On This Day in Wembury
28 November 1904 — Memorial Window for Richard Cory Dedicated
On this day the Western Morning News reported that the Archdeacon of Totnes unveiled and dedicated a new stained-glass window in St Werburgh’s Church, Wembury, in memory of Mr. Richard Cory of Wembury House and Elliot Terrace, Plymouth.
The window, designed by the London artist Mr. Kemp, depicts “Our Lord in the midst of His Apostles”, a subject chosen for its dignity and beauty. The article noted that every detail was executed with great care, and that the work was especially suited to Wembury Church in its position close to the sea.
The Archdeacon spoke warmly of Mr. Cory’s Christian character and generosity, recalling his long friendship and many years of service to the parish. The congregation filled the church for the dedication, with thanks expressed to Mrs. Cory for commissioning the memorial while she resided at Langdon Court.
This memorial links Wembury’s parish church to the great estates of the village, reminding us how the Cory family’s philanthropy and presence shaped the parish in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Source: Western Morning News, 28 November 1904.
On This Day in Wembury — 28 November 1998
No more U-turns on Wembury Road
On 28 November 1998, the Western Evening Herald reported that Plymouth City Council was preparing to introduce a ban on U-turns near Wembury Road.
The restriction was proposed for Reservoir Road, between its junctions with Wembury Road and Mena Park Road.
The problem was not simply drivers turning around in the road. The council said vehicles travelling east along Wembury Road were being prevented from turning left into Wembury Road south, and some drivers were instead using private driveways to turn around and reverse their direction.
The solution was a formal no U-turn restriction.
Residents of 1–26 Reservoir Road were to be exempt when entering or leaving their own driveways.
It was a small traffic-management decision, but one that reflects the growing pressure on roads around Plymstock and the approaches towards Wembury by the end of the twentieth century.
Where earlier generations worried about muddy lanes, horse traffic and the arrival of buses, by 1998 the problem was very different: increasing car use, awkward junctions and drivers improvising their own turning places.
For residents whose driveways were being used by strangers, the new restriction was probably rather more welcome than dramatic.
Source: Western Evening Herald, Saturday 28 November 1998.
Entries are summaries and interpretations of historical newspaper reports.