The horrid history of a Budleigh salt-worker. Or just a fishy story?

 

 

Above: This cheerful-looking garden feature can be admired at The Salty Monk restaurant at Sidford, not far from Budleigh. It reminds guests that the building was reputedly a salt house used by the Benedictine monks of Norman times who traded salt at Exeter Cathedral. See www.saltymonk.co.uk

 

 

The scholar A.C. Heavison, in a scarce pamphlet on the Budleigh salt-mines, tells a story from the 11th or 12th centuries involving the notoriously short-tempered Prior of Otterton.

It was thirst-making work in the salt-mines and Hugo, one of the Prior's serfs was in the habit of taking a flagon of cider with him on his shift. Quenching his thirst with too much strong cider on one occasion meant that Hugo ended up drunk at the bottom of the ladder, a section of which he had pulled down.

All work at the salt-mine stopped. The Prior was informed and stood at the top of the shaft, shouting angrily at his senseless serf. All was in vain. It was decided to leave the drunken man to come to his senses.

A day later, Hugo recovered and made his way to the top of the shaft where he found no one about. Still suffering from the effects of the drink he toppled head-first into a barrel of pickled herring which stood awaiting a further load of salt.

And there, sadly, he drowned.   

Source: An account of the salt-mines of Budleigh in Devon and their output during the early medieval period, undated and privately printed for the author.  Quoted in Devon & Cornwall Notes and Queries, 1975

 

The Marine Treasures of Lyme Bay

Could this really be the Year of the Sponge?

My crazy fantasy at http://budleighbrewsterunited.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/absorbing-read.html about a Budleigh Sponge Day may not have been so crazy after all.

I've just read Simon Barnes' piece entitled Unexplored wilderness at the end of the pier in The Times at http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/columnists/simonbarnes/article3669027.ece reflecting on the wonderful hidden world of the Cromer Shoal Chalk Reef off the coast of NE Norfolk. Among other strange and beautiful secrets the Reef has yielded "a species of purple sponge new to science."

That "new to science" phrase struck a chord, still reeling as I am from having written 70,000 words about Victorian spongiologist Henry Carter FRS (1813-95) as part of my own exploration of 19th century science, a world previously foreign to me.

"New to science" was the excited and triumphant clarion-call favoured by Victorian botanists, zoologists, geologists and all our other worthy ancestors who believed they were making the world a better place with the extraordinary finds that they were making all over the planet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Examining a 'haul' on board the Challenger

Image from F. Whymper The Sea: Its stirring Story of Adventure, Peril & Heroism London 1880

Finds which ranged from the dredged-up hauls on HMS Challenger, yielding over 4,000 marine species "new to science" between 1873 and 1876 to the rare and exotic plants that they found in the jungles of South America. Very often the finds made by these brave or obsessed explorers were followed by death from disease or shipwreck. 

Above: The sponge Clathrina Coriacea (Montagu, 1818). Henry Carter wrote of  its “chaste and exquisite network”
Image credit: Fiona Crouch

Henry Carter, the town's most celebrated scientist born in Budleigh Salterton, found 17 different species of sponge growing on the coast here following his retirement in 1862 and was often moved by their beauty.

 

A relatively undisturbed boulder reef in Lyme Bay, rich in branching sponges and large Phallusia tunicates (sea squirts).

Image credit: Colin Munro
http://colinmunrophotography.com/blog/

 

 

Our town looks out on to Britain’s largest inshore marine protected area (MPA) and it's only right that an event arranged jointly by the Otter Valley Association and Fairlynch Museum will take place in Carter's bicentenary year. The talk 'The Marine Treasures of Lyme Bay' will touch upon everything from the geology of Lyme Bay through the corals and sponges to fish and fishing and the campaign for a closed area to protect the sponge and coral habitats.

Devon Wildlife Trust has been working to protect the reefs in Lyme Bay since the 1990s with the result that this part of the county's coast is probably the best understood area of seabed in the UK. 

 

Dense beds of mature pink seafans (Eunicella verrucosa), some almost a metre across, growing on pristine reef in Lyme Bay.
Image credit: Colin Munro

http://colinmunrophotography.com/blog/

Speaker Dominic Flint has been Sustainable Fisheries Officer at Exeter-based Devon Wildlife Trust for almost two years. Before that he was Seagrass Officer for Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust and Fisheries Observer with Marine Resources & Fisheries Consultants (MRAG) Ltd.  He studied Microbiology at Bristol University before going on to further studies at Warwick and Nottingham Universities, gaining a Diploma in Marine Biology and an MSc in Applied Marine Science at the University of Plymouth.  He has been a SCUBA diver since the early 1980s, and has over 25 years of diving experience around the world and especially in Devon and the South West.

Last year saw the fiftieth birthday of Devon Wildlife Trust. In 1962 Lady’s Wood, near South Brent, became DWT’s first nature reserve, but many others have followed since. Today DWT manages 45
nature reserves for wildlife and people, protecting rare species that are at risk of vanishing. The Trust
advises landowners on better managing their land for the benefit of wildlife. It stands up for Devon's environment by lobbying decision makers and campaigning to give a powerful voice to wildlife under threat, working throughout the county to conserve wildlife in urban areas and the countryside, on the coast and in the sea.

Click on http://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/  to read more. It sounds like a really worthy cause. Donations will be most welcome.Monday 18 February 2013 2.30 pm Peter Hall, Budleigh Salterton. Admission £3.00. Otter Valley Association members and Friends of Fairlynch benefit from a reduced £1.50 admission charge to the talks.  Please note the change of speaker for this event.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Twins, Sisters, Cousins...? Does it really matter?

What a pleasant surprise to receive the first of many responses to the first-ever bulletin of The Budleigh Chronicle on 20 January.  Especially as it had come from thousands of miles away in cyberspace.

Well actually it had come in a short hop from Cape Cod on the other side of the Pond, so not really that far at all in this age of instant communication - when the internet works of course.

 

 

 

Pioneering transatlantic communication: the stained glass window in All Saints' Church, East Budleigh, commemorating former Budleigh resident George William Preedy

 

Admiral Preedy, the brave captain of HMS Agamemnon who played such an important part in laying that first successful telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean, and who came to live in retirement at Park House in Knowle on the outskirts of  Budleigh, would have been thrilled. 

I was certainly pleased. The friendship link between Budleigh Salterton and Brewster, MA has not exactly been a roaring success and was never formalised as a twinning in spite of the high hopes raised back in 2001 and even in spite of that handsome sign that you see as you drive into the Cape Cod town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A "twinning" on paper: news of the transatlantic link as reported in The Budleigh Journal newspaper just over ten years ago 

 

It was a surprise to find when I moved to East Devon five years ago to find a mention of our 'twin' on Wikipedia at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budleigh_Salterton  How come we had no Lincoln Road, Eisenhower Avenue or Kennedy Street in Budleigh Salterton?

So the tenth anniversary of the near-twinning passed almost unnoticed a couple of years ago. But thanks to the amazing phenomenon of Google news alerts you can keep an eye on what's going on in the charming little Cape Cod town which bears so many similarities to Budleigh.  And the news or non-news of our relationship will certainly find space in the online museum which is this blog.

Perhaps it's better that way.  Better to have an informal relationship than risk becoming enmeshed in the bureaucratic net that could be the consequence of an official arrangement with all those illuminated scrolls, constitutions and possible squabbles. Maybe best to imagine us as ships passing each other in the night, mutually catching occasional glimpses of life onboard between the waves of the rough rude sea.

I started what I think of as this museum in cyberspace with the intention of regularly including an item about Brewster life, so there's some news from Kyle Hinkle, Executive Director of the town's Chamber of Commerce at http://budleighbrewsterunited.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/brewster-shines-in-spotlight-of.html 

 

A view of Squabmoor Reservoir on Dalditch Common, just a few miles from Budleigh Salterton

Eco-tourism? That's certainly something we share with Cape Cod, with our own pebble beach, sea-sports, cycle tracks, ancient buildings and thousands of acres of heather-clad commons complete with Bronze Age sites, Dartford Warblers, slow worms and rare butterflies Well, I know a lot of it belongs to Clinton Devon Estates, but they do allow us to enjoy these wonderful things. Long may that continue.

 

 

 

 

Brewster shines in the spotlight of ecotourism

A Brewster view: Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kyle Hinkle's article is below

Last winter, the Candleberry Inn, pictured below, was one of three Brewster inns to become a verified Cape and Islands Green business (the others are Old Manse Inn and Captain Freeman Inn).  Owners Charlotte and Stu Fyfe took steps to improve energy efficiency at the Inn and increased how and what they recycled. They make their own organic cleaning products, grow their own vegetables and herbs, and even have honey bees. They shop locally for things like cornmeal (at Stony Brook Gristmill of course!) and organic chocolates, and they encourage their guests to use eco-friendly efforts too.





















The Candleberry Inn, in exchange for the Fyfes' hard work, is now one of the Cape and Islands Green businesses enjoying the combined marketing efforts of the Cape Light Compact, Cape Cod Self Reliance and the Community Development Partnership who promote and manage the certification program that businesses must go through.    

But when the Fyfes took the time, effort and expense to make the “green” changes in their business, they couldn’t have predicted that their inn would become the star of a pilot television show promoting eco-tourism, but that is exactly what’s happened!  Denver-based television producer Laura Starr was seeking an inn that had ambience, was located near fun things to do, and had an eco-friendly focus. When she found the Candleberry Inn, she found her perfect ‘star’. And when she discovered all of the eco-friendly things that Brewster has to offer, she knew she had found the perfect location.












One of Brewster's amazing sunsets over Cape Cod Bay
Photo credit: Byron Cain

Brewster has many eco-experiences to offer. There are over 5,000 acres of conservation land and land that will never be put on the commercial market that feature walking trails, vista points with benches, historic sites, public parks and a natural history museum. Eight miles of beaches along Cape Cod Bay provide places to dig for clams, watch aquaculture operations in action, wade in a tidal pool, splash in gentle waves, kayak, paddle board or just relax on the beach. Fresh water ponds and a state park offer respite from the salt water and the sun under the canopy of hard-wood trees that line the banks and trails. Residents and visitors alike practice conservation efforts through recycling, and solar power is installed in numerous public and private buildings.    

Producer Starr’s working title for her show is “Sleeping Around” and her audience is young professionals who are looking for eco-friendly experiences. Part of her goal is to show that staying in a local gem like the Candleberry Inn isn’t just for the retired set and that there are wonderful experiences to have in our rural communities.

Starr will be shopping her pilot to the cable-based travel channels this summer and hopes to have a show on the air during the new fall season. Meanwhile, the Fyfes are enjoying the spotlight they’ve turned on eco-tourism at the Candleberry Inn, and by default, Brewster!    

Source: http://www.brewster-capecod.com/newsletter.htm

 

A Scott drama with Budleigh links

Actress Jenny Coverack inside Scott's Hut, dressed as Kathleen Scott
Photograph copyright © 2006 Marketa Jirouskova

We were awestruck by the courage and suffering of former Budleigh resident Murray Levick and his companions displayed in last year's Fairlynch exhibition 'Survival', and moved by actress Jenny Coverack's performance as Kathleen Scott in Budleigh Salterton's Public Hall.   

 

 

Meredith Hooper, during a visit to Fairlynch Museum's 'Survival!' exhibition in July 2011

 

Now comes the final stage of the centenary commemoration of Captain Scott's tragic Terra Nova expedition with a BBC Radio 4 drama to be broadcast on Tuesday 5 February, from 2.15 to 3.00 pm, with Sam West as Scott and Emilia Fox as Kathleen.

'Kathleen and Con' by author and Antarctic expert Meredith Hooper is based on the two volumes of extraordinarily interesting letters written by Robert Falcon Scott and Kathleen Bruce. The drama begins with their first love letters in November 1907. It includes their marriage in September 1908, moving on to their final letters to each other - Kathleen in England, Captain Scott on the Polar journey.

 

Robert Falcon Scott and his wife Kathleen, on Quail Island in Lyttelton Harbour, New Zealand, 1910. The two men on the left are unidentified as is the photographer

 

The news of the deaths of all five members of the Polar Party raced across the world in February 1913 when the Terra Nova reached New Zealand with all those remaining in Antarctica, including of course the expedition's doctor and zoologist Murray Levick.

'Kathleen and Con' will be part of acknowledging the end of the expedition, 100 years ago next month. "I was hugely glad to be commissioned to write it," says Meredith Hooper who has visited Budleigh on various occasions including an appearance at the town's Literary Festival when she spoke about the background to her book The Longest Winter. "The drama is based entirely on the letters between the two - my aim, to give people the chance to listen to their voices. To hear what they actually said."

'Kathleen and Con' will be on iplayer for a week after 5 February. Radio Times has selected it as one of the Five of the Best radio programmes for next week.

For newcomers to this site who know nothing of Murray Levick's and Scott of the Antarctic's connections with Budleigh Salterton click on
http://budleighbrewsterunited.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/survival-continues-to-thrill.html
and
http://budleighbrewsterunited.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/woman-who-knew-her-own-mind-interview.html

The East gets a taste of Fairlynch

Fairlynch Museum prides itself on growing global links. Our Local History Group regularly receives enquiries from people on the other side of the world asking if we can provide information about their Devon ancestors.

 

Singapore city skyline at dusk   Image credit: Chensiyuan

We've just had an email from the USA offering us original Budleigh lace work and tools.

And my research into the life and work of Henry John Carter for the forthcoming Sea, Salt and Sponges exhibition has led me to contact people in places ranging from the Netherlands to Japan, from India to California.

After all, HJC as I'll call Budleigh's most distinguished scientist did spend over 20 years of his life exploring the deserts and coasts of Arabia before settling in India where he made a name for himself as a geologist and highly respected microscopist. And then, back in quiet little old Budleigh, was sent sponges from all over the world for the next twenty years by institutions like London's Natural History Museum and Liverpool Museum to examine and classify, such was his internationally renowned expertise as a spongiologist.

 

 

So a contact with Singapore shouldn't have surprised me, given that one of the many  sponges named after HJC includes the Coelocarteria singaporensis otherwise known as  the Daisy Sponge, considered among the most commonly seen sponges in Singapore.

 

Image credit: Gary C. Williams, California Academy of Sciences

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wildlife enthusisast Ria Tan on the tiny islet Pulau Sekudu also known as Frog Island, with the wetlands of Chek Jawa in the background

 

What did surprise was Singapore's stature as a wildlife haven. I'd seen this dynamic city state described as the world's fourth leading financial centre and the second-biggest casino gambling market with the highest percentage of millionaires on the planet.  But a simple emailed request for permission to reproduce a photo of the above sponge led me to discover the amazing websites of Singapore nature enthusiast and very talented photographer Ria Tan at http://wildshores.blogspot.co.uk/   and http://www.wildsingapore.com/riablog/people/ria.htm

Ria reveals another side of Singapore, with people passionate about its natural heritage and wild places.  I thought I was busy in retirement, but what I'm doing for Budleigh is nothing compared with the mission that Ria has undertaken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pseudoceratina purpurea (Carter, 1880) also known as Yellow prickly branching Sponge, with very pregnant seahorse

Image credit: Ria Tan www.wildsingapore

 

Originally enthused by her experience as a volunteer guide at the wetland reserve of Sungei Buloh https://www.sbwr.org.sg/  she then, as she writes, fell under the spell of the 100-hectare wetlands of Chek Jawa with their unique and rich ecosystems first discovered in the early 2000s. She soon got involved in other wildlife reserves in Singapore, finding it immensely rewarding to share her excitement with others.

 "The joy of introducing a child or child-at-heart to our wild places," is a special experience, she says.  "To see in their eyes, the fascination and realisation of how nature can make us whole again." Her favourite way is to share the experience personally during a guided walk. Another way is through photographs, which capture what she describes as the wondrous qualities of Singapore's flora and fauna.

Henry Carter would be delighted to find that his work is being remembered in Singapore thanks to enthusiasists like Ria Tan at http://wildshores.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/singapore-sponges-and-henry-carter.html#.UP_fbYbFl6I  

 

Pub quizzes Fairlynch

New faces at Knowle's local: Kate Knight with daughter Aisha and landlord Major Jeff White

Buying a house? Involved in commerce? It can often be fascinating to discover the former occupants of your new home or how a venture started. The new landlord of Knowle village's local is the latest business in the area seeking to find out more about the history of the building and its previous tenants. 

Going back to its original name is all part of Jeff White's keenness to explore the archives of this country pub and restaurant that for many years was known as The Dog and Donkey. “The pub started off as The Britannia back in Victorian times so we thought it was only right to respect its heritage and discover a bit more of its past,” says Jeff, pictured above with partner Kate Knight and her daughter Aisha who prepare quality food in the kitchen.

And that's where Fairlynch Museum comes in with its excellent local history records. The museum is always ready to help people interested in finding out about old-established Budleigh businesses. It has been a Devon Record Office service point since 2007 and the archives have useful items like local registers, the 1842 Tithe map and a whole cabinet of books on various aspects of old Budleigh.

Ready to welcome you in the restaurant: Sophie and Anne-Maria

Jeff is looking forward to restoring The Britannia as Knowle's local while providing restaurant meals that are quite a bit more ambitious than your average pub's. The building has been refurbished to a high standard while not taking away any of its atmosphere. 

“We are really passionate about providing honestly good Devon food with excellent customer service,” says Kate. "All our food is locally sourced and we're finding that our customers appreciate dishes that are a bit out of the ordinary." There is a wine list to suit most palates and the bar serves a fine range of real ales.

Bookings for lunch and dinner at The Britannia are advisable.

Tel: 01395 445710  Email: thebritannia@btinternet.com

Ten years' service acknowledged

Changes are afoot at Budleigh Salterton's Fairlynch Museum with the news that two of its Trustees are standing down.

After over 10 years as Fairlynch Trustees Margaret Brett and Iris Cooper will be relinquishing their roles at the Museum's AGM in May.

"They cannot be praised too highly for their outstanding commitment, dedication and hard work," said Fairlynch Chairman Roger Sherriff. "The two years they served as joint Chair of the Trustees is worthy of particular praise, filling the vacuum left following the departure of the previous Chair. Fortunately they will both continue to be involved with Museum life."

Friends of Fairlynch Membership Secretary Alexis Zane is also standing down to pursue other interests. "Our grateful thanks are due to her for the professionalism she has brought to this position and the efficient manner in which she has performed this role," said Roger Sherriff. 

The Museum is advertising for a new Membership Secretary in addition to seeking new Trustees. For more details of the above vacancies please contact Roger on  01395 442357 or email: rogerfairlynch@gmail.com

Francis Kelly (1927-2012)

  

Francis Kelly's depiction of Hayes Barton, described as “a delightful countryside etching" by the Brook Gallery which sells his work. See http://www.brookgallery.co.uk/ for details.



Francis Kelly (1927-2012) is one of two important figures from the Arts world with strong connections to the Budleigh area who passed away last year.

Artist, author  and athlete, Francis Kelly, known as Bob, was born in Minnesota. He served with the U.S. Navy until 1948 when he entered the Art Centre School in Los Angeles, studying in Paris in 1951/52, and then the Universities of Hawaii and California. With a Fulbright grant,  he came in 1955 to the Central School in London where he decided to live. 

He had strong links with the Budleigh area, visiting whenever possible: our gentle countryside has greatly inspired much of his work. 

Field Gate

Exhibitions of his work have been held at 24 British galleries. He was called on by the Italian Art and Archives Fund to restore flood damaged art in Florence and has published two books, Art Restoration and The Studio and the Artist.  Kelly was known for his paintings of the female form as well as for his landscapes and seascapes

 Double Image

 


















Tranquillity

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012)

Sir Richard Rodney Bennett (1936-2012) is one of two important figures from the Arts world with strong connections to the Budleigh area who passed away last year.

As President of the Budleigh Jazz Festival Sir Richard was well known to many local  residents. He lived at various houses in Budleigh for more than 20 years until the family settled in Boucher Road in 1945.

A photo of the young Richard, right, with his family in the garden of Lace Acre, in Budleigh Salterton's Boucher Road

 His father was a writer and his mother a fine musician and pianist, organising local recitals and madrigal groups in which the teenage Richard and his friends would take part. His childhood was not especially happy according to Anthony Meredith’s much praised magistral biography, and moving to London as a student at the Royal Academy of Music was a refreshing change. However he retained his affection for Budleigh, which, as he said in later life “I still love and won’t have a word said against.”

 As a music student in London

Earning a  living as a composer from the age of 19 he had a dazzling career, writing award-winning screen music, operas, choral works and symphonies  all of which secured for him an international reputation for versatility. Far from the Madding Crowd, Billion Dollar Brain and Four Weddings and a Funeral are just three of the films for which he wrote the soundtrack.   He was knighted for services to music in 1998.

20 January 2013. Comment from Janet Parrish:

I had the pleasure of driving RRB to East Budleigh after a concert (his) for the Budleigh Festival. I think he was staying with some friends over there. He brought with him a very good (and well known jazz singer, Clair Martin...but not to me sadly. I am not into jazz, though her name seemed familiar.) He was very friendly and talked about his time in Budleigh. He pointed out a number of places that were familiar to him in the past, such as the creamery at the bottom of the High Street. (which obviously is still there, he was pleased to learn).

‘Tales of the Sixth Sense’

Friends of Fairlynch Museum Winter Talks 2012-13

‘Tales of the Sixth Sense’ 

Where: Peter Hall, next to the parish church, Budleigh Salterton

When: Monday 21 January 2013  2.30 pm 

Who: Jenny Pride
 
Have you ever had the puzzling feeling known as déjà vu of being in a place that you seem inexplicably to have previously been to? Or of meeting a person whom somehow, oddly, you've met in the past? Friend of Fairlynch Jenny Pride has a background in Economics, but has had a variety of personal experiences that have convinced her that human existence embraces a world beyond ordinary science, more mysterious even than economic forecasting. Her talk will deal with intriguing subjects such as psychic phenomena, premonition, ESP and strange intuition.  

Sea, Salt and Sponges

 

 

Fairlynch Museum’s 2013 exhibition has a maritime theme: the history of local fishing and salt-making, marine conservation, paintings by local artists inspired by the area’s beautiful coastal scenery… but especially the life of Henry Carter FRS (1813-95), born 200 years ago in Budleigh Salterton.  The exhibition opens on Friday 29 March at 2.00 pm and runs until the end of September 2013. Admission is free.

Here are some facts about Henry Carter:

 

•      Described as one of her “scientific heroes”  by Clare Valentine, Head of Collections in the Department of Zoology, Natural History Museum, London 

•   The first to describe the  microscopic aquatic creature  Collodictyon triciliatum,  declared by scientists recently to be one of the world's oldest living organisms and man's remotest relative…
Image credit: Robert Clinton Rhodes

•    Admired for his “wonderful” description of the sex-life of algae by Charles Darwin

•  “No obscure scientist could hope for a more constant friend or more courteous correspondent than H.J. Carter Esq, of Devonshire, England” - Edward Potts (1830-1912), American naturalist

•   Was the first to describe microscopic creepy-crawly amoeboid organisms such as Acanthocystis turfacea, Euglypha compressa, Pontigulasia compressa and Difflugia urceolata that he found in drains and bog-water in the Budleigh area during the 1860s
Pictured above: Euglypha compressa Carter 1864   
Image credit: Chris Carter and www.ptyxis.com

•   Was the first to publish an Anglo-Mahrah vocabulary based on his experience with the Mahrah tribe of Southern Arabia

•   Quoted in Jabez Hogg's best-selling book The Microscope (1854) as one of Victorian Britain's top microscopists along with Fellows of the Royal Society such as William Carpenter, Charles Darwin, Philip Gosse and Thomas Huxley

•    Shared the honour of having a fungus —  Chionyphe Carteri — named after him along with the illustrator of the medical text-book Gray's Anatomy

•      Awarded the Royal Society's Royal Medal in 1872

•    Has a fossil from the Burgess shale in British Columbia, Choia carteri, named after him.

 

•      Has at least 27 different species of sponge named after him
Above: Oscarella lobularis: one of the sponges found by Henry Carter at Budleigh Salterton
Image credit: Parent Gery

•    Was very probably the first to discover the Budleigh fossil Orthis budleighensis which should therefore be re-named Orthis carteri

•   Involved with the 1870s excavation of the prehistoric Labyrinthodont remains discovered in the Triassic sandstone strata between Budleigh Salterton and Sidmouth

•    Has the Arabian Frankincense tree named after him

•    Condemned the Indian caste system in 1843 for its inhumanity

•   Reorganised the British Museum's sponge collection at his home in Budleigh Salterton
Above: Xestospongia testudinaria, known as the barrel sponge: one of the sponges described by Henry Carter  
Image credit: Jan Messersmith

•    Reorganised Liverpool Museum's collection during a stay in the city

•  “This able and indefatigable naturalist... a wonderfully careful and accurate observer” — Arthur Dendy (1865-1925), Australian zoologist

•   Was the first Westerner to describe the ancient Arabian city of Al Baleed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

•    The first naturalist to describe the development of Euplectella aspergillum, also known as the Venus flower basket sponge — pictured above — chosen as one of Sir David Attenborough's Top Ten prized animals on Earth in November 2012
Image credit: NOAA/Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute 

•   Noted for his research while in India into the guinea-worm, a feared tropical pest which burrows into human tissue, growing to an average of over 70 cm in length

•    Has a species of gecko named after him
Above: Pristurus carteri, also known as Carter's Rock Gecko
Image credit: Todd Pierson


•    May have inspired Lawrence of Arabia’s interest in the Middle East

•   Described as the writer who best deserved the respect and gratitude of Indian geologists

•    Was one of the first of the Anglo-Indian ex-army officers to settle in Budleigh Salterton, people who were characterised —  in the words of the East Devon novelist R.F. Delderfield — by their “hard, blue eyes, fierce moustaches, and mahogany faces”

•    Has been recently evoked in a book co-authored by Ishrat Syed and Kalpana Swaminathan, writing under the name of Kalpish Ratna. Published in 2012, Once Upon A Hill is a protest against the madness and greed which has alienated humanity from the natural world. It pays tribute to Carter's geological adventures in Bombay. His work infuses the book say the authors. "Without his observations we could never have had so complete a picture of Bombay's geology. He has been our most dependable guide to a city that has been built over so many times since 1850."

•    “Few if any of his contemporaries could match his genius”  — Rob van Soest, former head curator of the Invertebrate section at the Zoological Museum of Amsterdam and Editor-in- Chief of the World Porifera Database

•    Is the only native-born East Devon scientist and Fellow of the Royal Society to end his days in his homeland
 

 












Above: The freshwater sponge Spongilla lacustris, described by Henry Carter
Image credit: Kirt L. Onthank


•   In a letter of 30 May 1872 written from Budleigh Salterton described how he was devoting his leisure to "scientific studies" in order to follow the precept of "making fellow-creatures better and happy"


•    Has been honoured with a blue plaque on the wall of Umbrella Cottage, his Budleigh Salterton home