Magazine History
The Tintinhull Village Magazine began in July 1963 as a shared initiative between the church and the parish council. The concept belonged to Michael Bevan, a tenant at Tintinhull House. Disabled following a spell in a Japanese prison camp, he needed “a project”. Michael became the editor and was supported by the Parish Council Clerk, Derek Burston, who “gathered all the village news and played general dogs-body”. Initially the magazine had a very wide circulation and was possibly free!
In mid 1968, after the death of Mr. Bevan, the vicar, Father Raymond Brown, was editor for a month or two but felt that its production belonged to the ‘lay’ element of the community, “Mr Bevan had a wonderful way of making the magazine a village publication, and it must properly remain so………. The success of a good magazine lies in the continued goodwill of contributors and subscribers alike and our new editor will look forward to a full measure of co-operation from the whole community.”
In September 1968 the late Jill Harris rose to the bait, taking responsibility for this “front room, type-written” production supported by a working committee comprising her husband, Philip, the vicar and Mr R Gardner. Her son Simon recalls:
“I can still remember going down to the church vestry with mum to use the Gestetner. To me it just appeared to be a huge piece of machinery that turned out sheet after sheet! Very inky & messy. I do remember helping to distribute it whilst on my paper round, which was quite extensive. It was a big part of mum & dad’s lives, particularly after dad retired and I was always amazed at just how long they were involved with it”. Jill eventually surrendered the reins to Derek Ford in 2009, by which time it was being produced electronically so ‘the mess’ was avoided and corrections could easily be made.
Denny Robbins become the editor in September 2018. Initially, ‘The Mag’ only ran to 12 pages, the front cover was always the same and ‘colour’ was understandably lacking. Today it is printed professionally and has doubled in size, with a smaller print giving a larger and more varied content. However, it continues to fulfil the same function – informing, entertaining and providing a detailed historical record of events in the village over the past 60 years. All copies are archived in the Records Office at the SW Heritage Trust in Taunton where they can be viewed.
In 2022 Denny longed to retire, but who would takeover the Mag? In August, at the eleventh hour, Lesley Banks and Lisa Miller stepped forward to take over the reins, producing the September issue and introducing a few new features. The £5 subscription still remains, and now costs £1 where sold which, together with increased advertising revenue, covers costs and yields a small surplus to support village activities. A willing team of volunteers ensures a monthly delivery to the letter box of all subscribers.