THE Facebook group "Crediton area photo/video history" has gone from strength-to-strength.

During the Covid-19 isolation it has been a welcome escape for many locals to reminisce and share fond memories and photos.

To-date the membership has now grown to 3,400 members and now astonishingly has almost 3,000 photo uploads, with more being added each week, making this group the largest online repository of Crediton and its surrounding areas history.

Founder Jamie Sollis explained: “We have turned up some really nice photos in the last few weeks", including a photo of Ashplants, Baptist Chapel Court and one of Mr Davie, the baker of 25 High Street.”

He continued: “We are hoping someone will bring forward photos of Dean Street, Bowden Hill, Exeter Road and Four Mills Lane, as these areas are what we refer to as a photographic blackhole in Crediton history.”

With future projects currently being worked on for later release, including an interactive map where history comes alive and the continued expansion of the history groups Youtube channel "Crediton History", the group’s administrators hope to encourage even more young people to get involved.

Involving the younger generation has been something the group has been keen to do, so they have designed and created a set of six fully printable colouring sheets, with interesting snippets of Crediton’s rich history. These have proved very popular, with 212 sets currently sent out via email.

Jamie explained: “We are working closely with Crediton Museum, and especially John Heal, who is adding to the groups archive from both the museum’s collection and his own personal collection which is fascinating viewing."

He added that he was really excited because the group has just had a full album of General Buller’s return to Crediton photos, taken in 1900, uploaded, more than 23 of which more than 99 per cent of people will not have seen.

He added: "We are actually on the look out for photo albums produced by Berry, and other albums produced by Cornish.

"You could buy the album and buy photos to put in it.

"They were black leather or red leather with Cornish embossed on them with heavy paper.

"The photos were mounted with a gold outline and a printed description.

"Also produced was a cheaper one, very similar but made from just black card, embossed Cornish, with typed information under the photos and penned around the border of the photos.

"We were told that quite a few families had these, Martyn Ellaway came across one in the 1980s and Albert Labbett saw one in the 1970s."

During this challenging time of isolation "Crediton area photo/video history" group is a welcome escape for locals to come together.

If you do not have access to the internet and have photos that you would like to share please contact Martyn Ellaway on 01363 776089 and he will take your details and make arrangements with you for after the current isolation period ends.

If you would like copies of the colouring pages for your children please email a request for a set to: [email protected] .

• The Crediton Courier also welcomes images of times gone past. While we cannot guarantee when these will be published, these can be emailed to: [email protected] .

See more images in the current issue of the Crediton Courier.