Shebbear Community Appraisal
Shebbear - The story so far
Shebbear, a parish extending from Dipper Mill in the south to Binworthy Farm in the north, was an ancient settlement. The origins of the "Stone" are lost in the mists of time, indeed, a local historian has described the ritual of turning the stone each year as "the oldest folk custom in Europe!"
In 1050 Shebbear was known as Sceft Beara and in Domesday book it was known as Sepes Beria. Regrettably valuable records were destroyed during the air raids on Exeter when the public library was destroyed making research rather difficult.
During Saxon times Shebbear was sufficiently important to give its name to a "Hundred", a group of 100 villages or hamlets for administration purposes. The Shebbear Hundred included Bideford and Lundy.
Shebbear was known as a "Royal Manor", held for a time by Earl Harold, the last of the Saxons, Godwin's son. Research would show that the place names of the farms and the old family names in the parish are steeped in history.
The Norman Church, St Michael's and All Angels, like many other churches in the area had links with Torre Abbey at Torquay.
In the more recent time of the 19th century Shebbear was the centre of Methodist revival in the area. Meetings at Lake Farm led to the building of "Bible Christian" chapels - both here and overseas - and the founding of Shebbear College in 1841.
So the Twentieth Century with its two world wars and all the changes that have taken place is now almost history itself and we look forward to the Millennium.
Introduction by the Chairman of the Parish Council
John Dart
In 1981 the Parish Council organised an Appraisal for the parish, it was Council's first experience of undertaking such a task. As a result of this Appraisal eleven plots of land were made available from land owned by Torridge District Council at an affordable cost for first time buyers residing in the Shebbear area. Some built their homes on a DIY basis to help keep costs down, others by more traditional means. At the time the project was judged to be one of the successes which came about as a result of the Appraisal pin-pointing a need within the community. The recent Appraisal undertaken again by the Parish Council, but this time with the valuable assistance of Mr Mike Knight from the Community Council of Devon, is updating the needs of the community as we approach the Millennium and the 21st century.
The response to the 303 questionnaires delivered resulted in a return of 233 completed forms with their various comments. This represents a return of 76.8% which was an excellent response. I would like to thank all who participated for their time, effort and community spirit. There will be a public meeting in the Village Hall on Thursday May 7th 1998 at 7.30pm to discuss this report of the Appraisal's findings. It is essential that YOU attend this meeting with your views and comments.
The findings of the Appraisal will also be communicated to all interested bodies such as the Torridge District Council. This will add weight to any proposals made by the Parish Council for projects that may be undertaken.
To all members of the Steering Committee I would like to record my thanks for all the work and effort which has been put into this Parish Appraisal. They have attended meetings, delivered and collected forms and contributed to the evaluations.
I am aware that over recent years many new families have come to live in the Parish of Shebbear. On behalf of the Parish Council I would like to welcome them to the Community. I hope they will be able to integrate and take part in the various activities and organisations. One subject revealed by the Appraisal is the need for a Newsletter or Village publication. This being the case, some "budding editor" or experienced writer may have the opportunity of taking part and displaying their talents!
John Dart
John L C Dart, Chairman of the Parish Council and Steering Committee: Jack Bale (Parish Clerk) Christopher Andrew, Ken Chamberlain, Sue Geary, Roy Johns, William Littlechild, Ted & Shiela Lott, Adrian Pett.
THE PARISH SPEAKS!
Appraisal forms were distributed to households in the parish during the autumn of 1997 and these results are based on the excellent response you made to the questions that were asked. The Appraisal was divided into two parts - "Household" and "Personal" 233 households representing 611 people completed the first section with 501 individuals responding to section two.
"We were unable to answer or comment on many of the questions as we are newcomers to Shebbear albeit very happy newcomers and we both look forward to taking a more active interest in village activities. We have found everyone friendly and helpful".
"Further housing growth must be phased slowly to allow integration rather than being swamped ability of local facilities to cope with extra people -particularly the Primary School"