At first glance, Edward Marks was your typical Devonshire Victorian farm worker.
Edward did not move far in his long life. Born and baptised in Feniton in 1801, in 1832 Edward married Dorothy Tuck who had been baptised in 1801 at Hemyock, daughter of James and Mary Tuck. Edward and Dorothy lived at Curscombe, a hamlet in Feniton parish where they had seven children between 1833 and 1846: Mary, Sarah, Adah, Elizabeth, Edward, Thomas, and Harriet.
In the 1851 Census Edward Marks was recorded as being an agricultural labourer: in 1848 he was given an award at a ploughing match for 8 years’ service to Mr Blackmore of Chelsea Farm. However, earlier, in the 1830s, in the Feniton Baptism register his occupation was given as farmer. He won prizes at the local ploughing matches in 1839 and 1841 for best brood mare, and best bull.
Apart from his farming knowledge, Edward Marks had a few surprising talents. Bandmaster was one! He was given a special mention in a celebratory event provided for the parishioners by Mr Justice Patteson of Feniton Court in 1841:
‘The village poor were liberally supplied with hard wood for winter fuel, soup and beef. The bells rang merrily and the Feniton band played cheerily under the leadership of Mr Edward Marks, a staunch yeoman of the Parish. The band is but a youngster but it goes on bravely and whenever the Judge comes down there is always a tune at his service’. Western Times 11th December 1841
The following year, ‘Mr Marks of Feniton sung a new song at the Broadhembury Ploughing match composed by himself and was dubbed poet of the Hembury Agricultural association. His duty will be to supply an original song at each anniversary. We hope it will not injure the Society for the farmers have been made to sing out too much of late’. Western Times 12th November 1842
The struggle to support his large family might have been why in 1849 Edward became keeper of the village post office, a position he held until 1881. He must have been literate, perhaps not usual for a farm worker of his generation.
As another ‘string to his bow’, from 1847 to 1889 Edward Marks served as Feniton Parish Clerk. The family had by then moved from Curscombe into the centre of the village, into dwellings known as Carnells Cottages (later to be called Par Cottages). On a sale plan of the Feniton Estate property No. 631 was said to be occupied by Edward Marks at an annual rent of £5. The post of Parish Clerk, in the days before parish councils was an honourable position, an assistant to the Rector. Duties included arranging baptisms, ringing the church bells, and maintaining the parish registers. Edward would have been able to demonstrate his musical talents too: the Clerk had to lead the responses at church services. At a Club Day service in the church for the Feniton Friendly Society in 1867 it was observed by a local reporter George Pulman that the parish Clerk Edward Marks ‘fired off the Amens like the crack of a rifle’.
(Uncle Tom Cobley and All. Todd Gray 2019) It was later that day, during the festivities in the Feniton Inn that George Pulman heard Edward sing ‘Hoodicock Fair’ – an early version of the song that came to be known as ‘Widecombe Fair’ – he noted the song down and published it in the Exeter Gazette.
Thus we know that Edward Marks, farmer, sub-postmaster and Parish Clerk was also a musician, singer and poet!
A neighbour of the Marks family was Henry Darke who had converted his house into the Feniton Inn where he and his wife hosted village meetings and dances, and catered for large numbers of farmers and landowners at regular ploughing match dinners. These two enterprising Feniton men, Henry and Edward, landlord and Clerk, were both called to give evidence at the trial in Sidmouth of a Thomas Chope on a charge of bigamy in 1863, the ‘marriage’ having taken place in Feniton Church and the groom having stayed at the Inn. Names in the papers again!
Edward was still at the post office at age of 86 when Feniton celebrated the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. To celebrate the event which took place in June 1887 a report appeared in a newspaper :-
“Through the kindness of Mrs Pinkney the Feniton Jubilee was held on the shady lawn of the Court. A Service took place in the Parish church at 12.30 when most of the parishioners were present. At 1.30 an excellent repast of hot beef and plum pudding was enjoyed by all the men and boys of the parish, followed by a tea at 4.30, generously provided by Mrs Pinkney for all the inhabitants. Races of different descriptions followed at intervals during the afternoon and evening. The parish Clerk Edward Marks was present, one of the few men in England old enough to remember and describe the last Jubilee, in George III’s reign. Great praise is due to the Committee of Management who carried out the arrangements, and to the ladies of Feniton Court who hurried home from Germany on Saturday on purpose to be present to arrange and superintend everything”.
A reporter from a local paper – Pulmans – had a chance to interview Edward shortly afterwards and from this we can learn that researching family history is nothing new:
‘Strolling in the neighbourhood of Sidmouth Junction (now Feniton Station) a day or two since and entering the well-known hostelry adjoining, I found there a communicative old gentleman who informed me that he was one of a small family of 228. Expressing my credulity, he proceeded to furnish me with ‘proof positive’ in the form of a printed circular. From this I gathered that my confidential friend was Mr. Edward Marks, sub-postmaster and Parish Clerk of Feniton and he had been celebrating the Jubilee in his own particular way by tracing the genealogy of his family from the year 1725. In this year it would seem his grandmother Ann Marks was born and as she died in Buckerell in 1831 she must have reached the age of 106. Edward Peacock, his esteemed grandfather, expired at Awliscombe at the age of 101, whilst Ann Pring, sister of Edward Marks departed this life at Awliscombe in 1880 age 96. Edward himself is ‘quite a young thing’ in comparison being only 86 and certainly looking younger.
The hostelry mentioned was of course The Railway Hotel, now the Nog Inn and where the Feniton History Group meet on the first Thursday of each month. Edward was there before us, founder member!
Sadly, Edward Marks was not to make the great age of his relatives but lived only 2 more years; he was buried in Feniton Churchyard, alongside his wife Dorothy who had died in 1866. A simple obituary in a local paper stated:
28th May 1889 Edward Marks, at the Post Office, Feniton age 88
Their headstone records that he was the first sub-postmaster and the last Parish Clerk with 42 years in office.
This piece was researched and collated by Brenda Powell of the Feniton History Society in 2021.
