4. Roger Conant’s birthplace

Roger Conant may not be as well known as Raleigh in their home village of East Budleigh, but visitors can find his name and that of his brother Christopher on this information panel in the car park on Hayes Lane.* 

Image credit: Peter Bowler

The Mill House is mentioned on the panel, but sadly nothing remains of it. The building was demolished in the early 20^th century, and all you see now is modern housing.

But here you can see how it would have looked. The picture is from the book 'Upper Canada Sketches' by Thomas Conant, published in 1898. The author was assured by the Rector of East Budleigh, the Revd William Green, that this would have been the identical building and mill occupied and used by Roger’s father Richard Conant.  

According to Thomas Conant,  Richard Conant probably owned about two hundred acres of land in the East Budleigh area.

Above: Roger's descendant Jeff Conant, from California, with the Conant Stone during a visit to Devon in 2016

Although nothing remains of the mill building, high above the site, next to the Church hall you can see one of the original mill stones.

Above: The Conant bench end in All Saints Church, with the family's coat of arms

And in East Budleigh’s All Saints Church visiting descendants like Jeff Conant were thrilled to sit in the family pew.

Further along Hayes Lane is the ancient building known as Vicars Mead, where both young Walter Raleigh and Roger Conant may have received their early schooling.

There’s lots more for seekers of the past to see in this charming village.

* Here is the text on the car park panel: Roger Conant lived in the Mill House that stood near the car park. He and his brother Christopher sailed for America in 1623, and with his followers founded the town of Salem, Massachusetts, where a statue of him stands. His descendants still keep in touch with East Budleigh.

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