The collection of Dartmoor photographs which went on show in a 180-year-old West Devon chapel last summer has returned for its second year.
The well-known Dartmoor photographer Chris Chapman, who lives locally at Throwleigh, has been taking pictures of life around the moor for more than fifty years. Over this time he has built up a nationally important archive of photographs.
With the support of a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Devon County Council, Methodist Church as well as some individuals the members of Providence Methodist Chapel, Throwleigh, mounted an exhibition of Chris Chapman’s photographs there during a series of open days between June and October 2022.
The success was beyond what anyone anticipated and this has confirmed to the members of this beautiful little chapel how important it is to the local population as well as further afield.
So on every second Saturday of the month from May to October the ‘The Dartmoor Photographs’ exhibition will be open again in the chapel.
Ian Crawford, the chapel’s project coordinator, said: ‘We knew that Chris Chapman’s wonderful Dartmoor photographs would be appreciated, but we have been stunned by the support the chapel received as a result of the exhibition and the encouragement we have been given to continue. We look forward to welcoming back in 2023 local families and visitors from further afield, including walkers along the new Archangel Way as well as the Dartmoor way walking and cycling routes.’
The chapel’s heritage project was supported from the outset by the Methodist Church and Devon County Council and Cllr James McInnes, County Councillor for Hatherleigh and Chagford. The exhibition has so far attracted an estimated 1200 visitors and raised much needed funds for local charities and other organisations.
Alongside the exhibition, Providence Methodist Chapel will be hosting the usual luscious home made teas as well as encouraging visitors to the exhibition to step forward for a new memories project being run by a member of the Chagford history society to help record oral memories of Providence chapel and the old school nearby.
In June 2023 the exhibition will welcome its young photographer Jake Tebbutt to exhibit alongside the Chris Chapman images and will be available to talk visitors through the whole process of his work and the finished material that visitors see on display.
There will also be news of a new scheme to help the exhibition grow and ensure this vital historical record continues to develop and entertain. Anyone interested in helping with this project is welcome to contact Ian Crawford at [email protected].
More information about Chris Chapman and his work can be found at www.chrischapmanphotography.co.uk