An online journal for the North Devon Athenaeum
Today marks the 300th Anniversary of Lancelot "Capability" Brown's baptism on 30th August 1716 in Kirkhale, Northumberland. His ability, or capability, for creating natural looking landscapes for many of Britain's stately homes is what he is most well-known for today. There are over 250 gardens or landscapes credited to him, some of which he over …
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This year marks the 150th Anniversary of Beatrix Potter's birth. Best known for her illustrations and tales of Peter Rabbit, Jeremy Fisher and Jemima Puddle-duck amongst others, she was also an expert on fungi, Herdwick Sheep, a keen supporter of the National Trust and was key in the preservation of the Lake District and it's …
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All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages  One of Barnstaple's claims to fame is that it is the birth place of the poet and playwright John …
Two hundred years ago and some three hundred miles from Barnstaple one of the Nineteenth Century's most well known writers, Charlotte Bronte, was born on this day. Born in Thornton, West Yorkshire, Charlotte was the third child of Patrick Bronte and Maria Branwell. Her parents had been married in December 1812 and an entry for this event can be found …
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Dujailah. While it remains one of the less well known battles of the First World War, but for North Devon it was one of the worst. Some 49 officers and men were killed from the 1/6th Devonshire Regiment in one day and hundreds more died as a …
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The start of a new year gives us a chance to reflect on some of the things we have discovered over the last year and look forward to some of the things we may find during 2016. In 2015 we showcased some of the items we have in our general library collection through our new series of Discover...On …
The writer of one of the Nation's favourite poems, If, celebrates his 150 birthday today, but what many people may not know is that there is a local connection with the writer and poet Rudyard Kipling. Born in India in 1865, Kipling was sent to school in England, firstly in Southsea and at the age …
October marked the 600th Anniversary of Henry V victory at the Battle of Agincourt and you can find various items on our shelves from across the centuries which give an historical account of the famous battle where the English were outnumbered by the French... “The French...took post between Rousseauville and Agincourt, and gave notice …
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This month marks the anniversary of the Royal North Devon Hussars arrival in Gallipoli in 1915. By the time they arrived the British and ANZAC troops had already suffered heavy casualties and there were already calls for the Peninsula (also known as the Dardanelles) to be evacuated. The Royal North Devon Hussars landed in Suvla …
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Northward of Egham, between the town and the Thames, is Runnymead, which will ever be celebrated in the history of this country as the spot where the assembled barons, in 1215, compelled King John, who had in vain resorted to the most criminal prevarications, to grant what is emphatically denominated Magna Charta, the great charter …
Tales From the Archives 