On this day in Wembury — 31 July 1950

The Western Morning News reported that a public meeting called by Wembury Parish Council had agreed on a list of 25 existing rights of way in the parish, to be submitted to Devon County Council via Plympton Rural District Council. This was part of the new national survey of footpaths being undertaken across England. The process in Wembury was made easier because the Parish Council had already prepared detailed maps of the local paths two years earlier.

During the meeting, some suggestions were made for minor changes: a few paths might be re-routed, and one considered for dispensing with as no longer useful to villagers. The meeting also addressed a change in the Parish Council’s membership: following the resignation of Mr H. Wills, it was decided to invite Mrs L.G. Dilleigh to take his place, as she had polled the highest votes among the unsuccessful candidates at the previous council election.

This moment marked Wembury’s contribution to the mid-20th-century drive to establish a permanent record of public rights of way, which later formed the backbone of the definitive maps still used today to protect and maintain access.

(Source: Western Morning News, 1 August 1950 — reporting events of 31 July 1950.)