Meet the DA President (History Section)

Professor John Mather, DA’s President 2022–23, will give a talk entitled “Devonshire Batts – a whetstone industry at the western edge of the Blackdown Hills”.  A short Q&A session will follow his presentation and then a cream tea will be served with the opportunity for members to chat informally to Professor Mather.

Whetstones, used for sharpening tools, were mined in the Blackdown Hills from the 17th to the 19th century, from Uffculme in the north to Hembury in the south. The Blackdown Hills was the source of a very high-quality, durable whetstone, called the Devonshire Batt. In the days before farm mechanisation, vast numbers of these stones were used by scythe-men who typically would need to sharpen their scythes four times per hour.

Cost:  DA Members £7.50, non-members £10, to include the cream tea.

Booking is essential: before 8th October, please – contact details below.

Illustration by Peter Orlando Hutchinson.
Reproduced by kind permission of
Devon Archives & Local Studies.
Click to see larger version.