FROM tomorrow, Bovey Tracey will be holding an anniversary party of which residents and visitors will be proud.

The town has been busy organising a whole host of events to mark 750 years since the charter, for holding fairs and markets, was granted to the 'manor of Bovey'.

On July 18, 1260, the earls of Warwick and Norfolk, and other nobles, signed parchment document on behalf of King Henry III granting Henry de Tracy the right to hold a fair and market at 'his manor of Bovey on the Vigil, Feast, and Morrow of the Translation of St Thomas the Martyr.d'.

Since then the town has held fair and festivals.

Organisers have been busy planning the festivities for around a year-and-a-half and have the town's community heavily involved.

'There were about 2,500 people living in the parish during the last big charter celebration 50 years ago,' said Terry Westwood, town clerk at Bovey Tracey Town Council, who has been instrumental in setting up the celebration events.

'Trains to the town had just closed down and it was a close-knit community. Nowadays, around 7,500 people live in the town.

'We've organised some traditional events for the charter celebrations such as Beating of the Bounds (which took place in May), as well as a parade, a ball and much more. We'll also have other events to try to bring it up to date and entertain the crowds.'

The festivities will cost around £12,000 and will be free.

'For the last three years, the town council has allocated £4,000 for the project,' said Mr Westwood.

'We're not charging for any of the events apart from ticketed events like the Charter Ball we've organised.'

A committee made up of representatives of 16 organisations in the town have helped arrange the proceedings.

'It has been a lot of work, but we hope these events will be enjoyed by the whole community,' said Mr Westwood.

The town started marking the special anniversary late last year when 40 trees were planted at Ley Molay Littry Way.

Many organisations in the town planted a tree by the roadside

The majority of the cost was met with the town council receiving £2,000 after winning a competition run by Teignbridge Council where authorities had to recycle as many Yellow Pages directories as they could.

In the lead-up to the main celebrations, youngsters have also been involved in preparations.

Storyteller Clive Pig visited Bovey Tracey Primary School where he taught the pupils all about the charter.

A design a banner competition was also organised for the young people of the town.

Charter coordinators received around 50 entries, which will be on show at the Devon Guild of Craftsmen during the celebratory week, which runs from July 3-11.

A day was also held at Yarner National Nature Reserve at the end of February.

It gave residents the chance to explore woodland industry as part of the charter celebrations, courtesy of Natural England.

One of Bovey Tracey's most ancient traditions, the Beating of the Bounds, was also arranged.

Prior to the event in May, the last beating of the parish bounds took place in 2002.

Traditionally the community walks the boundaries of the parish, to share knowledge of where the boundary lines lay and to pray for protection and blessing of the land.

Devon Baroque have also been involved in the lead up to the celebrations. They performed a concert at the Church of Peter, Paul and Thomas of Canterbury last month.

Bovey Tracey Artists group have also been busy getting creative for the festival designing the cover for the Charter Celebration programme.

To kickstart Charter Week the Grand Charter Ball at The Dolphin Hotel, will take place tomorrow evening.

Bovey Tracey Primary School presents Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Mill Marsh Park on Wednesday, July 7.

The following day, there will be an evening of entertainment in the charter marquee in Mill Marsh Park.

Churches in the town are also involved and will hold flower festivals from July 9-11.

As well as the flower festivals, there will be an exhibition of Bovey's heritage at the Methodist Church Hall from July 10-11.

The main event will be the Grand Charter Procession and the fair itself at Mill Marsh Park on July 10.

Residents and visitors alike can visit the fair and enjoy a Victorian flower show.

'A lot of research has been carried out on the flower shows from that era, as we want to get our show as close to how it would be in Victorian times,' said Mr Westwood.

'There won't actually be many flower classes, as in Victorian times it was mainly vegetables that were grown and entered into show. The poor didn't grow flowers as they couldn't afford to and only grew what they could eat.

'We've given out seeds to residents. All the types of seeds would have been grown in 1876 such as seed onions, kidney potatoes and French beans.'

A class has been created for children where they can make a hand bouquet of wild flowers, ferns and grasses.

Townswomen can also compete in three classes – hand bouquet of flowers, bridal bouquet and table decoration.

They can also only use flowers available to Victorian gardeners.

Another attraction at the fair is a mosaic being designed by artist Michelle Wilcox.

People can come along and help create these mosaics. When finished they'll be put up in the town and will be a lasting legacy of the celebrations.

The park will also host a Civil War re-enactment on Saturday, July 10. It has been organised as Bovey Tracey has many ties to the war.

In 1646, the town was the headquarters of Lord Wentworth, Cromwell's troops were said to have surprised Royalist officers who were playing cards in a house in East Street.

The Royalists threw coins out of the windows, leaving the poorly paid Roundheads to fight over the money while they escaped out the back door. They still managed to lose the Battle of Bovey Heath the following day when Cromwell's army overcame them.

A section of Bovey Heath is an ancient monumental site and important artefacts from the battle have been found there in recent years.

The charter week is rounded off with a picnic in Mill Marsh Park, with entertainment provided by AJ's Big Band.

All events are free, but some are ticketed.

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