Synopsis: A brief walk around my ancestral home village of Ide in the somewhat forlorn hope of finding dwellings named in census but now numbered. A footpath across hills to Alphington and back to Ide.
(selection of photos from Flickr photo set – use link above to view album)
Although the walk time seems lengthy in reality much of this time was spent exploring the village of Ide in the hope of finding various places at which my grandparents might once have lived. I’ll keep my family history element of this post brief, as it is of little general interest.
I started my walk be taking a few photos of The College (see below), specifically No. 2, as this is where my grandfather, William Henry Rockett grew up, in the care of Frances (Fanny) Mitchell (nÊe Hobbs), Laundress. William, born 1892, appears at this address in both the 1901 and 1911 census. Since the eight houses of The College have always been numbered, and that numbering remains to this day, it is relatively easy to place William’s historic residence within today’s Ide. The only difference today from William’s time is that there is no longer a No. 1, as this has been combined with No. 2.
With my grandmother, Winifred May Madge (later to marry William, 1915, Exminster), things are not quite so simple. There is only the one census return that shows the Madge family in Ide and this was 1911, when they’re to be found in one of four cottages called The Carpenters. The problem is that Ide, presumably like other villages, dropped the extensive naming of houses in favour of house numbering, and today there is no way to establish a relationship between these two methods of house identification. Since this outing today I’ve taken a stab at making a guess as to where the Madge family might have lived, which I’ve explained in the next paragraph.
Examining the 1911 census roll for Ide it’s possible to determine the route of travel of the census taker, who, starting at the Bridge Inn, made his way along Ide Fore Street past Drake’s Farm, then up the left side of High Street, passing Poplars Cottage, past Lock’s Cottages (burnt down in the 1930s) to the school and the Jewel family. There are then four more houses, the last of which being The Laurels, so named today. Then in the census roll appear the 4 residences of The Carpenters, the Madge family being found in the second in the sequence. My mother informs me that her mother’s house was approached through an arch and down a narrow passageway. There is such an access-way visible off High Street today, a passageway that runs down the side of the second house up from The Laurels. Could this be where Winifred May Madge and her parents were living in 1911? I think I am tantalisingly close, but unfortunately access to this passageway appears to be barred by a locked gate.
I broke my walk at this point, as nearby were the Coronation Gardens, where a bench in the sun appeared an inviting place to sit and eat my lunch. There were two ladies sat there taking a break from their toils attending to the garden. I got to speaking with them and Jacqui told me she’d lived in Ide for quite some years but didn’t recognise the house name The Carpenters. She said she would introduce me to Charlie Voysey later, an old Ide grandee, as he might recognise the name. The pretty Poplars Cottage is just across the road from the Coronation Gardens.
After lunch I walked up the High Street to the top of the village where a car park is to be found, and from here a footpath leads off in an easterly direction, following for a short length the old track bed of the disused railway, once known as The Teign Valley Railway. The path soon diverts off right into fields, follows the contour for a while before a steep climb to the top of a hill from which I discovered a sweeping view over all of Exeter, with the cathedral clearly visible on the distant horizon.
I then joined a lane which took me in the direction of Alphington. Walking through Alphington I picked up Old Ide Lane which led me to the modern and very busy A30. I followed a path that runs parallel with the A30 which ended at a lane near the Twisted Oak pub, as named today, once the Bridge Inn. I crossed first the old Ide bridge which gave the inn its name, then by way of a modern footbridge I crossed over the busy A30 finding myself arrived back in the village of Ide.
As it happens, just as I entered the village, there was Jacqui who I’d met earlier, walking towards me. She offered to introduce me to Charlie who lives in a house near where we stood by the war memorial. Charlie was to be found in his garden. I had to good thirty minute chat with Charlie, who had countless memories of the village, and felt he should be able to place The Carpenters, but was unable to call it to mind. Not altogether surprising, as I was attempting to go back an awful long time. I was grateful to Charlie for being willing to spend time talking with me of his memories of the village.
It was by now time to make my way home, so I returned to my bicycle, parked near the footbridge over the A30. It had been a hot and sunny afternoon, quite a treat for March. And time spent dwelling on aspects of our family’s history and its connection with Ide was rewarding. For me there’s something very satisfying about being in touch with one’s roots.
Cycle/Walk Statistics:
Total Distance (Combined Cycle/Walk): 14.1 miles -:- (Walk): 4.4 miles
Elapsed Time (Combined Cycle/Walk): 4hrs 32min -:- (Walk): 3hrs 06min
Moving Time (Combined Cycle/Walk): 3hrs 02min
Stopped Time (Combined Cycle/Walk): 1hr 30min
Total Ascent (Combined Cycle/Walk): 282 metres
Maximum Elevation (Combined Cycle/Walk): 103 metres
Buses: (none)
Cycled from Home to walk start/finish point in Ide
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