A drawing from a sketchbook in the Devon Record Office, by J Harris. Who was this man? Where did Harris draw him? How long was he in Exeter? Where had he come from and where was he going? We simply don’t know…
Community Researcher, Di Cooper (with Chantal Kouadio), investigates the Slavery Abolition Movement in Exeter uncovering significant support from the people of Exeter, with leading Quakers, Unitarians, MPs and businessmen among those who supported the Society for the...
Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) English abolitionist and leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found in 1787 The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passing of the Slave...
Poltimore Poet, an article about poet John Codrington Bampfylde (1754-1797) by volunteer Community Researcher, Miranda Harvey. John Bampfylde was a gifted young poet and musician born into the prominent Westcountry family, the Bampfyldes of Poltimore House near...
John Codrington Bampfylde (1754 – 1797) was born into the powerful and prominent Westcountry family the Bampfyldes of Poltimore House on the outskirts of Exeter. The poet’s name reveals he was not just a son of Poltimore, his mother’s ancestry can be traced to...
Exeter Synagogue is the third oldest Synagogue in the UK, it opened on the 10th August 1763 and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2013. Helen Fry’s Book ‘The Jews of Exeter’ was published in the summer of 2013 to mark this occasion. For Telling...
The enigma of this iconic painting, Portrait of an African, challenged experts for many years. It was previously thought that the sitter was prominent Nigerian abolitionist and writer, Olaudah Equiano, who lived around 1745-1797. His autobiography “The Interesting...
In 1717, the young Johann Baring moved to Exeter from Bremen in Germany. He liked the place, was naturalised in 1723 and changed his name to John. He bought Larkbeare House, now owned by the County Council. His sons John and Francis founded Barings Bank, which...
“Huguenots” was the name given to French Protestants from the 16th century onwards. They were persecuted by the ruling Catholics, especially after the Massacre of St Bartholomew’s Day in 1572 and the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in...
On November 5th 1688 William of Orange, a Protestant prince from the Netherlands, landed in Brixham in south Devon. As a grandson of Charles I, and husband of Princess Mary, he claimed the English throne from the Catholic James II. An account was written at the time...
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