About us

The photo above shows Manning's Pit in May, when the buttercups and May blossom are both in bloom.

November 27th Update: Please read this update before donating:  

Manning's Pit did not sell at the auction in September, but opened a dialogue with the seller afterwards.

We have decided to call a halt to our fundraising efforts for now as we are able to access extra funds on top of the amount (£123,000) raised already. Thank you all for your magnificent efforts, every donation large or small has helped us on our way.

We remain in negotiations with the seller and ask you all to be patient as this is a long process. As soon as we have more news it will be posted here.

The donation links on the website remain live for the moment, but we are not fund raising for more donations at present, although they can still be accepted.

Our total on this page is only for online donations from Enthuse, we have in fact raised  over £123,000  (mostly by cheque and BACS payments.)

Please also note that we pay Enthuse a monthly sum and you do not need to give a tip if asked for one, there is a zero option for that.

Go to our website www.manningspit.com for more news and information. Also remember that if you donated £50 or over then your money will be returned if we fail to buy Manning's Pit.

Who We Are

We are two groups that have joined together to buy Manning's Pit, a beautiful piece of countryside on the edge of Pilton and Barnstaple in North Devon. 

The Friends of Manning's Pit are a Community Organisation set up to save and protect the Manning's Pit Fields. We have joined with the Green Man CIO to help them purchase the fields for the local community. We are leading the fund raising campaign and our appeals page is  manningspit.com .  You can read more about Manning's Pit and find out why so many people love this special place by going to this part of our website, manningspit.com/main.

The Objectives of the Pilton Green Man CIO, as set out formally in the Constitution are:

‘To promote good citizenship for the public benefit by facilitating the development of a volunteer force to assist the community, in particular, but not exclusively those members of the community who are in need, in such ways as the trustees may from time to time decide. To advance such charitable purposes (according to the law of England and Wales) as the trustees see fit, in particular, but not limited to, the promotion of the arts and advancement of education in the history of Pilton, primarily but not exclusively, for the benefit of the people of the Pilton ward of Barnstaple, Devon and will be achieved through the making of grants or providing other support.’

In simple terms, these objectives are about helping the people of Pilton to do good voluntary things, principally for the benefit of its own community.