Colyton Chamber of Feoffees appointed Mrs Sasha Haines as a Feoffee at its monthly meeting yesterday evening.

Chairman of the Feoffees, Mr Phil Richards speaking on behalf of the Chamber said:

“We are delighted to welcome Sasha to the Chamber and are looking forward to working with her. Sasha brings a wealth of local knowledge and experience with her which will be invaluable to the Chamber in delivering its historic remit of service to the community.”

Mrs Sasha Haines, a lifelong resident of Colyton, who works as Clerk to Colyton Parish Council and at Abbeyfield said: “.

“It is an honour and a privilege to be nominated by the Parish Council to become a Feoffee, I have some very big shoes to fill and I will do so to the best of my ability”

Notes to Editors
Mrs Haines takes the vacancy left by the late Mr Geoff Clode who served as a Feoffee for over twenty five years until his death last year.
There are 16 Feoffees in the Chamber – four of whom are nominated by the Parish Council.
Colyton Chamber of Feoffees is a charity which was founded in 1546 when King Henry VIII accepted a petition from local Colytonian worthies to purchase back from the Crown some of the estates he had seized from his cousin Henry Courtenay, Marquis of Exeter whom he had executed for treason in 1539.
King Henry granted the town a Royal Charter and commanded that the Chamber of Feoffees, set up to manage the rents and leases on these properties and lands, should use the proceeds for “good, godly and commendable purposes” on behalf of the community. The Chamber was given a number of responsibilities including running local markets and organising a ‘court of pie poudre’ (literally ‘dusty feet’) at them – a form of on the spot justice.
For hundreds of years, until the municipal reforms of the second half of the 19th century, the Chamber of Feoffees provided effective local public administration in Colyton Parish, instigated public services and delivered charitable acts. One of its first acts was the creation of Colyton Grammar School. Over the centuries it has introduced an early water supply to the town, established a fire brigade and street lighting. Throughout its history, the Chamber has made donations to the needy of the Parish for the purchase of food, fuel and home comforts.
Today there is an increasing emphasis on making donations to young people to facilitate academic and career enhancing pursuits

Sarah Charman
Bailiff