La Casa Camerino: 2013 - August 16th-17th - Wallace Facey and family, Bill's and Shopping Exeter

Must start this with the great dinner at Sandra and Ray's on the 16th, our last dinner at The Owls Retreat ... Bangers and mash, garden picked green beans and peas, and a mix of fresh veggies from the garden and other favorites added in too! And never at the Grigg household is a dinner complete without a fine wine selection from Ray's wine cellar!

This Friday of August 16th, we drove to West Putford in North Devon to visit 89 year young Wallace Facey (he'll be 90 on November 24th). On the way we stopped for our usual morning coffee/diet coke break at one of the Costa cafes, many of which we have frequented during our UK travels. We arrived at Wallace's lovely home with his great garden in front. Wallace said that he has planted that garden for 63 years without missing a season ... pretty good, eh?

Wallace Facey's home, West Putford, Holsworthy, North Devon

Wallace had called his cousin Margaret and told her of our visit asking her to join us. She came by for a short stay but couldn't do lunch due to an appointment. Margaret is also an original Facey. The photo-op of three Facey cousins couldn't be passed up.

Three Faceys ... cousin Margaret, Wallace and Larry

Ray, Mary Anne, Sandra. Margaret and Wallace

Wallace's Great Grandfather ... Larry's Great Great Grandfather Facey

Wallace is a wealth of family history that we were so lucky to have him share with us. Ask anything and he knows about it and can tell great stories of the family. Having lived all of his life in this area, he is well acquainted with the churches, cemeteries, and homes of the family. We had a great time having conversations, laughing, enjoying each others company, and getting to know first-hand knowledge of the Facey family. Our destination for lunch with Wallace was The Bell Inn a short distance drive from his house. On the way to the Inn, we stopped in to meet his eldest son Martin in nearby Parkham at his garage business. It seems so weird to see the Facey name on an establishment.

... Martin Facey, Barton Garage.

Marty wasn't able to join us for lunch, so we had a good conversation with him and promised that after lunch that we would be back to see him and his wife Liz.

Father & Son ... Martin & Wallace Facey

Off we went to The Bell In for great food with excellent company and fabulous conversations!

After lunch, we returned to spend some time with Marty and Liz. They are preparing their place for renters to move in as they have purchased a two-story home across the street from the shop. Then we were off for a little piece down the road to visit Wallace's other son Ian at Stib Cross, Torrington, Devon. Ian and his wife Linda have a gorgeous home where we all sat in their conservatory room sharing conversations over a glass of cool lemonade. Ian runs a car business which is also located on the property. Quite interesting how the English do this ... check out his web site at http://www.ianfacey.co.uk.

Three generations of Faceys, Ian, Wallace, Mathew at their home in Stib Cross, Torrington, Devon, England

Linda, Ian, Wallace and Matt Facey

Wallace asked if we were interested in seeing the churches where the family is buried and also the homestead. Naturally we jumped at that opportunity. He directed Ray on driving to the Bulkworthy Church for the beginning of some Facey family history.

Bulkworthy Church

What a moving moment standing at the graves of my Great-Great-Grandparents, John and Lavinia Facey. John Facey passed away on 2/5/1917 at 81 years of age and Lavinia Grace Facey passed away on 11/15/1896 at 62 years old. These two had 13 children. Four of those children, all boys, came to the US and Canada to stay. I believe a couple more came as well, but decided to return to England. Words cannot describe the feelings that we felt at this site. I am lucky enough to have seen this in my lifetime; my computer is equipped to enlarge without pixel distortion so that the gravestones can be read in their entirety; maybe yours too?

Wallace then had Ray drive to Haytown, North Devon to The John and Lavinia Facey home where the 13 children were reared. It surely wasn't covered in ivy as it is today, but to think that is where it all began for us Faceys here in the States!

Our next stop was the West Putford church. The carving on he door establishes that the church dates back to 1620.

We were honored that Wallace took us here to see the graves of his mother who passed away when he was only two weeks old and those of his grandparents who raised him.

This is the church containing what I'll call Wallace's Bell Tower at the Putford Church where he rang the bells for 75 years, from age 9 through 84

What a truly remarkable day that was had by all! Returning to Wallace's, he invited us for Tea. What a spread he put out ... meat pies, sandwiches, scones, home made jello with bananas, and much more. Another time for reflection and great talks! We thoroughly enjoyed our last two hours here before leaving for the trip back to Yeoford. Words will never express the gratitude to Wallace for his hospitality and wealth of history bestowed upon us.

On the 17th after breakfast, we headed to Exeter in mid-morning. There was a little rain for a short time that none of us minded. We walked some shops and then went to Bill's for lunch. Such a fun place with really good food. Needless to say, we all enjoyed that!

The story of Bill's in Exeter