ON THIS DAY IN WEMBURY
27 June 1949
The Western Morning News of this date reported that eighteen members of the Plymouth and District Branch of the Devonshire Association had spent the previous Saturday exploring a series of historic sites around Wembury. Their visit offered a structured look at the parish’s architectural and ecclesiastical heritage at a time when post war interest in local history was steadily rising.
According to the newspaper, the group first visited the Hele Almshouses, the seventeenth century charity dwellings connected with the Hele family. They then went on to Wembury Lodge, where they were received by Mrs Erscott, before continuing to Wembury House at the invitation of Major H. J. Studholme. The grounds and remaining traces of the earlier fortified house were a particular point of interest.
The party finished their day at St Werburgh’s Church, where Rev K. Tagg welcomed them and offered notes on the building’s long history, its fabric, and its monuments.
This short report shows how Wembury’s older buildings were already recognised as valuable subjects for study, drawing organised groups keen to understand the parish’s past.
(Western Morning News, 27 June 1949)
Entries are summaries and interpretations of historical newspaper reports.