in the tower. Great care was taken to ensure that the dimensions of the church were accurate, and to find ways of realistically depicting the stained glass windows and slate floor.
The fifth panel depicts the annual fair which was started in the 13th century and ran until 1866, when it was stopped by the prevalence of rinderpest, an infectious disease in cattle. The scene is set in the nineteenth century. The cart in the foreground is being loaded with bales of cloth, which was woven in the village for woollen mills in Newton Abbot. In 1841 Denbury listed a great variety of tradesmen, including 33 weavers. The buildings shown include the Church House Inn, the Baptist chapel, the village school and the Rectory.
The sixth panel shows the village green in the first half of the 20th century. There are two soldiers from World War One, and traditional activities of the time including the South Devon Hunt, Maypole dancing and a charabanc outing. Also shown are a horse-drawn rake, a steam elevator, a cider crushing house, and an aeroplane – an airfield on what is now the site of Channings Wood prison was briefly active in 1935.
The right hand (seventh) panel has elements illustrating village life in the second half of the 20th century: various styles of modern village houses, the village hall, a local nursing home, a playgroup, Bonfire Night, carol singers, a tractor, the prison, and the post office, now the only shop.
- Church of St Mary the Virgin, Denbury Devon