This is a small booklet (52, A5 pages) which concerns Francis William Lock Ross (1793-1860) who lived at Broadway House in Topsham. A short manuscript, written by him in c.1841, has the declared intent “To rescue from oblivion authentic facts relative to the place where chance or inclination may have placed our abode is the duty of every one …” It is with the purpose of sharing Ross’s knowledge of the history of Topsham that we publish his manuscript in booklet form with helpful contextual editing and annotation.
While the contents of the document have been known in transcribed form since about 1860, it is only recently that the original has been located in the possession of Mrs Rosemary Passmore, the widow of its owner Mr Dick Passmore – and thanks to her generosity, is now part of Topsham Museum’s document collection.
With introduction and editing by Mike Patrick and Penny Bayer.
