A WALKHAMPTON couple celebrated a big day last week ? by getting married and making history at the same time.
Gordon and Jan Harris, the new landlords of the Walkhampton Inn, were the first people ever to have tied the knot in the Mayor?s Parlour at Tavistock Town Hall.
Tavistock Register Office is currently unable to be used because of ongoing refurbishment work at the town council buildings in Drake Road. So for a limited period, the licence has been transferred to the town hall.
Gordon said: ?They rang us up and said would we mind getting married in the town hall, but we weren?t told we were the first ones to have ever been married there until after the ceremony.?
The couple said it was a lovely building in which to have been married and being the first ones to marry in the mayor?s parlour made the event even more special.
Rosie Keyhoe, deputy town clerk, confirmed that Gordon and Jan?s special day was a first for Tavistock.
Mrs Keyhoe said: ?Normally we have offered the Rundle Room for services but it just so happened that the room was booked.
?Weddings are a very special day and we couldn?t expect people to climb over piles of rubble to get to their wedding, so the mayor very generously offered use of her parlour.?
Following the wedding ceremony, Gordon and Jan enjoyed champagne and smoked salmon back at the pub, which also hosted the first meeting of a newly formed Walkhampton History Project (WHISP) last week.
Gordon said: ?It was fantastic, we had about 90 people turn up, we were absolutely thrilled, it was a huge success.
?There were loads of old photos and people had some wonderful stories to tell.?
WHISP meetings will be held regularly in the Walkhampton Inn during coming months.
Gordon and Jan are hoping to hold an exhibition in the pub when enough photos and information has been collated and ultimately would like to produce a book on the history of Walkhampton, any profits from which would be donated to Walkhampton Church funds.