A DESCENDANT of one of Okehampton?s most celebrated families says he is disappointed that the town council has no plans to create a monument to his family. Maurice Newcombe, of Newport in Wales, wrote to Okehampton Town Council in June proposing a monument be constructed to former town clerk ?JJ? Newcombe and the other Newcombes who, he said, helped to make the town what it was today. The council?s policy and resources committee declined the proposal. Town clerk Don Bent wrote to Mr Newcombe noting it was ?not the purpose of the policy committee or council to start fundraising for a monument?. Members felt if there was to be a monument to anyone in Okehampton, first and foremost it should be to Sydney Simmons, who gave Simmons Park to the town. Mr Newcombe, 86, said: ?I was sorry to hear that the council decided not to honour the Newcombe name. ?JJ Newcombe gave fifty years of service to Okehampton, yet the council must have given only five minutes of consideration before deciding not to acknowledge this achievement.? Mr Newcombe said he felt that as the Newcombe family had contributed so much to the town over 500 years, the council should be prepared to start a fund to raise money to establish a monument to honour the family. He has written a book on the history of the Newcombes of Inwardleigh. He said the last time he was in the town, he left copies of the book in the library and at the museum, for anyone who would like to know more about what the family did for Okehampton. Mr Newcombe said the Anglo-Saxon name Newcombe meant ?newly arrived stranger?. The Anglo-Saxon Newcombes settled in and around Drewsteignton and he believes the family were smelting tin at Yeo near Chagford in the 13th century. Mr Newcombe?s first known ancestor was Hugo Newcombe, who became mayor of Okehampton in 1522. Mr Newcombe said his research showed all the Okehampton area churches, including Inwardleigh, Northlew and Sampford Courtenay, had wardens named Newcombe in the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. More recently, JJ Newcombe was clerk of Okehampton Council for around 50 years until his death in 1973. Anyone who would like to find out more about the Newcombe family or is interested in starting a fund to raise money for a monument to the family can contact Mr Newcombe on 01633 662323.
