This year the name The Wren Trust was coined and we recruited three Trustees, Mervyn Bennun, Ian Ducat and Theo Brown, Marilyn and Paul toured Devon schools with a concert and workshop package and we hosted our first visit by the Newfoundlanders Jim Payne, Rufus Guinchard and Kelly Russell.

Okehampton Playweek 1983 - Paulo Tucker leads the band!

Sticklepath Bonfire Show.

This was the year we laid down the formula for a community arts event that still takes place nearly years on! Spurred on by Taffy Thomas, Mike Bettison and Tony Lewery we worked with South Zeal Youth Club and convinced Sticklepath Sports and Social Club to add puppets, music and some stage design to their annual bonfire and firework party.

Tony Lewery building Old Grey Mare for first Sticklepath Bonfire

 Dancers from Kids from Zeal Youth Club show

Marilyn and Paul sing at Ewan MacColl’s 70^th Birthday concert at Festival Hall

Newtown Community Arts Week. Invited to work in Exeter by the Lord Mayor, we devised series of workshops leading to a community concert with party pieces and specially devised songs and musical items. The local postmistress became a firm fixture of these events which ran on for several years. It was this work that led to the revival of the Newtown Community Association. 

Poster for 10 years of Exeter projects

We move into one room office at 1 St James Street, Okehampton.

National Association of Youth Clubs first Youth Arts Festival at Warwick University:

The Dartmoor Folk Club was started in the back room of the Seven Stars in South Tawton. Later to be described as ‘the best folk club in England’ by Australian singer Judy Small. The The Wren Exeter programme grew and we were invited over the river to Exwick. The first year saw The Exwick Buskers take to the streets.   

The Dartmoor Folk Club singers decide to run the first mini-bus Dartmoor Wassail tour, taking liberties with the tradition we toured villages during the weeks before Christmas with a mix of traditional wassail and Christmas songs plus some newly written pieces. Wassailing is still a strong tradition for Wren choirs!

In Exeter the Wren community arts programme was developing and the Exwick Pageant was staged. Two nights of processions and street shows, culminating in a Saturday afternoon finalé, with puppets, musicians and travelling stage cart. A giant swan sailed away up the flood relief channel to the strains of saxophone, causing many a tear to be shed!

Sticklepath Bonfire: Mermaids and Francis Drake

Songs of the West. Our first celebration of the songs collected by Revd Sabine Baring-Gould. Our first collaboration with Martin Graebe to make for Okehampton Summer Festival a concert taken from the manuscripts given by Baring-Gould to Plymouth Library, and thought to be the extent of the collection.

Revd Sabine Baring-Gould

The Ballad of Newtown. Community oral history project which became a major community play, and radio programme. An innovative approach to using actuality as integral to the dialogue and action. The Ballad of Newtown was for many years used as a stimulus for Dartington College drama students’ projects.

Publication of ‘Circle Left’ Folk dance tune book for schools, tunes by Paul Wilson and dances by Martin Hodge

Dragons: A huge schools project with Tim Laycock at Killerton House, creation myths and songs from five continents

"Wot! No Space" - Alphington Community street play

"Fortune's Wheel" - An open-air processional community play examining the history of Okehampton, staged in Simmons Park.

A Poor Man's House: Another collaboration with Tim Laycock this time a community play for Sidmouth Folk Festival

Wren started a regular choir in Exeter which was to be come Voices in Common

Marilyn, Paul and Martin Graebe record the Songs of the West concert at Killerton House – it is here we are introduced to the greater Baring-Gould song collection contained within three large volumes known as 'The Personal Collection'

Mincinglake Lantern: St Catherine's Priory

Wren celebrates 10 years!

Torrington Furze Dance: a reworking and revival of a lost courtship dance, made by Chjrissie Thomas from young peoples own perceptions of the role of ritual in the town's traditional May Festival.

Our first Newfoundland Exchange. Jim Payne, Anita Best and Christina Smith visit England and tour Devon and Somerset with Marilyn and Paul including a performance at Sidmouth Folk Festival. Marilyn and Paul tour Newfoundland and appear at St John’s Folk festival.

Sandra Kerr wrote "Mrs Joan Lias" as part of the St James Song Cycle project in Exeter.

Honiton Song Pictures A song cycle for Honiton festival, using local memories and folklore to make the songs.

Voices in Common appear in Exeter Festival at Northcott Theatre. Here a young girl asks to join and from this request we formed our first youth ensemble, which came to be called Hocus.

Jitterbug - The Whipton Folk Opera: An open-air finale bringing together parents, school children and retired people. Story and songs based on peoples perceptions of living in this area of Exeter.

Tom Pearse's Legacy: A folklore based project bringing together amateur dramatic group, school children, local crafts workers, investigating the Widecombe Fair myth and how it relates to the village of Sticklepath, where Tom Pearse was benefactor.

Images of Childhood: Bringing together community college students and retired residents to create song cycle in Southway a nineteen sixties built estate on the outskirts of Plymouth.

The Seven Sisters: Procession and mummers play for first Dawlish Folk Festival.

Red Spider. A community play with songs, our first community link between the Baring-Gould folk song collection and the village of Lewdown, where Sabine was both Squire and Parson. The cast later formed the Red Spider Theatre Company and went on to stage community plays and events.

Strawberry Opera. Our first, and up to now only street opera, including a duet across the street! An event for the Combe Martin annual Strawberry Fair commissioned by Jon Bell (who joined Wren as Chairman in 2011)

Public launch of the Baring-Gould Folk Song collection, with visit from Merriol Almond (great garnd daughter of sabine) and Baring-Gould fan David bellamay who credits baring-Gould for awakening in him a love of nature and teh landscape. Working with Devon County libraries, the Baring-Gould Corporation and the National Trust we micro-film all the Kilerton, Devon Record Office and Plymouth Libraries Manuscripts, and donate copies to Exeter, Plymouth, Torbay and Barnstaple libraries on micro-fiche.

Trail Tales South Zeal: To celebrate the villages charter of 1298, we devised a series performance which depicted scenes from local history, and performed the around the Charter Trail.

Exeter Schools Song Festival: Linking with the Exeter festival theme, 300 school children joined us in St Georges Hall for ‘From Rio to the Rockies’ a celebration of American folk song. This event was a regular feature of our programme until 2010.

"Lantern Lightship" a community project as part of the Making Waves Public art project. Lantern procession and show on the Lawn at Teignmouth. The team is expanded to include Paulo tucker, fresh from helping with music at Skinningrove Bonfire in Yorkshire.

Baring-Gould Folk Festival: Building on the Baring-Gould reputation we hold the very first Baring-Gould Folk Festival: out in the villages of Lewdown and Bratton Clovelly. Chris Foster employed as festival director, and featured Jim Payne, Anita Best and Colin Carrigan from Newfoundland and Norma Waterson.

Millennium year saw Wren involved with a number of community celebrations: Latchley, Chittlehampton, Southway, Dunkeswell, Whipton and Wonford a new Baring-Gould play ‘Kitty Alone’, as well as our own Millennium project.

Voices 2000: Wren’s millennium project. Bringing together choirs from all over Devon for majestic finale at Plymouth Pavilions. A set of songs commissioned from five songwriters relating to areas of the county, plus ‘Brand New day’ as the song for everyone to sing, which went on to win the Proud and Vigorous category in the Natural Voice Practitioners Network Song Awards in 2008!

Baring-Gould Festival and Song School (Study break). An extension to the Folk Festival weekend, this week is for singers to find their voices, improve their repertoire and technique and learn from tutors and each other. Festival featured Icelandic folk group.

Voices in Common make their first recording ‘Step By Step’

Barne Barton lantern project: Lanterns at twilight through the estate takes Wren Music's community arts programme in plymouth a step forward.

Youth Music Dynamo project – a major programme of music with children and young people, including the recruitment of two music trainees: Nick Wyke and Rebecka Lyons

Our first Folk Orchestra formed over in East Devon (later to be come Rough Music) and they perform at Sidmouth Folk Festival Arena.

David Faulkner joins the core team.

Dragons: A multi-cultural celebration at Sidmouth Folk Festival. Tony Lewery’s magnificent Dragon led the audience to the beach for fireworks after a concert of songs and dances from English and ethnic cultures all about fabulous creatures! Becki Driscoll joins for this project.

Newfoundland exchange Marilyn and Paul with Tim Laycock play a series of concerts and touring to schools.

St Budeaux Lantern Procession develops into twin processions linking upper St Budeaux with Barne Barton.   

Okehampton and Exeter youth folk choirs start (Okehampton Youth Chorus / SoX and Campus).

Paul's dedication to preserving, maintaining and creating traditional music was recognised with the award of an Honorary MA in Music Education by the University of Plymouth.

Wren Celebrates 20 years!

Go and see visit to South Africa. Marilyn and Paul funded by RALP (Regional Arts Lottery Programme) visit Cape Town and Johannesburg with a view to finding partners. We meet Marlene Le Roux at Artscape and John Davids a musician, teacher and community leader from an organisation Comarts.

Publication of ‘William Andrews Tune Book’ a selection of tunes from one of Baring-Gould’s informants.

Community projects in Yealmpton, Wonford and St Budeaux.

New trainee Matt Norman

Young Sing Old Songs - Heritage Lottery (HLF) funded project with Hocus researching the Baring-Gould archive, results in recording ‘Cast Threads Away’

Northlew Village Pump Celebrations: Songs and images to help rededicate this iconic village feature.

Forches project, Barnstaple - developing youth music skills, with Tony Lewery as artist in residence creating images, plus creative music making workshops with deaf children leading to an autumn carnival – we won a cup!

Transitions project: our first collaboration with DAiSI (Devon Arts in Schools Initiative) After school clubs in Torquay and Honiton, long-term project to develop creative music skills for 11 - 16 year olds 

First youth exchange with South Africa: Hocus stay in Cape Town hosted by Artscape. They sang as the first non-South African group at the Artscape Schools Music Festival and led workshops in a number of schools around the province, including a visit to Elsies River with Artscape’s choir.

First Bagpipe and Plucked Strings days in Okehampton

Baring-Gould Folk Festival relocates to Okehampton

Last Sunday Folk Club starts in Okehampton, and runs under auspices of Wren until 2011

'A Wonderful Alteration' Community Play in Newton Abbot Celebrating the 200th Birthday of Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Written By Tim Laycock

'Nice Warms Socks' Album for specific use within special education. Singers include Campus Choir, Ellen Tinkham School and Wren professionals.

New Folk Orchestra in North Devon led by Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll.

First Fiddle day in Okehampton

Wren team, Voices in Common and Hocus to Miscolc Chamber choir festival in Hungary

Voices in Common visit Sangstream choir in Edinburgh

Folk Orchestra in Torbay formed

‘Nice Warm Socks’ voted one of the top three arts projects in the UK in the National Lottery Awards

Finale of Singing Saturdays project

Sos Cantores from Sardinia make first appearance at Baring-Gould Folk Festival

Marilyn and Paul were presented the English Folk Dance & Song Society's 75th Anniversary Award for the work of Wren Music

Wren celebrates 25 years!

First visit by South Africans to Devon: 13 singers from Comarts visit Devon, touring schools and singing at concerts, and working with Wren youth choirs – it rained most of the time!

Roots A cappella formed, as a progression route for singers from junior choirs.

Carnival Capers Community Play: A major celebration for Okehampton,

Torbay and West Devon Folk Choirs formed

Rough Music exchange to Brittany

Wren becomes Company limited by Guarantee with charitable status

Mix 4 Six: National Music Partnership programme: Wren with Devon Music services.

Feet First For Families: Sport England lottery funded programme for families to get dancing.

North Devon Folk Choir formed.

Devon Tradition project launched, to digitise both Baring-Gould song archive (paper based) and Paul Wilson audio collection. Mel Smith taken on as project worker.

Team joined by Sarah Owen.

Wren launches Friends Scheme.

Singing Across The City: Culmination of Exeter Schools Song festival. A song writing and transitions project, linking high schools with their feeder primary schools.

Shore to Shore: Wren team  (Marilyn, Paul, David Faulkner, Nick Wyke and Becki Driscoll) is the only UK performing group invited to celebrate birth of English Canada at Cupids in  

Devon Roots Project:

Baring-Gould archive digitised and linked with English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS) website Take6.

Dances for a Party: David Faulkner revives East Devon dances and makes new one with schools in Sidmouth for Folk Week.

Shore to Shore: British leg of the project Wren team touring with A Crowd of Bold Sharemen. The show selected represent English music at International Council of Traditional Music (ICTM) World Conference in St Johns

Mandolin Orchestra of Devon (MOOD) formed.

Our first EU transnational project, Traditional European Songs Singing Together (TESST), starts with a trip to Romania.

Exmoor Carols project: Production of carol book, and plans for this project to be ongoing every other year.

Sos Cantores from Sardinia make second  appearance at Baring-Gould Folk Festival, sponsored by the Italian Cultural Institute.