NEARLY 300 people attended the launch of the first ever book on North Tawton on Friday.
Written by North Tawton town clerk Alison Baker, archivist Jean Shields and photographer David Hoare, the latest release in the Halsgrove community history series is proving a big hit with the public.
It?s been nearly two years in the making and judging from the reaction on Friday, local people are very pleased with the result.
The eleven chapters of the hardback publication cover everything from the Doomsday Book to churches, school, the woollen industry, transport, farms and people and a vast amount of existing and former residents have contributed with their anecdotes and photographs.
Alison Baker said the authors ended up with 11,000 photos but were only allowed to use 300 in the book.
?We had to do some drastic pruning but we hope to use these photos some time in the future for a history exhibition,? she said.
?There was a really good response to our appeals for information and the book has been greatly anticipated. The reaction on Friday night was amazing and it was wonderful to see so many people showing such a huge interest in it.?
Mrs Baker said everyone at the launch had pre-ordered copies of the book and some came from as far as Winchester.
?It was a bit like a reunion where old friends who had not seen each other for years met up again.? she said. ?We treated them to mince pies and wine and the the conversation just flowed ? it was a great evening.?
As far as the authors know, the only other publication on the history of North Tawton is a booklet by Walter Mortimore written in 1969 based on a talk given to the WI.
?We used information from the booklet but a lot of research was done at the archive office ? it took a long time but it was definitely worth it when we see how many people are enjoying reading it,? added the town clerk.