RESIDENTS of Okehampton and the surrounding hamlets are invited to maintain the ancient rights and customs by joining the Beating of the Bounds which takes place on Wednesday, August 17. Every five years walkers gather to take to the commons of Dartmoor and delineate the original parish boundaries by covering them on foot or horseback. Last time, the event was even bigger than usual as it provided a focus for the area?s millennium celebrations and this year organisers are hoping for another big turnout. Those taking part will assemble at Meldon Village Hall at 10am for a 10.30am start, taking in a 10-mile route via Sourton and onto Newbridge, where there will be a picnic lunch at 1.30pm. This will be followed by the last part of the journey to John Hodge?s Little Park (near the camp), where sports and refreshments will be held from 4.30pm. The programme of children?s sports includes many traditional races such as egg and spoon race, obstacle race, sack race, pony races and a tug-of-war contest. Participants are welcome to take part in the day?s events on foot or on horseback. The official guides are instructed to accommodate their pace to the convenience of walkers. Free transport will be available from Okehampton (School Way) at 9.30am and to New Bridge for 12.30pm. The organising committee has been able to stage the event thanks to donations from the following groups: Okehampton Hamlets Parish Council, Okehampton Town Council, United Non-Ecclesiastical Trust, the EX20 Lottery, Okehampton Hamlets Commoners, Okehampton Borough Commoners and Waitrose. l The Beating of the Bounds ritual has changed little over the years although times have certainly changed, as this contemporary account of the event dating back 120 years revealst: THE OKEHAMPTON COMMONS TAPPING THE BOUNDARIES OVER DARTMOOR SEPTEMBER 23rd 1885 Okehampton, in the exercise of its rights, was on Tuesday interested and excited to an extent hardly before witnessed in the memory of the present generation. From time immemorial the inhabitants of Okehampton, rich or poor, have had the right to cut turf from the common for firing, and to graze their donkeys, ponies, horses, cattle and sheep there. It need hardly be added that to the inhabitants of the town this has been, especially to the working classes, a great boon and it has been the custom for generations past to tap the boundary stones once in seven years, the last time the custom was observed being in the autumn 1878. It used formerly to be a rather select and not very representative gathering, but this year it was determined that the affair should be made as general as possible and that the whole of the inhabitants should be invited to join in the festivity and that it should also be observed as a general holiday in the town. The idea was taken up with great enthusiasm and Tuesday?s gathering will long be remembered as an important era in the history of Okehampton and in the maintenance of their rights as as commoners. More than ordinary interest was shown in this year?s boundary tapping rights from the fact that some little disputes have recently taken place which seemed to some to have the appearance of interfering with the commoners? rights; a lawsuit is now pending on the subject, but these interferences have been stoutly resisted and the demonstration it has called forth showed to what extent the feeling of the people had been aroused . . . At the time fixed for the assembly, the weather being delightfully fine and continuing most favourably throughout the day, there was a large muster numbering over 300, a good proportion of whom were mounted on the celebrated Dartmoor ponies. The procession was led by the Okehampton Rifle Band, then came the Squire (Mr W H Holley) and Mr Seth Harry (Churchwarden), Mr W Palmer (Overseer), Mr S Weeks and the townspeople. The route taken was from the Parade, up Station Road through the park, leaving the Artillery camp to the right and on through Moor Gate to the first boundary stone near Pothanger Farm.? The account then goes on to describe the route taken to tap the boundary stones through Sandy Ford, Sourton, Vallack Corner and Meldon to Yes Tor where lunch was due to be taken. ?Half past one had been fixed for the lunch at Yes Tor but grace was delayed awaiting the arrival of the Squire, who had started the party and who was expected to preside. After waiting, however, some time it was announced that the hounds had been met with on the opposite hill and that as Mr Holley had gone off with them it would not be well to further prolong the welcome meal.?
