Yesterday, the Mayor, Cllr Phil Cloke, officially unveiled a Scots pine tree planted on Millenium Path on the Commons in memory of His Late Royal Highness, Prince Philip. We’d like to thank the Commons Conservators for allowing the Town Council to plant this memorial tree on the Commons and to Al Mitchell, their Head Ranger for planting and watering it (which isn’t an easy job!) while it establishes.
This years Mayoral Introduction Ceremony took place at the Great Torrington Town And Community Hall on Wednesday 21st May, during which, Cllr Cloke was sworn in for a second term as Mayor with Cllr Parish standing as his Deputy Mayor once again.
During the ceremony, Cllr Parish presented Cllr Cloke with his Past Mayors Badge too mark the completion of his first year.
For Information:
The introduction ceremony for the Mayor of Great Torrington Town Council will be held on Wednesday 22nd May 2024 at 7pm at Great Torrington Town & Community Hall.
Members of the public are very welcome to attend but we do need to know numbers for refreshments, so if you are planning to come along, please let the Town Council know by 5pm Tuesday 15th May 2024. Contact us on 01805 626135 or e-mail [email protected]
As well as the fabulous 2024 May Queen with her entourage and their families, we welcomed another special guest at the Mayfair lunch this year.
Our guest, Mrs Pat Martin made the outfits for the May Queen and her entourage from 1969 until 1992. Yesterday there was a small selection of these outfits on display, and a handful of the people who loaned us their historic costumes came together for a photograph with Mrs. Martin.
Thankyou to everyone who helped to make it a special day for Mrs. Martin, people were so happy to share their outfits and their Mayfair stories.
The commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the D Day landings is on Thursday June 6th. There is a national programme of events and Great Torrington will be joining in with these where possible. The Town Crier will begin the day with a proclamation at 8am in the Town Square. The bells of St Michael & All Angels will be heard as part of the national Ringing Out for Peace initiative at 6:30pm.
We are working with the Cavaliers to organise the lighting of a beacon on the evening of 6th June and would like to encourage all members of the community to come along to this. We would especially like to invite veterans of all conflicts who are based in Torrington to attend this event so if you or anyone you know is a veteran, please do make contact on 01805 626135 or [email protected] to discuss attending. Torrington Silver Band will be playing before the beacon is lit between 8-9pm to mark the anniversary of this important date in our history.
Please see posters and social media nearer the time for further details.
Many visiting dignitaries and invited guests attended the Proclamation of the Fair at the Town Hall on May Fair Day which this year fell on Thursday 2nd May.
During the Proclamation a number of guests made speeches about celebrating Great Torrington and it’s Fair and to thank our visitors for joining us on this special day.
Fairings were also offered during the speeches which represent titbits originally offered to entice people at the Fair, this year these were in the form of handmade shortbread biscuits.
The Town Council has vacancies for 2 Co-Opted Councillors to join us.
Becoming a Town Councillor will give you the opportunity to get involved with various projects and interests within the community of Great Torrington. If you are passionate about the town, prepared to get involved, and meet at least one of the criteria below, we invite you to contact us to discuss the application process. A written form is available on our website and encourages you to demonstrate why you are interested in volunteering to become a Town Councillor and what you believe you can bring to the role. If you are interested but a written application or form filling is a barrier to applying, please get in touch (01805 626135).
If the answer to at least one of the below statements is “yes”, you are eligible to apply to be a Town Councillor:
Cllr Dave Parish says, “I am proud to be a Town Councillor I immensely enjoy the experience and I’ve learnt so much in the process.
It is a pleasure to work with a truly dedicated team of Councillors who volunteer their time to contribute to making Great Torrington a ‘Great’ place to live.
There is so much more we can do. Be part of the future, ‘Come and join us.”
For an informal chat with one of the team, please call the office on 01805 626135.
Applications can be posted to or dropped in to our offices: Great Torrington Town Council, Castle Hill, Great Torrington, EX38 8AA or sent by email to [email protected].
Jennie Smithson, Town Clerk