Arthur French
The sad news of Arthur’s passing carries particular significance for Ipplepen’s Local History Group. He was one of our founding members and our Life President. After all who else would you turn to if you needed to know anything about the history of our village? He wrote a book about Ipplepen and there have been numerous articles over the years in this very magazine reflecting the scope and detail of his research. Even now when I receive enquiries from people all over the world seeking details about their village ancestors my first point of call will always be Arthur’s files. If you were to casually mention to Arthur in conversation whether he knew anything about your house or your family you needed to be prepared for the scale of information heading your way not long afterwards!
When the History group was set up one of our core tasks was, and remains, the maintaining of a village archive. Well without Arthur’s contribution our village archive would be severely diminished. On behalf of the Churches Conservation Trust I have recently been conducting some research about Torbryan and its church. That research has been made much easier because typically Arthur had already done much of the work for me. Parish records, churchwarden’s accounts, subsidy rolls and muster rolls often form the bedrock for historians researching the more distant past and we should all be grateful that we had somebody prepared to find these documents and interpret them with such scholarship and good humour. My son who remembers Arthur from his primary school days says he was a legend!
Torbryan
By the time you receive this magazine Rowena Riley from the Churches Conservation Trust will have given her talk at the Village Hall about the Torbryan Church restoration project. Even if you were unable to attend the talk it is still possible to be involved with the project by contacting me using the number at the bottom of the page.
From the Archive
I have held over the results of last month’s school photo from the archives. Please look again at January’s magazine and let me know if you have the answers. The results will be published along with a new archive photo in next month’s magazine.
John Marsh
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