OKEHAMPTON?S long and varied history has been retold in two new books, launched just in time for the Christmas rush.

With many years experience under his belt as curator of the Museum of Dartmoor Life before he became area manager for English Heritage in Devon and Cornwall, Alan Endacott is more than qualified to pen this latest offering, which takes readers on a fascinating journey of some 2000 years.

The paperback ?Tales of Old Ockington?, priced at £6.95, brings history alive with various historical characters based on real people describing the settlement at different stages of its development.

Pieced together from written records, archaeological investigations, architectural studies and anecdotes, the individuals are brought to life on the assumption that, although circumstances and protocol may have changed, basic human nature has not.

If you have ever wondered what life was like in your local town one hundred, one thousand or even two thousand years ago ? how the settlement came to be and developed, what relationships people had with each other and how they made their living and survived hard conditions ? then this is the book for you.

Far from being a conventional local history book, the author has written ?Tales of Old Ockington? to appeal to people in and outside the parish. It could apply to many towns in Devon and Cornwall ? it provides a unique insight into the past, from hardships and humour to love and war and is punctuated with photographs and illustrations.

The dominance of Okehampton Castle and the Courtenay family who inherited it feature strongly in the book but also the characters who worked there.

It tells of how when the family was in residence, the castle was filled to capacity by around 60 household and administrative servants, eight knights, 40 trainee knights, a dozen or so lawyers, eight priests and two or three damsels, the latter making up the very few women that worked in the household.

The words give a real flavour of the busy lives and hard times people had to endure.

Elizabeth Brock (fictitious but whose life is based on various contemporary accounts of the lives of medieval women) for one, who carried on the family bakery business when her husband died of dysentery, contracted through drinking foul water for the well in the back garden.

She was also the local midwife and healer and was a keen brewer of ales in her spare time!

A well-liked and respected member of the community with a jolly character Elizabeth?s worst trait was her gossiping, said the book.

Stories relating to local trades, crime, events, education and town buildings, poverty and wealth, squires and town clerks and the role of town benefactor Sydney Simmons all add up to thoroughly good read within these 130 pages.

The glossy hardback ?Book of Okehampton?, priced at £19.95, is the latest in the community history series by Halsgrove with pictures telling the story as much as the words.

This publication, written and compiled by Roy and Ursula Radford, will appeal to all ages of Okehampton residents with a familiar face or a name bound to spring out from its 160 pages.

Described as a town with a village-like atmosphere, the sense of community spirit in Okehampton is evident with sections dedicated to the wealth of local organisations and groups who have played a big part in the town?s history.

The heroics and dedication of the town?s retained fire service and rescue charity Rapid UK.

It was Rapid which spearheaded a local fund to bring a young Indian earthquake victim to Britain for treatment, an appeal highlighted with plenty of photographs bringing the action to light, personal comments and newspaper reportage.

Other sections include the coming of education, with pictures of children and staff at the local schools, and the 1988 Okehampton ?Save our Schools? campaign given justified coverage.

Okehampton?s great sporting moments, vast number of churches and chapels, business, travel and communication, stage and screen and the hamlets and manors that make up the town are all featured.

A book about Okehampton would not be complete without the inclusion of Okehampton camp and the town?s military history, is nicely encompassed in the section on ?In Service and In Remembrance?.

And although we have not seen any serious snow in Okehampton for many years now, this book reminds us of just how bad it can get ? in 1963 the river froze over in Simmons Park and the picture is there to prove it.

One of the many interesting stories relates to the winter of 1978, when snowstorms and atrocious road conditions brought chaos to the town.

Snippets from the Okehampton Times revealed that 60 people were marooned at the Rising Sun at Sticklepath, whilst another 50 were received in the village hall.

Meanwhile in Okehampton, 35 were billeted in the Charter Hall after their vehicles came to grief on the roads ? they were still stranded in the town five days later, be it in more comfortable accommodation.

Perhaps one of the most heartening and spectacular stories was the trip made by sport shop proprietor Rod Crabtree and businessman Adrian Thomas ? both of Brandize Park.

The pair journeyed nine miles on skis across 20ft drifts to reach Belstone with insulin for a seven-year-old girl ? and then went on to Sticklepath with drugs for an elderly lady.

At one stage, said Rod, they were literally ski-ing about house rooftops.

Both books are available at various outlets in the town, so make them top of the list this Christmas.