THE community of Bratton Clovelly has pulled together to create a mural on the side of the parish hall, which had recently been damaged.

When a lorry or tractor driver backed into Bratton Clovelly Parish Hall, damaging the east wall, the hall committee were left to fix the damage. However, as a direct result of this misfortune and the co-operation of over 70 local children and adults, the village now has a much-admired mural, portraying the locality.

The original repairs to the wall left a 12ft by 7ft, plastered panel. Community members noticed that it looked out of character with the rest of the building. Therefore, the Bratton Clovelly Art Group, which uses the hall each Wednesday afternoon, offered to paint a mural on the panel.

Local animal sculptor, Nick Mackman, organised the children and the teachers of Boasley School, to provide a surround in terracotta tiles. Under Nick’s guidance, every single child and teacher at Boasley School made a tile, inspired by the village and the surrounding area.

The children and teachers took inspiration from a variety of different things, from the war memorial and church clock, to tractors and ponies, to wild flowers, trees and Devon banks.

The Bratton Clovelly Art Group then produced a painting for the mural. Under the guidance of their tutor, local artist Anita Townsend, the members of the art group produced a piece which showed a Dartmoor landscape at sunset, populated by sheep and a sheep dog.

Geoff Cooke, who is a long-standing member of the art group, said: ‘The resulting work is now complete and looks incredible. It has drawn admiring comments from both visitors and locals alike.’

Joanna Wallwork, chairperson of Bratton Clovelly festival, added: ‘It was a great team effort and we had a lot of laughs producing it.’