EXETER LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY
WELCOME
Exeter Local History Society members are hooked on history. If you share our fascination, why not join us? We have six lecture meetings a year These alternate with six guided walks, plus we occasionally have long distance outings, and we cover an incredibly diverse range of subjects from Roman remains to post-WW2 redevelopment.
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 Walks and visits normally cost £3 p.p. for members and visitors alike.
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
ExeterLocalHistory@gmail.com
We hope we will see you soon at one of our events, listed below under "Up and Coming Events".
In the meantime, check out our website and see for yourself the great selection of subjects with which we entertain our members. Just click on "Recent Events" or "Visits & Walks" on the banner at the top of this page to explore our programme history! Click on "How To Join Us" for an application form.
UP AND COMING EVENTS
FUTURE EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY
Wednesday, 13 June 2018 at Jurys Inn
Exeter Women - and Men - and the Fight for Votes
for Women
Illustrated talk by Dr Julia Neville
The battle for women’s right to vote was fought up and down the country, in Exeter as much as anywhere else. Dr Neville, in an illustrated talk, will be uncovering the stories of local activists: Jessie Montgomery, widely regarded as 'godmother' to the University of Exeter; Edith Splatt, later to be Exeter's first woman councillor; Mary Willocks, early Mills-and-Boon novelist; and Robert Newman, who became Exeter's MP in 1918. Julia will also describe open-air meetings at the Triangle and the prison where the 'Exeter hunger strikers' were locked up.
The event is free to members but booking is essential from https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exeter-women-and-men-in-the-fight-for-votes-for-women-1866-1918-tickets-44846133994.
The cost is £3 for non members and the link for non-members to book in advance is: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/exeter-women-and-men-in-the-fight-for-votes-for-women-1866-1918-non-members-tickets-45093538989
If by any chance you are unable to take up your place - even if at the last minute - please let us know so that we can pass (or, hopefully, sell) your ticket on to someone on the waiting list.
In July we have arranged for a guided discovery walk to explore the history and archaeology of Ashclyst Forest, from medieval field systems and hollow ways right up to the Second World War. We will be guided by Jon Freeman, an archaeologist who is the Great Trees in the Clyst Valley Project Officer.
We will learn to identify and appreciate the natural history of sunken lanes, flood meadows, and hill forts, and see with fresh eyes the varied and fascinating historic landscape - thanks to intrepid volunteers who, using historic maps and aerial photographs to navigate, have been hunting for ancient, veteran and notable trees to record in the national inventory.
The walk would be around 2 hours long and start at 10.30. The cost will be, as usual, £3 per person. Parking is not a problem. For more details contact:
exeterlocalhistory@gmail.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 8 August 2018
Illustrated Talk at Jurys Inn
"Exeter Workmens' Dwellings"
Richard Holladay
A summary of Dr Charles Newton Lovely’s life and his involvement in the foundation of this innovative undertaking which set about alleviating and replacing some of the appalling slum conditions and tenements abounding in Exeter in the mid 1920s.
The significant achievements that he, together with like-minded colleagues, attained in supplying affordable and well appointed social housing within our City has largely been overlooked, (although the successors to this undertaking still operate today as Cornerstone Housing). This presentation is another step to rectify this oversight.
He was heavily involved in the St John Ambulance, was for a period the Prison Doctor and, whilst living in Exeter, his medical practice was in St Leonards. He was the Founding Chairman of the company they created - the Exeter Workmen's Dwellngs Company Ltd - and remained in that position for ten years until he retired.
The event is free to members but booking is essential from: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ dr-lovely-and-the-workmens-dwellings-company-1929-1938-members-only-tickets-45580335009
The cost is £3 for non members and the link for non-members to book in advance is: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dr-lovely-and-the-workmens-dwellings-company-1929-1938-non-members-tickets-45585196550
Please do remember to book your place in advance. We would hate to have to turn you away because the seats were all taken and if any chance you are unable to take up your place - even if at the last minute - please let us know so that we can pass (sell?) your ticket on to someone on the waiting list.
--------------------------------------------------
POWDERHAM CASTLE TOUR : September 2018
For the very first time since Powderham opened to visitors in 1957, the tour routes and the tales told of Devon’s 600-year-old family home are changing. After years of study and with input from Universities of Exeter, Plymouth and Pennsylvania, Charlie and AJ (the new Earl and Countess of Devon) are excited to launch this fresh telling of the ancient and unique Powderham story.
The State Room Tour guides guests through the gardens, the grange and the grandest rooms of the Castle – the public face of Powderham. Visitors explore chronologically Powderham’s illustrious architectural history, from its medieval foundation, through Civil War sieges, Georgian, Rococo and Regency expansion, to its dramatic neo-Gothic culmination. All of this via secret doors, long libraries and even a hidden ballroom.
The Upstairs/Downstairs Tour offers a different view – Powderham as a private home of the Courtenay family and their staff for over 600 years. Charlie and AJ invite visitors into never-before-seen family bedrooms, and offer a host of intimate and personal insights, spooky stories, and winding staircases used for generations.
We shall be able to do both tours, starting at 10:30 am and ending around 12:30 pm. For more information contact:
exeterlocalhistory@gmail.com
--------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 10 October 2018 Talk at Jurys Inn
John Allan, by popular request, will be returning to tell us more about the building of Exeter Cathedral.
In April John took us through from Norman times to the middle of the 14th Century. We await with eager anticipation the next fascinating installment.
Booking sheet will open some time next month.
____________________________
Wednesday, 14 November 2018
The mills of old Exeter. Details to follow
_________________________________________________________
For more information our email address is exeterlocalhistory@gmail.com
If you want to take historical research further, we recommend you give Exeter Memories a try. Their website has for the last ten years been amassing a wealth of information about Exeter. It is well worth a visit. Just click on this link: www.exetermemories.co.uk.
Another site of interest is http://demolition-exeter.blogspot.co.uk which features fascinating articles on Exeter's lost buildings.
Print 