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 monthly newsletters.
We hope we will see you soon at one of our many events!
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 talk cost £10 (+booking fee) and are available from Exeter Corn Exchange.
“Through the Traveller’s Eye”
with Dr Alan Rosevear on Thursday, 9 January 2025
at 7pm at Leonardo Hotel Exeter [Jurys Inn Exeter Hotel]
This will be an exploration of inland travel in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, based on travel diaries and contemporary illustrations. Through the personal diaries of men and women who journeyed across Southwest England, the talk will address what modes of transport they chose, why they travelled and their experiences along the way. Their tales will be illustrated with pictures made at the time and maps that plotted their itineraries.
Our speaker, Dr Alan Rosevear, is a retired research scientist with a life-long fascination with the history of roads and transportation.
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.
“Uncle Tom Cobley and All”
with Dr Todd Gray on Wednesday, 11 December 2024
at 7pm at Leonardo Hotel Exeter [Jurys Inn Exeter Hotel]
More than a century ago ‘Widdecombe Fair’ became Devon’s most famous song, but this ballad has had an unsuspecting and surprising history. This celebratory lecture, which will include renditions of some Victorian variants, will chronicle the ways in which it was embedded into society and explain how it generated the well-known phrase through some unlikely individuals such as Albert Einstein, Karl Marx and Joan Collins.
Entertaining and informative, this event will be the perfect end to the society’s 2024 lecture series. Our speaker, Dr Todd Gray, is a renowned scholar of Devon's history and wrote a book about the roots of this famous song.
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.
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