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Sign up nowPoltimore in the 1920s
Many of you will be familiar with the book Poltimore - A Village in Transition, 1911-1921, produced by the Poltimore Estate Research Society (PERS). This team is now continuing their research into the 1920s.
The 1920s was meant to be a time of the ‘land fit for heros’ after WW1 but in Poltimore it coincided with the attempted sale by the Bampflydes of the whole of their Poltimore Estate in 1921. The story of the 1920s that we want to discover is how the village then reshaped itself both economically and socially after it had lost its Patron.
Poltimore House became a girls College from 1923 (until 1939) and the Headmistress, a Miss Wontner, perhaps wanting the acquire the 'status' of lady of the manor, became a significant employer. She also helped with charitable causes in the village but her bankruptcy in 1926 meant that though she remained headmistress she was unable to pursue this role.
The local school played its part, but with a declining enrolment, it was unable to retain its senior staff. The Rector and his wife provided some continuity throughout the 1920s. Many of the tenanted farms were bought by the incumbent tenants on favourable terms from Lord Poltimore and having by such means established long term security, became significant influences in the village.
The 1920s were also a period of profound social change and the first council houses were built in 1927 into which local families moved. Although agricultural employment of various kinds was still significant, there was an increasing trend towards residents living in but working outside the village. Also, although there was some continuity of the same families living in the village throughout the 1920s, there was an increasing trend of incomers from elsewhere in and outside Devon.
So how did all these influences contribute to re-shaping Poltimore? We would be delighted to hear from anyone who has recollections of Poltimore in the 1920s, even if you only have a small piece of information. It will all help us with putting together our 1920s 'jigsaw' of Poltimore.
The person to get in touch with is Tom Browne. He has been a resident of Poltimore for the past 17 years and would be delighted to hear from you. His email address is tom@the-brownes.com
Several times in the late 1920s, a cricket match was played between the young ladies of Poltimore College and the male staff, who lived in the village. The person in the back row, third from the left is Miss Wontner, headmistress of the College. We know some of the names of the men in the photograph, though not their order. Surnames of those we know are: Bolt, Staunton, Cousins, Thorne, Aldridge, Radford, Green, Finnimore and Turton. If you can identify any of these men we would love to hear from you!