Exploring the rich multicultural history of Devon.

Exeter Timeline

Exeter’s first Respect festival

Exeter’s first Respect festival

Exeter’s annual Respect festival started in 1997, with the slogan ‘All different, all equal’. Originally held at the Phoenix arts centre, since 2007 it has been at Belmont Park, where it has become an essential part of the Exeter calendar. See some...
Acclaimed novelist Jean Rhys dies in Exeter

Acclaimed novelist Jean Rhys dies in Exeter

Famous twentieth century novelist Jean Rhys was born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams in Rouseau, Dominica 1894, the daughter of a Welsh doctor and a White Creole mother, whose family had been plantation owners on the island for generations. Rhys lived in the Devon...
Exeter’s first mosque

Exeter’s first mosque

Exeter’s first mosque was at 15 York Road, opened on 11th September 1977. 17 people were involved in the organising committee. For more information, look at the PowerPoint and teacher’s notes on the schools pages of this website.
Ugandan Asians arrive in Devon

Ugandan Asians arrive in Devon

On August 4th 1972, Idi Amin ordered all Ugandan Asians to leave the country. Over 27,000 came to the UK, where many were put in temporary camps. The photo on the timeline (courtesy of the Express & Echo) shows the Arain family being welcomed to Newton Abbot by...
Exeter’s Chinese Community

Exeter’s Chinese Community

Community Researchers, Gordon Chan and Sasiporn Phongploenpis, have researched the city’s Chinese Minority and its Contribution to Diversity in Exeter; Gordon and Sasi have worked together to collate facts and figures, hidden historical gems and individual...
Law Family Album

Law Family Album

Archive photographs from the research into Exeter’s Chinese Community by volunteers Gordon Chan and Sasi Phlongplenis.  Photos by kind permission of the Law Family. This page is dedicated to Mr. Law who passed away in May...