HALBERTON History Group welcomed a good crowd to the official opening of their headquarters in Halberton Village Hall on April 5.

Devon County Councillor Des Hannon performed the ceremony and said the attendance showed that there was serious interest in local history.

He praised the way the Group was going about recording the past and the effort the members were putting in to make it a really important resource for the community.

On display were some of the pictures from the Group’s collection together with various items of memorabilia.

In the room pride of place is taken by a detailed copy of the parish tithe map from 1838.

It is now possible to locate any field and find out what it was called, who were the owners and tenants, and even to what use it was put at that time.

Also available for consultation are census records from the 19th C, directory entries and much more.

The room has been named “The Twose Room” after the local business which was so important in the area over three generations of the Twose family from 1831.

The Group would like to hear from anyone who had family members working there before the firm moved to Tiverton in 1963. They would especially like to see pictures of items produced at the Halberton works.

One of the Group’s current projects is to find out more about the people from WW1 who are commemorated on the parish memorial board and again they want to hear from anyone who has connections to one of those named.

The room is open to visitors on Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings. More information can be had by email to historygroup@halberton.org