Great Torrington Town Council

Great Torrington Town Council is active in keeping the traditions of the town alive, one of those traditions is to have a small team of civic role holders which includes a Beadle, Town Crier and Mace Bearers. Their role is to support the Council at various functions throughout the year. We currently have a vacancy within the team for a Town Beadle.

Duties would include accompanying the Mayor to various functions as well as taking part in events within the town.

In order to carry out the role of Beadle, you would need a car, be willing to obtain the appropriate insurance and be happy to drive the Mayor & Mayoress/Consort to functions etc. The Beadle is provided with a mileage allowance, a small honorarium, plus a uniform. Some of the duties will involve evening and weekend work. This vacancy is open to both men and women.

If you are interested in being the Beadle for Great Torrington Town Council, give us a call on 01805 626135 or contact us by email: [email protected] before Tuesday 15th August 2023.

The Town Council has vacancies for 4 Co-Opted Councillors to join us.

Becoming a Town Councillor will give you the opportunity to get involved with a number of projects and interests within the community of Great Torrington.  If you are passionate about the town, prepared to roll your sleeves up and get involved, and meet at least one of the criteria below, we invite you to submit a written application outlining why you are interested in becoming a Town Councillor and what you believe you can bring to the role for consideration.  

If the answer to at least one of the below statements is “yes”, you are eligible to apply to be a Town Councillor:

1. I am registered as a local government elector for the parish; or
2. I have, during the whole of the twelve months preceding the date of my co-option, occupied as owner or tenant, land or other premises in the parish; or
3. My principal or only place of work during those twelve months has been in the parish; or
4. I have during the whole of the twelve months preceding the date of my co-option resided in the parish or within 3 miles of it.

Application forms can be obtained from the Town Council office or downloaded here.

One of our most recently appointed councillors, Cllr Dave Parish says; “I am proud to have been a Town councillor for 18 months now and have immensely enjoyed the experience and learned much in the process.

It has been a pleasure to work with a truly dedicated team who contribute to make Great Torrington a ‘Great’ place to live.

There 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]  to be received no later than Tuesday 15th August 2023.  Co-options will take place at the Full Council meeting on Thursday 7th September 2023.

Thank you to everyone who sent in their entries to the ‘Portrait of the King’ competition for the Coronation, we were very impressed with the overall standard. After much deliberation the Mayor, Cllr Doug Smith selected sisters Ana and Alexandra Sararu -(Cllr Smith was unaware that they were sisters!)- as winners in their respective age groups, with Tilly Coates and Rita Coysh being awarded second place in their age category.

We would like to say a big thank-you and recognise the valuable contribution of all those Town Councillors who stood down this year. Di Davey has been a long-standing councillor and former Mayor, and has worked tirelessly particularly to represent issues around health and well-being. Gill Clayton has chaired the Environment Committee with great passion and given a new direction to considerations included during these meetings. Cheryl Cottle-Hunkin has been a passionate advocate for local issues for many years, but is now out of area. Jonathan Rose, Harry Cox, and Laura Ward have all made valuable contributions to Great Torrington Town Council over the past five years – we would like to thank all of you for your time spent representing the Town Council.

As we say goodbye, we also say Hello! We are welcoming Cllr Lauren Bright & Cllr Penelope Hewitt as new Town Councillors; we look forward to working with you.

Full list of Great Torrington Town Council Members:

• Councillor K Allin
• Councillor C Bright
• Councillor L Bright
• Councillor M Brown
• Councillor B Callaghan-Martin
• Councillor P Cloke
• Coucillor S Ford
• Councillor P Hewitt
• Councillor D Maisey
• Councillor D Parish
• Councillor S Mills
• Councillor D Smith

On Sunday May 7th we were delighted to host approximately ninety invited guests at Great Torrington Town & Community Hall for a Coronation Cream Tea.

The afternoon began with musical entertainment for all in the Town Square, provided by Torrington Silver Band; the sun shone and several members of the community came along to enjoy the brilliant music. We would like to thank those members of the band who gave up their precious time to entertain us on a Bank Holiday Weekend.

The cream tea followed; guests enjoyed a scone with jam & cream (whichever went first was fine by us!) and further musical entertainment from Kathy Ellis. The hall was decorated with bunting, floral displays, paperchains, and flags all in patriotic red, white & blue. The Town Hall Titans volunteered to serve teas and coffees throughout the afternoon and we would like to say a massive ‘thank you’ to them for their support, as the event could not have happened if they had not volunteered their time.

A big thank you goes to the Year 6 members of the Mayfair Entourage and their parents, who attended the event in their amazing Mayfair costumes. We know that you had a very busy weekend, and a very busy day on Sunday when you visited local care homes, did some doorstep deliveries of cream teas for people who could not attend, and then came along to the cream tea itself. It was lovely for our guests to see your costumes close-up, especially those who were unable to see the Mayfair procession. Congratulations on performing your duties at Mayfair so well, and thank you for your support with our cream tea – you all looked fabulous.

In organising this event council officers and staff worked closely with Great Torrington Bluecoat Primary School, social prescribers, and Great Torrington Town & Lands Charity who all helped with reaching members of the community to invite to the cream tea. We also worked with Torrington Rotary Club who provided the transport for many guests; these people would not have been able to attend without this valuable support and we sincerely thank you all for giving up your time to allow these people to access this event.

Community events take a lot of time and organisation behind the scenes, and this one involved working with different groups within the community to enable others to access a social celebration of this historic event. This kind of community coordination is something that Great Torrington excels at and we thank everyone who played their part in making it happen.

On Friday May 7th the Mayor attended Great Torrington Bluecoat Primary School to present the Pupil Council representatives with badges to commemorate the Coronation of King Charles III during a celebration assembly. Badges were distributed to all other children at Bluecoats from reception to year 6 later in the day.

Coronation themed books were donated to the Bluecoat Nursery and to Little Frogs Pre-School for the children to share and enjoy.