Who do you think they are?

Ian was welcomed as a return speaker, following his talk “Grievous Bodley Harm? The strange affair of Exeter's medieval manuscripts” in June 2023. The talk discussed the role of Sir Thomas Bodley in the history of Exeter Cathedral Library and showed around 30 of the manuscripts involved. That talk was linked to the exhibition at the RAMM of Gatekeepers to Heaven: religion, knowledge and power in medieval Exeter, which brought back to Exeter, for the first time in four centuries, six of the manuscripts removed from Exeter in 1602. ELHS members were able to visit the exhibition in August 2023.

For this talk, Ian explained the origins of the Exeter Civic Society in 1961 and its Blue Plaque scheme. Exeter's foremost historian W.G. Hoskins was somewhat horrified at Exeter's plans for its Golden Heart Project which included redevelopment of the Higher Market. He set about forming the Exeter Civic Society to promote higher standards for the city's buildings and redevelopment. A plaque commissioned by the Devon History Society commemorating Hoskins can be seen at 26-28 St David's Hill noted as “Historian of Devon, Exeter, and the English Landscape 1908-1992”. Hoskins was also the man behind the preservation of ‘The House that Moved’.

Ian began by showing images of public inscriptions that had occurred before the Blue Plaque scheme and which can be found in the Exeter Civic Society publication Discovering Exeter 10: Public Inscriptions (1999) by Den Perrin. The first example he gave (and quoting from that book) was “a wall inscription on the Cathedral approximately 3m above ground level on the west elevation of South Tower.” The words are in Latin transcribed as ‘The first Adam so weighed down mankind, God help him, That He who came to seek mankind was Himself made man.’ It also says “These words were probably incised before 1310 as the wall was hidden behind the Cloisters from then until 1819. The lettering was re-cut in the 1920s, partially disguising its medieval character.”

Ian then went on to show a variety of other monuments including:

• the bronze plaque outside the White Ensign Club commemorating the site of South Gate where it reads “King Henry VI here entered the city 16 July 1452. For centuries a prison. It was demolished 1819.”
• the Clock Tower, at the north end of Queen Street, erected in 1897 to commemorate William Miles, an authority on animal welfare, 1800-1881
• a plaque on Mile End Cottage, Church Road, Alphington, “Here lived the parents of Charles Dickens 1812-1870” (Ian explains that “The dates refer to the author’s birth and death. He rented the house for them in March 1839, ‘exactly a mile beyond the city on the Plymouth road’ and that “they occupied it for three and a half years.”)
• a wall plaque at 3 Fords Road “Entertainer Tommy Cooper Lived Here 1925-1932. He attended Mount Radford School and helped his parents sell ice-cream through the front window of No. 3.” (A grander plaque, commissioned by English Heritage, was erected at 51, Barrowgate Road, Chiswick, London, recording “Tommy Cooper 1921-1984, Entertainer, lived here 1955-1984” [details from the internet].)
• a Topsham plaque dedicated to Sir William Webb Follett, “Attorney General and Exeter MP, 1796-1845”.
• a plaque on the wall of the Gatehouse at Rougemont Castle “The Devon Witches, in memory of Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards, Mary Trembles of Bideford died 1682 and Alice Molland died 1685 – The last people in England to be executed for Witchcraft tried here and hanged at Heavitree. In the hope of an end to persecution and intolerance.” (Ian said that this, perhaps the most controversial of plaques was not erected by the Civic Society.)

Ian also showed two London Blue Plaques dedicated to Devonians, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, poet, and Philip Henry Gosse, zoologist.

Ian then talked about Exeter’s Blue Plaques Scheme.

Strict criteria govern the creation of Blue Plaques. The following is copied from the Exeter Civic Society website:

“The main criteria are that the individual should normally be dead for at least twenty years, should have a specific location in Exeter associated with him or her, and should have made a significant contribution to society. Once those criteria are met, the Civic Society draws up a priority list – funding for plaques is limited – and the permission to erect a plaque is obtained from the owners of the property. Planning permission has then to be sought, the plaques commissioned and installed, and normally an event organised to celebrate the person commemorated. The Civic Society’s blue plaques are designed to celebrate people and places, to generate an interest in Exeter’s history and to strengthen the pride Exeter takes in the remarkable people who have been connected with the city throughout its history."

Here is an excerpt from the nomination guidance:

"We welcome nominations for blue plaques from the public. Here are some key guidelines:

 

• the strength of connection with, or contribution to, Exeter counts alongside a person’s celebrity and wider significance
• the person commemorated should be of special significance in a particular field, for example of historical, cultural, scientific or sporting significance
• the individual commemorated must have been personally associated with the building or site where the plaque is to be erected, e.g. was born or lived there, or was active there. Preference is given to buildings which existed during the lifetime of the person, rather than sites of buildings
• regard will be paid, if appropriate, to current anniversaries
• finally, although there is no hard and fast rule, someone commemorated by a blue plaque should have been deceased for at least 10 – 20 years, to increase confidence that the person’s reputation will stand the test of time

There are a great many worthy candidates for blue plaques in Exeter and the Civic Society has funds only for a small handful of them. We would actively welcome discussions on sponsorship or collaboration with any others who share our aims.”

Ian showed a list of twenty Blue Plaques that have been erected or restored since the present scheme started in 2013, and grouped them under different categories:

• Heroes:
  • Elsie Knocker 1884-1978, Birthplace 2 Barnfield Crescent, house belonging to Thomas Shapter, Elsie’s grandfather: “Elsie Knocker, Baroness de T’Serclaes, Nurse on the front line in Pervyse, Belgium, 1914-1918.
  • Cecil Charlie Brewer and Mary the Pigeon, West Street: “Wartime pigeon breeder whose homing pigeon (Mary) won the Dickin Medal for Bravery, 1922-1985”.
• Philanthropists:
  • Dame Georgiana Buller, Bellair, County Hall: “Pioneer of services for disabled people, 1926-1953”.
  • Dr Charles Newton Lovely, Kings Dwellings, King Street: “Exeter GP and Founding Chairman of Exeter Workmen’s Dwellings Company, 1864-1947”.
• Medical:
  • Dr Peter Hennis, St Sidwell’s Churchyard wall: “Hero of Exeter cholera outbreak 1832, killed in duel, 1802-1833”.
  • Dr Margaret Jackson, 4 Barnfield Hill: “Pioneer of birth control and fertility medicine, 1964-1982”.
• Writers and Artists:
  • Sabine Baring Gould 16 Southernhay East: “Folk song collector and parson, 1834-1924”. Erected on the eve of lockdown in 2020. It was erected on the eve of lockdown in 2020. An American great granddaughrer was due to unveil it, but her flight was cancelled, In the end it was unveiled by another great granddaughter, who just happened to be passing by!
  • Thomas Latimer, radical journalist and his friend Charles Dickens, Fore Street.
• Industry and Business:
  • Stephen Simpson, entrance to Maynard School: “Engineer and inventor, 1869-1954”.
  • Harry Westlake, 18 Princes Street: “Motor engineer, 1897-1978”.
• Environment:
  • Robert Tosswill Veitch, 11 Elm Grove Road: “Horticulturalist and nurseryman, 1823-1885”.
  • F.J.Widgery, 11 Howell Road: “Landscape painter, Freeman and Alderman, 1861-1942”.
• Sportsmen
  • Abraham Cann, on site of Champions Arms Inn, 28 Bartholomew Street West: “Champion of England at Devonshire Wrestling, 1794-1864”.
  • Richard ‘Dick’ Pym, Churchyard wall, Ferry Road, Topsham: “The fisherman footballer, 1893-1988”.
• Redevelopment:
  • Nicholas Hilliard, Parish of St Pancras: “Goldsmith and artist, painter of portrait miniatures at the courts of Elizabeth 1 and James 1, 1547-1619”. His exact address was not known, but St Pancras was the smallest parish in Exeter.
• The Blitz:
  • Violet and Irene Vanbrugh, actress sisters, Southernhay West, just behind Roman Wall: “Stage and screen actresses, 1867-1942 and 1872-1949”. The original house was destroyed in the blitz.
  • Eleanor Coade, place of birth in Magdalen Street which cannot be pinpointed.
  • Delia Graham, freed slave recorded in Rose Cottage, Pennsylvania Road in 1851 Census, Permission needed and impossible to contact owner.
• Plaques by other organisations
  • Ivy M. Johns Wonford Community and Learning Centre, 1 Holly Road, Wonford.
  • Richard Douglas Sandford VC. Submariners Association, Cathedral Close.
  • First World War hospital plaques, Reed Hall; Bishops Palace. Devon County Council.
  • Exeter Ship Canal Transport Heritage Site. (Transport Trust - Leaflet with map and list of plaques).

The Exeter Civic Society website contains more details about the plaques listed above, including the Placeify blue plaque audio trail. See “Discovering Exeter Guides”.

Ian finished by showing images of how plaques are made by casting in a mould, and a list of some possible future plaques:

• Dr Sigmund Heinrich Foulkes, psychiatrist
• Charlotte Elizabeth Treadwin, lace maker
• Fred Karno, impresario and comedian
• Mary Slessor, missionary
• William Davy, shipbuilder, Topsham
• Delia Graham, freed slave

  If anyone wishes to nominate someone, there is a nomination form on the Exeter Civic Society website.

  In conclusion, Ian said that he was compiling an Index of Exonian Biography.

  This was an interesting talk that prompted questions and one that can be followed up by seeing details on the Exeter Civic Society website and visiting all of the addresses mentioned to see the inscriptions and plaques in situ.

  Sue Jackson (Images supplied by Ian Maxted and Judith Hosking)

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