'OUR HEARTS ARE FULL AND OUR MEMORIES ARE VIVID'. (AUTUMN 2025)

 



Photo: Anthea Downes

An American couple visited East Budleigh in September this year as part of their 20th anniversary celebrations.

A direct descendant of Salem’s founder, the Reverend Jonathan Conant had for many years dreamt of discovering his ancestor's beginnings.

The trip with his wife Jennifer included a view of Vicars Mead, where Roger Conant may have received his early schooling, and a visit to the church where he was baptised in 1592.

In the Sir Walter Raleigh pub the couple were welcomed by members of East Budleigh’s Roger Conant Club, chaired by Professor Stan Roberts.

‘Visiting East Budleigh was the perfect start to our England trip,’ said Jonathan Conant, Senior Pastor at Rye Congregational Church in New Hampshire. ‘Our hearts are full and our memories are vivid.’

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