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Devon Air Day Haldon Aerodrome film
Chrislea & Harper Aircraft Company
Growing up by the canal 1920s
Winter on the canal 1920s
Bus crashes, damaging top - film
Bombs at the Cathedral - memory
Escaping the Blitz - memory
The Cathedral Cross is stolen - memory
Guy Fawkes Orgies - memory
The Mint Methodist Church
Scouts and Guides Parade 1960s
Latest 25th May 2013

Updated Pages

Parliament Street
Exeter Folk - new photos
Exeter and the First War - update
St Mary Arches' Church
HMS Exeter crew list
Group Photos
Imperial Hotel
St Michael's, Mount Dinham
Most recent 4th May 2013

Film logo Historic film and video

John Trickey was a bootmaker who traded from what is now Tea on the Green. He lived and worked in the premises between 1866 and 1898. Portrait of Exeter citizen General Sir Redvers Buller VC in 1906. Buller was a popular man in Crediton and Exeter, and in 1905, a public subscription raised the funds for his grand statue which stands outside Exeter College.

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Exeter Emblem

This graphic appeared on the rear of the official Exeter City Council guidebooks for about 15 years, from the 1920s to 1942.

This site currently contains 900 pages and more than 5,000 images.

Exeter Local History Society

Join the Exeter Local History Society and discover 2000 years of the history of Exeter. Learn of intrigue, plots, disasters, celebrations and the way of life of past generations of the city.

We meet six times a year at the The Mint, Fore Street, for a chat, and a talk from an expert on a historical topic. There are also 'outside visits' with a guide to see aspects of the city's past.

Come along to a meeting without obligation - upcoming meetings can be found here

Or phone the Secretary, at 01392 213789 or email:

ELHS contact

Contact E-Mail
Links to other sites
List of Sources Used
Site Map
Photos Wanted
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Featured Photos

The Sidwell Street shop of Force and Sons, probably in the 1920s. Photo supplied by David Force. Eastgate after the war, including the temporary shops. The shops replaced the old Eastgate Arcade that was lost in the bombing. The main buildings became, among others, the Co-op and later Next. It was replaced by the glass edifice constructed as part of the Princesshay development, and still houses Next. Photo supplied by David Force.

EXETER ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO THIS MONTH
Western Times
June 13th
Rev. John "Henry Prince, the vicar of St. Thomas.was at Exeter the Police Court Wednesday morning fined 2s 6d for riding a motor cycle, which was not duly registered. It was explained that the reverend gentleman had been wrongly informed by the firm where he had purchased the machine that he only needed to get a driver's license, and not one for the bicycle. On being apprised of his error, he immediately registered the cycle.
The chief attraction in Exeter Saturday was the military tournament organised by the local Territorials with the object of showing citizens their capabilities, and of stimulating an interest in recruiting in this important part of our national defence. They were assisted by the Royal Field Artillery from Topsham Barracks. There have been military tournaments in Exeter before, but this was the first time anything of the kind on so important a scale had been undertaken by the Territorials. Keen interest was taken in the event, and there was a large crowd on the County Ground. There was a military tattoo in the evening.
June 20th
About 10 o'clock on Saturday evening, the Governor of Exeter Prison and Rev. J. J. Collins, chaplain, standing on the terrace at New North-road, Exeter, noticed bright meteor come into view above Haldon Hill, and continue in a north-westerly direction well up in the sky till lost to view in the direction of Cowley-road. It was then at the same elevation and still going strong.
June 27th
On Wednesday a little boy named Jack Hannaford, living in Frog-lane, was playing at the Basin at Exeter when be fell into the water. The mate of the ship " Rothersand," a German named M. Coobs. who saw the accident at once plunged in after the lad, and quickly rescued him, Hannaford thus escaping with a ducking.
A meeting in connection with the Suffragists' pilgrimage from Land's End to London was held at St.. Sidwell's Institute, Exeter, on Monday. The Rev. F. Jones presided. The idea of the pilgrimage is to advertise the non-militant section of the Suffragette movement, and also to provide funds for the campaign. Mrs Fletcher gave details of the procession through Exeter. She said branches had promised to come from Budleigh Salterton, Exmouth, Sidmouth, Topsham, and Torquay to join in the procession through Exeter, and she hoped to see a large number of their supporters in Exeter joining them. The procession would come up South-street, and down Fore-street to Gervase-avenue, where a meeting would be held. Following this meeting, the procession would go up through the streets to the Fountain in Sidwell-street, where another meeting would be held.

The Exeter 'Comment' from Exeter Memories

This site is run by a resident of who loves the city

Citizens Advice Bureau - 65 years old

AN Exeter charity is marking its 65th anniversary with a special project – and it is hoping the memories of people from the city will make it a success
Exeter Citizens Advice Bureau has been awarded a grant of £8,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund to celebrate its history and reflect on its work in the city since 1947. And it is planning to use people’s memories of the service as a main feature of a publication and exhibition next year.

The project, Our City Charity – A History of Exeter’s Citizens Advice Bureau, aims to collect and record memories from local people who have been helped or who have worked as volunteers over the last 65 years.

Steve Barriball, Exeter CAB chief executive, said: “We would love to speak to people who perhaps remember their parents or grandparents being helped by Exeter CAB after the war.

“We are aiming to paint a picture of how life was in Exeter 65 years ago and look at how many of those problems still affect people in a similar way today. This is an amazing way to celebrate the history of the CAB in Exeter, but, just as importantly, mark the work that is done by our volunteers today.”
The group is planning an exhibition, publication and other events to mark the anniversary.

Early records show that the CAB was set up as part of the Exeter Council of Social Service and was based in St David’s Hill in Exeter. The chairman of CAB at that time was Mr A Kettlewell and in its first year it dealt with 1,770 enquiries, including questions like ‘how can my German fiancée get to England?’ and ‘where can I apply for a permit to build a house?’.

The charity moved to the Wynards building in Magdalen Road in 1972, along with the Samaritans and Relate, and to its present address at Wat Tyler House in King William Street in 1998.

Sue McQueenie, who is co-ordinating the project on behalf of CAB, said: “The thing which will bring this project to life is the recollections of people who have used the CAB service or volunteered for the charity over the years. I really look forward to chatting to people and hearing their memories. I would love to talk to them, even if they think they don’t have a huge amount to contribute I would encourage them to give me a call or send an email.”

Contact Sue on 07540 341650 or email sue@exetercab.org.uk

Historic Buildings of Exeter - iBook for your iPad

Published on the 1 December 2012 is the Exeter Memories iBook Historic Buildings of Exeter. Liberally illustrated with full screen photographs, illustartions and maps, the interactive book covers fourteen of Exeter's most loved buildings. The photos look stunning on the Retina display of the iPad 3, while the new iPad Mini is a convenient way to view the book. If you have an iPAd and love Exeter, this is the eBook for you. Moderately priced at £2.49, the book is available from iTunes here - Historic Buildings of Exeter - David Cornforth

Downloads to Support Exeter Memories

Exeter Memories has never had any Google ads, nor any other form of income generation. To help finance the hosting of the site I have added three downloads, that can be purchased for £2 each. Click on the PURCHASE button on any page to see the downloads. There is the choice of seven large sized, hi-res map files of the city, or two eBooks — Charles Worthy's The History of the Suburbs of Exeter and the charming James Cossins' Reminiscences of Exeter Fifty Years Since. Both books can be purchased in ePub (Sony, Nook etc) format or Kindle format Screen readers can also be downloaded for your computer - see free Adobe Reader. Please support Exeter Memories by purchasing a download.

Unique film from the 1920s - 20th May 2012

I have added two films, from about 1925, showing Exeter and its environs. The original, was filmed on 9.5mm stock by Frank Turner, who owned four bakery shops in the city. These are not 'home movies' of the family, but are a rare glimpse of a busy city. The first film shows sequences include the High Street with trams, close to Ross and Sons, a busy Queen Street Station, around Cathedral Yard, and soldiers exercising at Topsham Barracks. The second film includes the Exeter Regatta ( and a rare moving image of Artful Thomas), the river in flood and sports day at the County Ground. One notable squence shows the many characters at a busy Cattle Market in Bonhay Road. See Exeter Part 1 and Exeter Part 2.

Memories of an Exeter 'Pop' drummer - 10th November 2011

It was way back in February 2009 that Mike Ewing posted to the forum, requesting people who had memories of Exeter 'pop' scene in the 1960s to contact him. The thread had been the most popular on the forum with 54 subsequent posts and more than 10,000 views. Mike has now written his considerable memories of his time playing drums with the Cordettes and other Exeter bands – these memories can be found at Memories of a pop drummer. I am sure that many will be interested in reading of gigs, bands and people from their teenage years – which leads me to a request. If you were involved with an Exeter band, saw the Stones, Beatles, Pink Floyd, Who, Lead Zeppelin, Dusty Springfield or one of the many other acts to play in Exeter during the 1960s and 70s, why not get your fingers typing and produce a record of your memories for Exeter Memories. If you are a child of the 60s, Flower Power, Mersey Beat and Love Love Love (Lennon) get remembering before its too late. Let the house, garage, grunge, boy band and electro pop generations know about the trail blazers!

Twitter, Facebook and Page Comments - 24th July 2011

I have added buttons on every page for Twitter and Facebook members. You can Tweet about the page or put a comment on your Facebook wall about something you find interestin in Exeter Memories. The 'Send' button also allows you to email your friends from the page, even if you are not a member of Facebook. I have added an Exeter Memories Twitter account and a Facebook group page, so why not become a follower and find out what's new on the site.

It is also possible to comment about a page using the Comment button – if there are previous comments, just click on the button to read them. It may be a comment adding some trivia, or a personal recollection of an event or place; it is up to you. In some cases I may use the information in the page with a suitable acknowledgement in the Source line at the bottom of the article. So get Twittering, and tell your Facebook friends about Exeter Memories and add your comments to the site.

Exeter's naked bike ride - 10th June 2011

I was not able to attend Exeter's naked bike ride on Saturday - it is an event that should be remembered for future generations, so I would like to include it on the 21st Century page. For this, I require a photograph of the bikers in the High Street or some other prominant place. If you took some photographs of the event, perhaps you could send a couple by email for me to include on the page - contact me HERE.

One hundred memories - 17th March 2011

James Bell wrote his memories of the blitz and wartime Exeter about five years ago, and they were some of the first on the site. Today I uploaded three pages of memories of James' school days, starting in the infants in 1936, and finishing at Exeter Technical School in 1946. Take a look if you went to the Episcopal Infants School, Mary Arches School, St David's School, Episcopal Boys School and Exeter Technical School. Even if you didn't attend these schools, the memories are full of James' usual humour and sharp observations.

Since I wrote the above, James has submitted more memories of wartime Exeter – his detail regarding the shelters, chicanes and roadblocks around the city, salvage and children's songs and ditties are worth a read. See Story List for links to the pages.

That's all for now,

David Cornforth - My Contact E-Mail