South Hams Contents & Search

Introduction

I think a person in each village was asked to submit an account, because the style and content vary considerably from place to place. I have extracted the 361 names mentioned. Most accounts give the names of the vicar (because most held a special church service in the morning), the local organising committee members and gentlemen farmers whose fields were lent for the day. Malborough had quite a lengthy account, but no names were mentioned at all. Stoke Fleming had a minimal entry of five short sentences, and although 600 parishioners enjoyed dinner and tea, sports and other amusements 'on a most enthusiastic scale', none of their names were given.

The Dodbrooke and Salcombe accounts included the results of various sports (flat races for adults, boys and girls, sack races, long and high jump, barrel race, hurdle race, jockey race, egg race, tug of war, etc) and at Dodbrooke there were prizes for a singing contest and a conundrum winner. The names of the winners were mostly given just a surname, and many of these individuals were probably farm workers and children. At Charleton 'the most interesting item in the list of sports was a race for men 68 years of age and over' and the first three to finish were named.

At Dodbrooke about 1000 sat at tables in Ebrington Street, and 'those who could not attend were supplied at their houses'. There was no shortage of meat ('about 44 gentlemen kindly acted as carvers') and other items - to 1000 lbs of beef and 50 lbs of pork were added 3 bags of new potatoes, 480 lbs of bread, 715 lbs of plum pudding, 48 bottles of pickles, also salt and mustard, 72 gallons of beer, 10_ gallons of cider, 20 dozen large bottles of lemonade and 37 dozen of ginger beer. After the sports, everyone sat down again at 5.30pm for tea, and what was provided reflects the fact that this was dairy farming country - 18 lbs tea, 60 lbs sugar, 60 lbs butter, 10 lbs cream, 14 gallons milk, 1,500 half-penny tough [sic] cakes, 80 lbs bread and 420 lbs currant cake.

At Salcombe, between 1500 and 1600 sat down to dinner, 'the tables were laid in double rows . . . representing about 1200 feet of tabling and double that quantity of seating'. Families took their own plates, knives and forks, etc and were served with roasted and boiled beef, baked potatoes, pickles, bread, salad and plum puddings with the usual drinks (no quantities given). This correspondent named all 48 of the men who carved!

A few mishaps were reported, for example in Malborough:

'At 6 o'clock in the morning, a salute was fired with a 2-cwt cannon (the same gun having been fired on the Coronation Day) . . . At 1 o'clock the gun was again fired, this time as a signal for dinner; unfortunately it exploded, ploughing up the ground for yards ahead. Happily no serious injury was done.'

At Modbury:

'in the high jump Mr Frank Coyte, the winner of the jubilee cup and also of the quarter mile hurdle race, fell heavily and severely sprained one of his wrists. Medical aid was at once obtained, and he is progressing favourably.'

As more permanent memorials, in Salcombe 'it was decided to place seats about the district, and a harbour light on the pier at Orestone' and several villages planted new trees on this day.

The impression one gets from reading these accounts is echoed in the account for Thurlestone:

'The Jubilee will be remembered here as the happiest social gathering that ever took place in the parish.'

Rachel Wroth, March 2002

Last updated: 8 May 2002 - Brian Randell