HISTORY buffs can now find out more about life on Exmoor thanks to a newly-released batch of recordings.
The South West Heritage Trust has launched the Exmoor Oral History Archive website, making available full recordings of personal stories from the area’s past for the first time.
The audio recordings, mostly dating from between 2000 and 2002, are available to listen to online.
They were originally recorded as part of a Dulverton and District Civic Society project to capture for posterity life on Exmoor at the turn of the century and features 78 interviews, totalling more than 200 hours.
Included in the recordings are memories stretching back to before the First World War, offering insights into local life and work, which for many began aged 14. Topics range from farming, engineering, hunting and mole catching to the devasting Lynmouth flood disaster of 1952 and the formation of the new National Park Authority.
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The new website features full recordings, searchable summaries, and black-and-white portraits by photographer Mark J Rattenbury.
Taken shortly after the interviews, Mark’s evocative portraits capture the personalities of each contributor, either in their home or their favourite Exmoor location, and form an attractive gallery from which to explore the archive.
South West Heritage Trust archivist, Liz Grant, said: “The contributors – farmers, doctors, teachers, postmen, local councillors and more – reveal a deep connection to Exmoor, with recollections that highlight strong community ties that revolved around institutions such as the church, the Young Farmers’ Club, and local politics.
“It’s incredibly exciting that we have been able to create this new platform celebrating Exmoor’s unique stories and heritage, and to know that the archive, embedded in our digital preservation system, will now be safeguarded, not only for future generations but forever.”
Jim Collins is among those recorded for the Exmoor project. Picture: Mark Rattenbury
Interviewer and project consultant Birdie Johnson, who made the original recordings, said: “I couldn’t be more delighted that the contributors to the archive have been acknowledged in this way.
“Inevitably, with the passing of the years, many of them are no longer with us, but I salute them all. Their voices will now live on, reflecting a moment in time in this special place.”
Dulverton contributor Chris Nelder, who was recorded in 2002 and is now 90, said he felt privileged to have been part of the project.
“It’s wonderful to know that the archive is now there for everybody to see,” he said. “It’s history. If we hadn’t been asked, there wouldn’t be an archive.”
Originally held on CD in the Somerset Heritage Centre and North Devon Record Office, the recordings were digitised as part of the British Library’s National Lottery Heritage Fund project Unlocking Our Sound Heritage, which ran from 2017 to 2022.
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