Exploring the rich multicultural history of Devon.

Exeter Timeline

Joseph Pitts of Exon: the first Englishman in Mecca

Joseph Pitts of Exon: the first Englishman in Mecca

Exeter man Joseph Pitts (1663?-1739) was the first Englishman to perform the Hajj and visit Mecca and Medina. He published a fascinating account of his travels and observations in 1704. Exeter university’s Paul Auchterlonie has written a definitive work covering...
Turkish soldiers at the siege of Exeter

Turkish soldiers at the siege of Exeter

During the English Civil War, Exeter was besieged twice, once by the Royalists, and later by the Parliamentary forces. According to an article by Robert Hodkinson of the Sealed Knot,  royalists accused the parliamentary leader the Earl of Stamford of ‘resorting...
Thomas, son of a blackmore

Thomas, son of a blackmore

What is meant by a ‘blackmore’ ? ‘Blackmore’ is a variant of the archaic and derogatory ‘blackamoor’ which appeared circa 1500s and was common parlance in Elizabethan England.  One interpration being it is a variant of ‘Black...
Pocahontas in Exeter?

Pocahontas in Exeter?

The epic story of Native American woman Pocahontas (1596-1617) has fascinated people for generations and here we find a local connection. Pocahontas landed at Plymouth on June 12th 1616, with her husband John Rolfe, their son Thomas, and 11 of her fellow Powhatans....
John Hawkins’ Slave Raids

John Hawkins’ Slave Raids

John Hawkins (born in Plymouth in 1532) conducted the first of his three slave raids on the coast of West Africa in 1562, capturing people and taking them across the Atlantic for sale in Hispaniola. Hawkins is sometimes credited with inventing the triangular slave...
Foundry in Cowick Street making bronze manillas

Foundry in Cowick Street making bronze manillas

The foundry in St Thomas, Cowick Street/Albany Road, is dated from 1525-1625 and was owned by John Birdall. It closed when he died. During excavations in 1984, manilla moulds were found. Manillas were armlets cast from bronze and copper (red gold) and used as currency...
Henry VIII’s Military Survey

Henry VIII’s Military Survey

In 1522, Henry VIII ordered a military survey of the whole of England, to see who was ready for war, and to measure the wealth of his subjects. This was two years after his historic meeting with Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold.  The constables of...
Peter Blackmore: Exeter’s first Black resident?

Peter Blackmore: Exeter’s first Black resident?

In 1522, Henry VIII ordered a military survey of the whole of England, to see who was ready for war, and to measure the wealth of his subjects. This was two years after his historic meeting with Francis I of France at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The constables of...