Branscombe Project © 2009-2012

PUBLICATIONS

BRANSCOMBE

SHOPS, TRADES & GETTING BY

edited by Barbara Farquharson & Joan Doern

People say that before the Second World War you didn’t need to go beyond the Parish. There were shops; there were services; there was work. Right through until the late 1950s Branscombe was almost self-sufficient. This book is based on the stories told by people in the village, and the focus is mainly on Branscombe between the wars, though sometimes the stories go further back in time, sometimes forward.

58 pp with illustrations

£3.00

WILLIAM FORD’S BRANSCOMBE, FROM THE DIARY OF AN EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY FARMER

by John Torrance

William Braddick Ford was a young farmer in 1790. He kept a diary for two years in which he tells of his work in the fields, bringing in coal on Branscombe beach for his lime-kilns, acting as a dogsbody for rich old John Stuckey up at Weston, and getting embroiled in village disputes. He also describes family events and his adventures shooting game.

John Torrance, historian, brings the diary to life, and opens a window on to life in the village.

61 pp with illustrations

£3 .00

DOUBLE DVD: BRANSCOMBE AND THE WRECK OF THE NAPOLI

In January 2007 the MCS Napoli, a huge ship loaded with nearly 2400 containers and 3,500 tonnes of fuel started to break up in the English Channel. She was run aground on Branscombe Beach. Oiled sea-birds were washed up on the pebbles, over forty containers fetched up on the shore. Some were torn open by the sea, others by treasure seekers, both local and ‘from away’. This  double DVD recounts the story as told by the people of Branscombe and some of those responsible for the clean-up. Here is a fragment of history in which local perceptions and global economies  are inextricably mixed.

     Double DVD £10 .00

GHOST STORIES FROM BRANSCOMBE

edited by Barbara Farquharson & Joan Doern

Branscombe has more than its fair share of ghosts – sometimes there’s just a voice, sometimes a sound, or it could be a poltergeist, or – most often, an apparition. Some are historical, many are more recent. They have been recounted by older villagers and by incomers.

61 pp with illustrations

£3.00

THREE GENERATIONS IN THE HONITON LACE TRADE:

A FAMILY HISTORY

by Margaret Tomlinson

This book tells the story of the east Devon lace trade, and of the three Branscombe families – the Chicks, Tuckers & Fords – responsible for the rise of the Branscombe cottage industry. There are some remarkable characters, including some very strong women, and Margaret Tomlinson, who belongs to the Chick family, tells the story from the inside.

This remarkable book, first published in 1983 and long out of print, has become much sought after. Margaret Tomlinson’s family have very kindly allowed it to be reprinted by the Branscombe Project.

94 pp with illustrations

£7.50

A  NINETEENTH CENTURY DEVON MYSTERY

The Shooting at Branscombe Old Pits
by

Barbara Farquharson & John Torrance

One moonlit night in September 1883 an old man was shot dead as he made his way home from harvesting. Three local people were accused of murder, the village was in turmoil …

Unsolved murder, or unexplained accident?

This book reconstructs real events — shooting, arrest, trial, inquest, and turbulent aftermath — and seeks to explain what happened, and why. It draws a picture of a late nineteenth century village torn apart by a sudden inexplicable event and, at the same time, deeply affected by more general economic and political changes.

200 pp, £7.50

Our publications are available at all Branscombe Project events in the village hall. (For postal sales p&p details are available on request).

Publications are also available through local outlets :
   The Sea Shanty, the Old Bakery, and the Post Office at Branscombe

    Archway Bookshop, Axminster
    Devon Record Office, Exeter
    Honiton Lace Museum, Honiton
    Serendipity Books, Lyme Regis
    Curious Otter, Ottery St Mary
    End Books, Seaton
    Paragon bookshop, Sidmouth