Throwleigh Exhibition of Dartmoor Photography by Chris Chapman returns, and includes new images by Jake Tebbutt

Last year’s permanent exhibition of the Dartmoor photographs of Chris Chapman has returned to the Providence Chapel, Throwleigh, with monthly viewings on selected Saturday afternoons over the summer.
The exhibition was first shown during the summer last year, organised by the Providence Methodist Chapel to celebrate the work of local photographer Chris Chapman, and help safeguard the future of the chapel as well as to raise funds for ongoing maintenance of the Victorian Grade II listed building, as like many of Dartmoor’s older historic buildings, the maintenance and repairs are costly.
The idea for the exhibition was formulated late in 2021, when Ian Crawford, a trustee of Providence Chapel, asked Throwleigh resident Chris Chapman to see if he would consider producing a permanent exhibition of his work to go on display in the chapel and the adjoining Sunday School, funded by a grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund. Chris has been recording life on Dartmoor since 1972 and the social change that has occurred since then, his photographs capturing a landscape under constant pressure from modernisation as well as the residents and individuals who have made up the local population and so represents a period in time from which the like will never be seen again.
The concept was that the free exhibition would attract both locals and visitors from further afield, particularly as three recognised trails across the Moor go right past the chapel – The Dartmoor Way walking route, The Dartmoor Way national cycling route and The Archangel Way.
This year the exhibition includes an additional series of photographs ‘Upon Breezy Hill’ by Jake Tebbutt. Jake is a young photographer who has just recently graduated in photography from Plymouth University. Jake was made aware of the project through his tutor, Simon Standing, and had always wanted to do a study on Dartmoor which is why he chose Plymouth University for his degree course.
Part of the Heritage Lottery Grant stipulated also taking on a student, a young person and invite them to photograph the locality. Ian Crawford comments: “I like the idea of the young photographer for one simple reason, there’s got to be another generation coming along behind otherwise, no disrespect, but the clock stops ticking and Dartmoor’s background starts to get lost again. I’m hoping that Jake’s interest continues in Dartmoor as he gets older and goes back to this moment when as a youngster, he’s standing with a man (Chris Chapman) who has spent 50 years recording the social life and history of this lovely part of the world and maybe, maybe one day, Jake might come back here and put on another exhibition.”
‘Upon Breezy Hill’ is a series of photographs taken by Jake from within Dartmoor National Park and centred on the theme of The Archangel’s Way, a route from the church of St. Michael the Archangel in Chagford to the church of St. Michael de Rupe atop Brent Tor, a 38-mile journey that traces the ancient byways, historic churches, rivers, tors and moorlands that trace the bygone footsteps of pilgrims past.
Jake describes his images as a series of photographs that “contrast with more traditional topographical images to create a journey through changing landscapes. The photographs depict observed detail and the imperfections of the different landscapes found along the route”.
“I thought this sounds fascinating, to walk it and experience it and take photos of it is part of what I’ve enjoyed over the months since December,” said Jake.
Jake first walked part of the Archangel’s Way earlier this year, whilst there was still snow on the ground. His favourite image on display is that of Brent Tor, which he visited with two friends on the same photography course who, despite having lived in Plymouth for three years, had never been up on Dartmoor. Whilst there the mist and fog came down, the photograph was taken with minimal preparation during a break in the murk, and for Jake it encapsulates the topography and atmosphere of Dartmoor.
Jake is currently working as a climbing and caving instructor at a Somerset County Council activity centre in the Mendip Hills in Somerset, and is working towards obtaining his Mountain Training Association qualifications so that he can work as a British Mountain Guide in the Alps and develop his career into adventure sports photography.
Chris clearly states that his involvement in Jake’s project was not to act as a mentor, but just to introduce somebody to the area and says: “There’s this opportunity to show some new work taken in the locality and it was Jake who came up with the idea of following The Archangel’s Way, and I thought it was brilliant because the chapel, of course, is on The Archangel’s Way and I went on two long walks with him, and what I realised straight away was that everybody looks at landscape, looks at Dartmoor, in a different way.
“There are so many different aspects and I realised, I kept on thinking, ‘well he’s not looking at Dartmoor the way I look at Dartmoor, and that’s no bad thing, this is quite interesting!’ And he’s come up with a lovely set of eight pictures, eight pictures that I would never have taken, and I’ve warmed to them, I think it's interesting, particularly the one inside Lydford Church. I like the South Tawton Church one with the books – I’ve been in that church so many times I’ve never noticed that – and that’s the whole thing about it, it’s what you notice, what you see, the ways of seeing it.”
Last year’s exhibition was highly successful, and according to Ian Crawford, drew in well over 1,500 visitors from not just Dartmoor but across the whole of the South West, as well as from the USA and Australia. As a result, the money raised was able to be used not just for ongoing building maintenance and a new carpet for the chapel, but also for donations to be made to the Macmillan Nurses, the local Village Hall for the loan of their laptop and projector, a cultural project by local singer, Jim Causley, who was been commissioned to produce a CD of Dartmoor songs, and a £500 donation to local charity ‘Hospicecare’. The chapel is now a thriving part of the local community once again.
The following weblinks can provide more information about Providence Chapel, Throwleigh, as well as Chris Chapman’s and Jake Tebbutt’s photography:
Chris Chapman - http://www.chrischapmanphotography.co.uk/
Providence Chapel, Throwleigh – https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1106139?section=official-list-entry
https://www.westdevonmethodists.org.uk/churches/providence/
Jake Tebbutt - www.jaketebbutt.com/
Providence Chapel, Throwleigh, can be found at the following location using the free What3Words navigation app: /// string.lashed.increment