ANCESTORS of the Rowe family who used to own the Duchy Hotel in Princetown visited the village last week for a special reunion and to trace their family history.

Around 14 cousins and their partners came together on Friday from all over England, Spain and Australia for their first ever reunion.

Allan Sparkes, one of the cousins, who organised the event, said: 'We managed to make contact with each other as we are all researching our family history. Contact was made through websites Ancestry and Genesreunited and the Online Parish Clerk system.

'All of us have common ancestors in James Rowe and his wife Elizabeth Colman who married in 1814.

'Four of us also have common great-great grandparents — or in my case three great grandparents — in one of their children, Sarah Elizabeth Rowe, who married George Moore in 1833.'

James Rowe was originally born in Bere Ferrers but at some point before he married Elizabeth Colman, he moved to Princetown where he built a successful business.

Initially, he bought the Railway Inn in 1815 which the family continued to run until some point in the 1880s.

One of his sons, James Julian, also bought the prison officers' quarters and converted them into the Duchy Hotel, which is now the High Moorland Visitor Centre. This remained in the Rowe family well into the 20th century.

The Moore family operated a blacksmith, general store and dressmaking business until the late 19th century from a building in Plymouth Road, which was located between the Duchy Hotel and Babbs Cottages.

Allan said: 'The whole day was really interesting and we all got on really well — it was strange as most of us had not met each other before.'

Rowena Preston, who is also descended from Sarah Elizabeth Rowe and George Moore, said: 'I am still on cloud nine from the do on Friday. We all gelled really well — it was such a fantastic day.

'One funny thing I found out about the hotel was that two ladies called in at the Duchy Hotel in 1860s and they reported that they were sold bad bread, stale cheese, and even worse beer, and that they were served by a vile lady which could have been the wife of James Julian, the son of James Rowe — our ancestor!'