To celebrate the coronation of HM King Charles III, in line with other community celebrations throughout the land, the parish council of North Bovey organised two full days of festivities along with the sale of bespoke coronation coffee mugs and tea towels specific to North Bovey.
Sunday’s festivities commenced with a Coronation Church Service followed by the unveiling on the village green of a new memorial bench and an inscribed granite monument. The unveiling was carried out by Ed Pollard, Chairman of the North Bovey Parish Council, followed by a blessing given by the local vicar, the Rev. Sue Sheppard.
Following the unveiling of the bench and memorial stone, a Coronation ‘Big Lunch’ was held in the form of a picnic on the village green, with approximately 100 villagers present – not a bad turnout for a small rural community with less than 300 parishioners many of whom are scattered in surrounding remote farms on Dartmoor. Tables were lined up outside the village hall, the weather was dry, and glasses were raised for the loyal toast proposed by the oldest resident villager, Ray Aldridge, thanks to the generous donation of a case of sparkling wine and a coronation cake from Bovey Castle.
The day’s celebrations continued with a group photograph taken on the village green by yours truly to commemorate the occasion, followed by ‘Athletic Sports’ – a reference to the festivities that took place in 1887 when commemorating Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, as advertised on an original poster from the time kindly given to the parish council a few years ago. (The 1887 poster design was actually used in updated form as the template for the late Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2022 as well as for the 2023 Coronation.)
The ‘Athletic Sports’ were all surprisingly challenging, despite not being recognised by the International Olympic Committee. A three-legged race with two laps around the green and an egg and spoon race for children, also consisting of two laps around the green, were both eclipsed by the main event – the egg throwing (and catching) competition.
Egg throwing is a demanding sport – contestants are in pairs, typically a husband and wife, or at least two good friends or family members, who stand behind ropes facing each other some 5 metres apart, with typically the ladies one side and men the other. The object is to throw a raw egg to one’s partner without dropping or breaking the egg… and once one side have thrown their eggs, the ropes are moved a further metre apart, and the unbroken eggs are thrown back. this is repeated until the final round, when the last two surviving contestants battle it out for the prize, throwing over an ever increasing distance.
It sounds easy but isn’t, especially after a ‘few’ glasses of wine or beer! Also many are quite nervous of not catching their egg gently enough… which can result in quite a mess! Which is of course the main attraction for this as a spectator sport. And of course in photographing the event, I like to try and catch(!) the moment when a receiver realises that he or she hasn’t caught their egg gently enough…!
Following the success of Sunday’s festivities, in part due to the dry weather, Monday 8th saw a group of up to 20 villagers perambulating part of the parish boundary, in a ceremony known as ‘Beating the Bounds’.
‘Beating the Bounds‘ is an old custom still observed in parts of England which traditionally involved swatting local landmarks with branches to maintain a shared mental map of parish boundaries, usually every seven years. It dates from former times when maps were rare and many of those who worked the land would have been illiterate. It was usual to make a formal perambulation of the parish boundaries on Ascension Day or during Rogation week.
In the past, knowledge of the limits of each parish needed to be handed down so that such matters as liability to contribute to the repair of the church or the right to be buried within the churchyard were not disputed. The object of taking young boys along is supposed to ensure that witnesses to the boundaries should survive as long as possible. In the case of North Bovey Parish, it is a tradition that the children accompanying the walk are gently ‘bounced’ upon the boundary markers… which certainly helps them to remember where the markers are!
Despite it being early May, in true Dartmoor weather – ‘all four seasons in a day’ – the day started off grey with a very light mist. Gradually a steady but light drizzle came along, followed by more mist and by just before lunchtime, a light fog with a steady drizzle. Boundary stones were found, and children ceremonially ‘bounced’.
A picnic lunch in the fog was had not far from Bennet’s Cross and adjacent to the Warren House Inn during a temprary lull in the drizzle, and then it was off for the second half of the day – only by now despite the fog lifting slightly, the drizzle was increasing to a light but steady rain, that gradually increased in intensity making for a very wet afternoon… but that is Dartmoor for you!
By about 15:00 hrs we had completed the day’s short 7 mile section of the boundary and were met just above Headland Warren Farm by a fleet of supporters with vehicles to be driven back to the village hall in North Bovey for a most welcome and sumptious cream tea provided by the North Bovey Belles, the local village branch of the WI.
God save the King!
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