Exeter Local History Society
Exeter Local History Society members are hooked on history. If you share our fascination, why not join us? We have between 6 and 12 lecture meetings a year (details below), plus we occasionally have long-distance outings, and we cover an incredibly diverse range of subjects from Roman remains to post-WW2 redevelopment.
Our regular monthly meetings at Leonardo Hotel Exeter are usually held on the second Thursday of a month. Full details of future walks and talks are given below.
The charge for each meeting is normally £3 (free to members) and the annual membership fee is £12 (£16 for joint membership). If you sample a meeting and decide to join, the £3 cost will be deducted from your first annual fee. Walks and visits normally cost £3 p.p. for members and visitors alike.
Please note that non-member charges will increase to £5 starting December 2024. This change will not affect the membership fees.
We also produce six newsletters a year — how about we email you the most recent as a free taster? To request a copy just email us at:
And do check out this website and see for yourself the great selection of subjects with which we entertain our members. Just click on "Past Events" to explore our programme! Click on "How To Join Us" for an application form. Please fill out this form if you wish to stay updated on our events and receive newsletters.
We hope we will see you soon at one of our many events!
Semper Fidelis:
Rebellion, history and identity in Tudor & Stuart Exeter
on Wednesday, 6 August 2025
from 2 pm until 5 pm at Exeter Guildhall
The event will feature two talks:
Professor Mark Stoyle, "Semper Fidelis: The Civic Community of Exeter and the Memory of the Western Rising of 1549"
Exeter people have long been proud of their city's ancient motto Semper Fidelis (i.e., "Ever Faithful"). But how ancient is that motto? Why was it chosen in the first place? And how does it relate to the so-called "Jesus Day" festivities which were formerly celebrated in the city every 6 August? Mark Stoyle's lecture will explore these questions, and, in the process, will reveal that the motto which lies at the heart of Exeter's modern-day "civic brand" has its roots in the bitter religious rivalries of the mid-sixteenth century.
Dr Todd Gray, "Exeter's myths and manuscripts of the 1500s"
Exeter has a particularly rich archive for the Elizabethan period and yet the city's history has had some extraordinary fabrications. In this lecture, Dr Gray will outline some of those myths and reveal the staggering documents that we take for granted.
The tickets to this event cost £6 and are available from Exeter Corn Exchange. You can get tickets by clicking on the link below:
What can a graveyard tell us about Georgian Exeter?
with Dr Ian Varndell on Thursday, 13 March 2025
at 7pm at Leonardo Hotel Exeter [Jurys Inn Exeter Hotel]
A patch of land smaller than two tennis courts just outside Exeter’s city walls became a burial ground for protestant dissenters for just over 100 years. Around 2,000 people were buried there before it closed in 1854.
Dr Ian Varndell will tell us about the origins of the site and the non-conformist congregations who paid for it; he will describe how and, more importantly, why it has been conserved.
A small group has been researching the lives of Exeter’s dissenting families, and Ian will finish with stories of three Exonians who were buried in “Saints Rest” – giving us a glimpse into their lives more than two centuries ago.
The Dissenters Graveyard, Magdalen Street, is open for visits on Wednesdays and Saturdays 10.00-4.00, should you wish to explore it before or after the talk.
Our speaker, Dr Ian Varndell, is a retired bioscientist and company director deeply interested in historic landscapes, including burial grounds.
Tickets for this event can be secured by following the link below. The event registration is free for the members of the Society; there is a very small (£5) fee for non-members.
A Family Tale from Tudor Exeter to the Eastern Shore of Virginia:
The Chappell and Bagwell Families
with Maggie Rice on Thursday, 13 February 2025
at 7pm at Leonardo Hotel Exeter [Jurys Inn Exeter Hotel]
William and Thomas Chappell and their cousin John were successful merchants and important civic personalities. Each would serve as Mayor of Exeter during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
This presentation will focus on the family of Thomas and Thomazine, their personal lives in Tudor Exeter, and the story of their daughter, Johane, who married Thomas’s apprentice, David Bagwell. Their second son, Henry Bagwell, left England in 1609 with the supply fleet sent to Jamestown - England’s first permanent colony in the New World. He survived a shipwreck, having been marooned in Bermuda. He eventually reached Virginia in 1610.
Henry survived the early days of the colony and became a key member of the emerging society on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. In 1639 he was granted a patent of 400 acres, married, and had three children, as well as being a step-father of three children.
Our speaker, Margaret A. “Maggie” Rice, has enjoyed a long and successful career as a teacher and school administrator. She is the author of “Merchants and Mayors: the Chappell Family in Tudor Exeter” and “The Henry Bagwell Story: English Adventurer, Virginia Planter (1589-1663)”.
Tickets for this event can be secured by following the link below. The event registration is free for the members of the Society; there is a very small (£5) fee for non-members.
Exeter History Book Festival
A celebration of the recently published books on Exeter's history
on Saturday, 1 February 2025
at The Mint Methodist Church Centre
The Exeter History Book Festival will celebrate the latest research on the history of Exeter. This is a one-day event and will feature four of the foremost scholars of Devon’s history. Here is the current schedule of this event:
| 9.30 | Registration & coffee |
| 10.25 | Welcome |
| 10.30 | Prof. Mark Stoyle, "Witchcraft in Exeter, 1558-1660" |
| 11.30 | Dr Todd Gray, "Exeter's Waterwog & the Golliwogg" |
| 12.30 | Lunch |
| 13.30 | John Allan, "The Cloisters of Exeter Cathedral" |
| 14.30 | Dr Richard Batten, "A Loyal and Faithful City? Exeter during the Great War" |
| 15.30 | Tea |
| 16.00 | Discussion |
The speakers have recently published books on the topics of their talks, and these books will, among other books on the history of Exeter and Devon, be available for purchase at the event. Stalls from Exeter’s leading heritage bodies will explain how individuals can feed their curiosity about Exeter’s history and be personally involved in exploring the city’s past.
The tickets to this event cost £10 (+booking fee) and are available from Exeter Corn Exchange.
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