SATURDAY last month saw many heritage events organised for the town — yet few people knew of a festival which has been held every year on the last Saturday of October (apart from the war years) since at least 1935. The Tavistock Deanery Ringing Festival is a celebration of bells and bellringing  throughout the Deanery. Every church which has bells in ringable condition, including the 'redundant' church of Bradstone, opens its doors for ringers to come and spend some time enjoying the bells.  No booking is involved and nobody is directed — each team simply decides its own route and turns up, usually staying for half an hour or so before going on to the next village. As dusk falls, they meet at a 'host' church for a service and tea and general get-together.

The host tower this year was Whitchurch and more than 60 ringers from Tavistock, Buckland Monachorum, Peter Tavy, Meavy, Sheepstor, Lamerton, Lifton, Bridestowe, Bere Ferrers, Brentor, Sydenham Damerel and Sampford Spiney came together to sing their own ringers' hymn at a service led by Seån Brassil and enjoy a tremendous spread (ringers' teas are famous) laid on by the Whitchurch team. Villages which heard their bells rung, sometimes on only this day in the whole year, ranged from Thrushelton in the north of the Deanery and Bere Ferrers in the south. The day, which was the best attended for some years, was voted a great success and Buckland Monachorum ringers volunteered to host the event in 2015. This  is one heritage event which looks like continuing for many years to come. Donna Baker Chollacott Close Tavistock MAY I add a little to the interesting descriptions of the venues in the recent Tavistock Heritage Festival programme. Admiral Kelly, the founder of Kelly College, was brought up in Holsworthy, which he left at the age of 13 to be a midshipman in the Royal Navy under the care of his Uncle, W H Kelly.  His father was the 4th son of the distinguished and ancient family, Kelly of Kelly House, Kelly.  The Admiral is buried at the parish church of Kelly but he did not live at Kelly House. On founder's day at the service in Tavistock Parish Church, a section of his will is read out as follows: 'He directed that the Trustees should hire or otherwise procure a suitable school house to be situated in the county of Devon, on the West side of a line drawn North and South through the parish church of North Tawton . . .' The Admiral  founded the school for several reasons.  First he always felt he lacked a full education as he left school at 13.  Blundell's School was well established in East Devon and he wanted to provide an education for those in West Devon and Cornwall and for the sons of Royal Navy officers and descendents of the Kelly family. He lost his first wife, Mary Ann, on extended honeymoon travels to Italy in 1838.  Perhaps his school was a memorial to her and their unborn child?  His feelings for Devon are shown in an account of a walking tour of South Devon in the 1820's.  This was published some years ago in the Kelly College Chronicle. The young people at Kelly today should be proud of their founder.  He had a fine, active Navy career in the early 1800s and especially when he was Captain of HMS Pheasant involved in the anti-slavery patrol off West Africa.  Admiral Kelly seems to have had a good sense of humour.  He records discovering a lone Englishman living rough on the disease-ridden island of Ferando Po (now Malabo) off the Niger Delta.  Captain Kelly offered to repatriate him back to the UK on HMS Pheasant.  The man thanked him but said he was more than happy to stay on the island as he had three wives and ample food! Admiral Kelly and his second wife lived at Saltford, between Bristol and Bath.  They founded a school in this small town. The architect of Kelly College, Charles Hanson, was a prolific designer of churches and schools.  Malvern College, Clifton College and the first building of the University of Bristol are examples of his work. John Killingbeck, Horsebridge