THE South Tawton Local History Group is holding an exhibition at Victory Hall in South Zeal over the bank holiday weekend, with many fascinating historical local documents and photographs on display. Entitled ?Living in South Zeal: Houses and History, Zeal Head to Shelly? the exhibition will be focusing on the oldest part of South Zeal, with photos of each house. South Zeal has a long history going back to the 13th century, when the Lord of the Manor established a new town laid out along the road to Cornwall. On either side, each burgher had a road frontage and behind it a long strip of land varying in size from one acre to five. This pattern is still there and many properties have land holdings as they were some 750 years ago. At the end of the 13th century, a charter granted the Lord of the Manor, Tony de Zale, a weekly market and two annual fairs. Organisers of the local history event said that there are still huge gaps in their knowledge and hope people coming along will not only look at the exhibition, but also add to what they already know about the village. As well as house histories, there will be photos going back to the end of the 19th century and other documents from the parish archive, such as copies of the 1848 tithe map, bound copies of the local community magazine ? the Beacon ? old minute books and much more. Opening times are Saturday, August 25, from 2pm to 5pm and Sunday, August 26, from 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm, and Monday, August 27, from 10am to 1pm. Admission charge is £1 with re-entry on the same ticket.
