Welcome

Our next meeting is on 2nd December 2025.

A Tudor Christmas with the Lady Katherine and her peasant. Harberton Parish Hall

The Harberton and Harbertonford History Society (aka H3S) encourages the study of the local history of Harberton Parish and the surrounding County.

There are approximately 5 meetings with speakers each year and at least one field excursion.  Meetings take place in Harberton or Harbertonford, or via Zoom – particularly in the colder months. Details of talks can be found in the Programme.

Members of the Society have gathered information on the past history of the villages, personalities and the Parish including the preparation of historic walks around both Harberton and Harbertonford.  The Society is making collections of photographs and some artefacts and have embarked on an oral history project to build an archive of first-hand histories in both villages. We are in the process of making a film about Harbertonford Mill using the information obtained from participants in the oral history project. We hope to go on to make more short films about other aspects of life in our villages.

The Society is keen to receive photographs/articles/family records for our archives, thus building a valuable local history research resource. If you have anything that might be of historical or cultural interest, please get in touch using our contact page.

Our Next Meeting

An evening with Rosemary Griggs

‘A Tudor Christmas with the Lady Katherine and her peasant’

Tuesday 2nd December at 7:30pm in Harberton Parish Hall

Appearing in full period costume as Katherine Raleigh, the mother to Sir Walter Raleigh, speaker and award -winning author Rosemary Griggs brings the festivities, feasting and fun of a Tudor Christmas to life in a presentation interspersed with songs from the peasant David. Travel back in time as a guest and join Katherine’s father, Sir Philip Champernowne, at his feast at the Court House Modbury. Discover the etiquette, the menu and the customs of a sixteenth century Christmas.

Rosemary Griggs

Author and speaker Rosemary Griggs has been researching Devon’s sixteenth – century history for years. She has discovered a cast of fascinating characters and an intriguing network of families whose influence stretched far beyond the West Country.
Rosemary creates, and wears, sixteenth-century clothing, a passion which compliments her love for bringing the past to life through a unique blend of theatre, history and re-enactment. Her appearances and talks for museums and community groups all over the West Country draw on her extensive research into sixteenth-century Devon, Tudor life and Tudor dress, particularly Elizabethan.

Become a Member of H3S

Membership is open to anybody interested in local history and is £12 per year with talks free to Members. Membership runs for a calendar year Jan – Dec, but joining in the last quarter of the year entitles you to the following year too – ie 15 months for the price of 12.
Non members are welcome to meetings at the cost of £3 per meeting.

Chairs

Derek Robinson in Harbertonford
Stanley Oldfield in Harberton

We are affiliated to The Devon History Society