On this day in Wembury, 11 November
Remembrance Day. Lest we Forget
Each year on 11 November the village joins the national act of remembrance. At eleven o’clock people across Wembury pause to observe the two minute silence, honouring all those who served and those who never returned. St Werburgh’s Church holds its Armistice observance around this day or on Remembrance Sunday, and many residents visit the churchyard and the war memorial to pay their respects. The names remembered include villagers who served in both world wars and later conflicts, part of a long thread of local families whose stories are woven into the life of the parish.
Remembrance Day in Wembury is marked simply and quietly, with the familiar view over the fields to the sea reminding everyone of the peace that earlier generations fought so hard to secure. We shall remember them.
On This Day in Wembury
11 November 1920 — Arkwright Sells Wembury Farms
On this day the Western Morning News carried notice of a major auction directed by William Arkwright Esq., offering for sale several freehold farms forming part of the Wembury estate. The lots included New Barton Farm (199 acres), Old Barton Farm (116 acres), and 33 acres of accommodation land. All were tithe- and land-tax free, let on yearly tenancies, and mortgages could be arranged. The sale took place at Ho!ditch’s Chambers, Plymouth, with legal particulars available from Treherne & Wiggins of London and the estate agent A. O. Walker of Chesterfield.
This sale marks a turning point in Wembury’s landholding history. Under the Arkwrights, the great estate was gradually broken up, with farms like Old Barton and New Barton sold off as freeholds. It illustrates how large landed estates, even those of prominent families, were fragmenting in the early 20th century, paving the way for new ownership and management of the parish’s farmland.
Source: Western Morning News, 11 November 1920