It has to be said that not many Moretonians have gone on to achieve worldwide fame. Of those who have settled here, most achieved eminence prior to arriving on the edge of Dartmoor, for obvious reasons. The most notable exception is George Bidder, the “Calculating Boy”, who in the early nineteenth century performed feats of mental arithmetic in front of gentle and noble audiences in much the same way that child prodigy musicians performed sonatas. As for those he left behind, well, there were characters and businessmen, farmers and the odd diarist. And, of course, the very unfortunate Jonathan May, whose claim to fame lies in his violent murder in 1835.

Silvester Treleaven, mid 19th century