News
QUIZ NIGHT - Friday 4th April 2025 | St Thomas Church Hall | from 7p.m.
Come and enjoy an evening of quizzing with friends, neighbours.....and a delicious veggie curry. Tickets are £15 per person with proceeds going to the maintenance and conservation of the Dissenters' graveyard in Magdalen Street. PRIZES and a Raffle....Cash Bar....or you can BYO.
Tickets are available here or scan the QR code.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 2nd February 2025
Come and enjoy an evening of quizzing with friends, neighbours.....and a delicious veggie curry. Tickets are £15 per person with proceeds going to the maintenance and conservation of the Dissenters' graveyard in Magdalen Street. PRIZES and a Raffle....Cash Bar....or you can BYO.
Tickets are available here or scan the QR code.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 2nd February 2025
Chair of Trustees retires
Chair of EDGT trustees since 2019, Peter Dare, has stepped down from the role. Peter, a retired Master Stonemason, has been a very hands-on member of the team, helping to conserve many of the memorials in the graveyard. His expertise and patient good humour has been greatly appreciated by the volunteers and the trustees extend their grateful thanks for all his efforts. The new Chair of Trustees is Steve Wills.
Added to the Newsfeed Thursday 13th February 2025
Chair of EDGT trustees since 2019, Peter Dare, has stepped down from the role. Peter, a retired Master Stonemason, has been a very hands-on member of the team, helping to conserve many of the memorials in the graveyard. His expertise and patient good humour has been greatly appreciated by the volunteers and the trustees extend their grateful thanks for all his efforts. The new Chair of Trustees is Steve Wills.
Added to the Newsfeed Thursday 13th February 2025
Members of the Kennaway family buried in the graveyard
The Kennaway name has been well known in Devon for over 250 years. Members of the family became wealthy merchants and significant land owners. Several members of the family were buried in the Dissenters' graveyard after having worshipped at George's Meeting in South Street, Exeter. Evidence of their business interests in Exeter can still be found on buildings in the city and the Escot estate in east Devon is still owned and managed by Kennaways. A new biography of the Kennaways buried in the graveyard has been written by Sarah Taylor, one of EDGT's Research Group and it can be accessed here.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 1st February 2025
The Kennaway name has been well known in Devon for over 250 years. Members of the family became wealthy merchants and significant land owners. Several members of the family were buried in the Dissenters' graveyard after having worshipped at George's Meeting in South Street, Exeter. Evidence of their business interests in Exeter can still be found on buildings in the city and the Escot estate in east Devon is still owned and managed by Kennaways. A new biography of the Kennaways buried in the graveyard has been written by Sarah Taylor, one of EDGT's Research Group and it can be accessed here.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 1st February 2025
Exhibition and talks at St Nicholas' Priory - 7th to 15th September 2024
As part of the 2024 Heritage Open Days there will be an exhibition of the artefacts uncovered at the Dissenters' graveyard, plus talks by three of our volunteers. The exhibition will run from 1p.m. to 4p.m. each day from Saturday 7th September to Sunday 15th September.
The exhibition features text, illustrations and burial artefacts and describes the reasons for the foundation of the Graveyard. It then presents its history from the beginning in 1748 to the last burial in 1854, then on through periods of neglect to its rescue and restoration from 2014 to now.
A set of illustrated talks on Dissent and Dissenters locally and nationally will be presented in the Great Hall of St Nicholas Priory, Exeter, EX4 3BL, on Saturday 7th September, from 2p.m. to 3.30p.m.
Notable Dissenters. Paul Chant
Five Meeting Houses and a Graveyard. Who were the Exeter Dissenters? Ian Varndell
The Fryers of Exeter: Dyers and Merchants. Anne Amosford
An Exeter Dissenter’s Link to a Founding Father. Ian Varndell
The event is free of charge (though donations are welcomed) and everyone is welcome. More details can be found here.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 31st August 2024
As part of the 2024 Heritage Open Days there will be an exhibition of the artefacts uncovered at the Dissenters' graveyard, plus talks by three of our volunteers. The exhibition will run from 1p.m. to 4p.m. each day from Saturday 7th September to Sunday 15th September.
The exhibition features text, illustrations and burial artefacts and describes the reasons for the foundation of the Graveyard. It then presents its history from the beginning in 1748 to the last burial in 1854, then on through periods of neglect to its rescue and restoration from 2014 to now.
A set of illustrated talks on Dissent and Dissenters locally and nationally will be presented in the Great Hall of St Nicholas Priory, Exeter, EX4 3BL, on Saturday 7th September, from 2p.m. to 3.30p.m.
Notable Dissenters. Paul Chant
Five Meeting Houses and a Graveyard. Who were the Exeter Dissenters? Ian Varndell
The Fryers of Exeter: Dyers and Merchants. Anne Amosford
An Exeter Dissenter’s Link to a Founding Father. Ian Varndell
The event is free of charge (though donations are welcomed) and everyone is welcome. More details can be found here.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 31st August 2024
Research visit to Harris Manchester College, Oxford
A short break in Oxford recently gave Anne Amosford, Chair of the Exeter Dissenters Graveyard Trust Research Group, an opportunity for research.
The group has recently been concentrating on updating biographies of those Ministers who were laid to rest in the graveyard. Anne has been looking at the biography of the Reverend Joseph Bretland (1742-1819) and his family (Memorials 5 and 35). The original biography, written by Sue Moss in 2014, is being revised considering advances in online access to documents.
Harris Manchester College, originally known as Manchester Academy, was founded in 1786; it was one of the last Dissenting Academies. It provided higher education to nonconformists who were excluded from Oxford and Cambridge due to the religious tests they had to take. The library holds many Dissenting collections including those originally housed in the Exeter Academies.
Papers and letters belonging to the Reverend Bretland are catalogued under ‘Miscellaneous documents’ (MS. Misc. 3) and may have come to Oxford through the Exeter Academy and through other donations, notably George Eyre Evans. Harris Manchester College is situated down a quiet side street. The library itself is a peaceful space lined with sculptural busts and stained-glass windows (pictured right). Anne enjoyed her morning reading the fourteen documents in this setting. The documents include a handwritten certificate from the Reverend’s time at the second Exeter Academy, but the remainder are mainly letters including his acceptance letter to become the Minister at the Mint in Exeter, and his resignation letters from the Mint and Georges Meeting. Of human interest were two letters from Joseph to his wife Sarah (née Moffat) sent whilst she was away from Exeter and drafts of letters showing the use of a shorthand script, which are still to be deciphered.
Also, in the box containing the documents Anne was able to read a letter from Reverend Micaiah Towgood to the Reverend William Blake of Crewkerne.
Thanks must go to Kate Alderson Smith the college librarian. A catalogue of the manuscripts in the library compiled in 1998 by Dennis Porter is available online at https://www.hmc.ox.ac.uk/sitefiles/hmc-porter-catalogue-open-september-2023v3.pdf
Added to the Newsfeed Friday 29th March 2024.
A short break in Oxford recently gave Anne Amosford, Chair of the Exeter Dissenters Graveyard Trust Research Group, an opportunity for research.
The group has recently been concentrating on updating biographies of those Ministers who were laid to rest in the graveyard. Anne has been looking at the biography of the Reverend Joseph Bretland (1742-1819) and his family (Memorials 5 and 35). The original biography, written by Sue Moss in 2014, is being revised considering advances in online access to documents.
Harris Manchester College, originally known as Manchester Academy, was founded in 1786; it was one of the last Dissenting Academies. It provided higher education to nonconformists who were excluded from Oxford and Cambridge due to the religious tests they had to take. The library holds many Dissenting collections including those originally housed in the Exeter Academies.
Papers and letters belonging to the Reverend Bretland are catalogued under ‘Miscellaneous documents’ (MS. Misc. 3) and may have come to Oxford through the Exeter Academy and through other donations, notably George Eyre Evans. Harris Manchester College is situated down a quiet side street. The library itself is a peaceful space lined with sculptural busts and stained-glass windows (pictured right). Anne enjoyed her morning reading the fourteen documents in this setting. The documents include a handwritten certificate from the Reverend’s time at the second Exeter Academy, but the remainder are mainly letters including his acceptance letter to become the Minister at the Mint in Exeter, and his resignation letters from the Mint and Georges Meeting. Of human interest were two letters from Joseph to his wife Sarah (née Moffat) sent whilst she was away from Exeter and drafts of letters showing the use of a shorthand script, which are still to be deciphered.
Also, in the box containing the documents Anne was able to read a letter from Reverend Micaiah Towgood to the Reverend William Blake of Crewkerne.
Thanks must go to Kate Alderson Smith the college librarian. A catalogue of the manuscripts in the library compiled in 1998 by Dennis Porter is available online at https://www.hmc.ox.ac.uk/sitefiles/hmc-porter-catalogue-open-september-2023v3.pdf
Added to the Newsfeed Friday 29th March 2024.
A descendant of Revd Micaiah Towgood visits the graveyard
Some time ago EDGT was contacted by Shirley Rhodes a descendent of John Savery, a banker from Bristol, her great great great great grandfather. His first wife Sarah Butler Clark was the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Clark who are memorialised in the graveyard (Memorial 44). John Savery’s second wife was Mary Towgood the granddaughter of the Reverend Micaiah Towgood, preacher at James’s and George’s Meeting and buried in the Dissenters' graveyard (see Memorial 42). It is through John Savery and Mary Towgood that Shirley is descended.
Shirley is Canadian and was due to visit England in 2020 but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and she had to postpone her trip, but this April she made new plans and was finally able to visit. Shirley’s packed visit was full on, including the British Library, Totnes Museum, Shilstone House near Modbury once owned by the Savery’s and of course a visit to the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard.
Anne Amosford, Chair of the EDGT Research Group, also showed Shirley George's Meeting, now the J.D. Wetherspoon pub on South Street, where her sixth times grandfather Micaiah had preached. Seeing the pulpit still intact was a highlight for Shirley along with having a beer and fish and chips there.
Added to the Newsfeed Monday 8th May 2023.
Some time ago EDGT was contacted by Shirley Rhodes a descendent of John Savery, a banker from Bristol, her great great great great grandfather. His first wife Sarah Butler Clark was the daughter of Peter and Elizabeth Clark who are memorialised in the graveyard (Memorial 44). John Savery’s second wife was Mary Towgood the granddaughter of the Reverend Micaiah Towgood, preacher at James’s and George’s Meeting and buried in the Dissenters' graveyard (see Memorial 42). It is through John Savery and Mary Towgood that Shirley is descended.
Shirley is Canadian and was due to visit England in 2020 but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and she had to postpone her trip, but this April she made new plans and was finally able to visit. Shirley’s packed visit was full on, including the British Library, Totnes Museum, Shilstone House near Modbury once owned by the Savery’s and of course a visit to the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard.
Anne Amosford, Chair of the EDGT Research Group, also showed Shirley George's Meeting, now the J.D. Wetherspoon pub on South Street, where her sixth times grandfather Micaiah had preached. Seeing the pulpit still intact was a highlight for Shirley along with having a beer and fish and chips there.
Added to the Newsfeed Monday 8th May 2023.
The grandson of a famous author was buried in the Dissenters' graveyard
In 1751 Francis Walkingame, a London school master, published a compendium of arithmetic titled "The Tutor's Assistant". This book remained in print for over a century and was the most popular arithmetic text-book in the Georgian and early Victoria eras. Francis's grandson, John Walkingame Tatham and John's wife Ellen Garnett Tatham were both buried in the Dissenters' graveyard in 1832 and 1836, respectively. They had not lived in Exeter for long, having moved from Hawkchurch on the east Devon/Dorset border. Two of their three children went on to get married at St Sidwells and lived in the county with their spouses for the rest of their lives.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 12th February 2023.
In 1751 Francis Walkingame, a London school master, published a compendium of arithmetic titled "The Tutor's Assistant". This book remained in print for over a century and was the most popular arithmetic text-book in the Georgian and early Victoria eras. Francis's grandson, John Walkingame Tatham and John's wife Ellen Garnett Tatham were both buried in the Dissenters' graveyard in 1832 and 1836, respectively. They had not lived in Exeter for long, having moved from Hawkchurch on the east Devon/Dorset border. Two of their three children went on to get married at St Sidwells and lived in the county with their spouses for the rest of their lives.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 12th February 2023.
Long-serving trustee Gordon Read retires from EDGT
The Trust has regretfully accepted the resignation of Gordon Read who has retired on the grounds of age and health. Gordon was a founder member of the Trust, having served on the informal group which campaigned to save the Graveyard. As well as serving on the Trust he has been prominent in the practical work of restoration and continuing maintenance. Gordon, who lives in St Leonards, served as Volunteer Co-ordinator for a number of years. His contributions to the work of the EDGT will be greatly missed and we are extremely grateful for his wise counsel and enthusiastic involvement.
Photograph - Gordon Read (right) with Paul Greaves from Devon Live in 2018.
Added to the Newsfeed Thursday 5th January 2023.
The Trust has regretfully accepted the resignation of Gordon Read who has retired on the grounds of age and health. Gordon was a founder member of the Trust, having served on the informal group which campaigned to save the Graveyard. As well as serving on the Trust he has been prominent in the practical work of restoration and continuing maintenance. Gordon, who lives in St Leonards, served as Volunteer Co-ordinator for a number of years. His contributions to the work of the EDGT will be greatly missed and we are extremely grateful for his wise counsel and enthusiastic involvement.
Photograph - Gordon Read (right) with Paul Greaves from Devon Live in 2018.
Added to the Newsfeed Thursday 5th January 2023.
Updated biography of Reverend Micaiah Towgood now available
Micaiah Towgood spent the last 32 years of his working life as a pastor at James's Meeting (1750-1760) and George's Meeting (1760-1782). He was an influential preacher who transitioned from orthodox Trinitarian ("Father, Son and Holy Ghost") beliefs to Unitarianism. Several of his sermons were published and in his early Exeter days he corresponded with John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.
A biography of Revd Micaiah Towgood (whose portrait was painted by John Opie in 1782 - see right) was prepared for EDGT by Sue Moss, a member of our Research Group, in 2014. Recently, the biography has been updated and extended by Anne Amosford, new Chair of the Research Group, and her work can be accessed here. Several members of the Towgood family including his wife Mary (d.1751), and daughters Mary (d.1771) and Sussana (d.1805) were also buried in the graveyard together with Revd Stephen Towgood (d.1777) - a first cousin of Micaiah's and co-pastor at James's Meeting and later at George's Meeting.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 20th November 2022. Image of Micaiah Towgood courtesy of RAMM, Exeter.
Micaiah Towgood spent the last 32 years of his working life as a pastor at James's Meeting (1750-1760) and George's Meeting (1760-1782). He was an influential preacher who transitioned from orthodox Trinitarian ("Father, Son and Holy Ghost") beliefs to Unitarianism. Several of his sermons were published and in his early Exeter days he corresponded with John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.
A biography of Revd Micaiah Towgood (whose portrait was painted by John Opie in 1782 - see right) was prepared for EDGT by Sue Moss, a member of our Research Group, in 2014. Recently, the biography has been updated and extended by Anne Amosford, new Chair of the Research Group, and her work can be accessed here. Several members of the Towgood family including his wife Mary (d.1751), and daughters Mary (d.1771) and Sussana (d.1805) were also buried in the graveyard together with Revd Stephen Towgood (d.1777) - a first cousin of Micaiah's and co-pastor at James's Meeting and later at George's Meeting.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 20th November 2022. Image of Micaiah Towgood courtesy of RAMM, Exeter.
Research Group News
The research Group was set up in 2014 to uncover the history of the graveyard and the people buried within its walls. The Group has done a huge amount of work and over 110 biographies have been written (see Social History). Initially, the group's work was co-ordinated by Beryl Coe - the descendant of a family who were buried in the graveyard - until her untimely death in 2015. Since then the group of nine active researchers has been led by Yvonne Hensman (2015-2019) and Tessa Varndell (2019-2022). At the latest meeting of the group on 19th October, the chair was handed over to Anne Amosford, a semi-retired textile conservator and mixed media artist, who has been researching the graveyard for many years. The group is always looking for people who would like to get involved with researching Exeter's protestant dissenters, so feel free to contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk if you'd like more information about our work.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 22nd October 2022.
The research Group was set up in 2014 to uncover the history of the graveyard and the people buried within its walls. The Group has done a huge amount of work and over 110 biographies have been written (see Social History). Initially, the group's work was co-ordinated by Beryl Coe - the descendant of a family who were buried in the graveyard - until her untimely death in 2015. Since then the group of nine active researchers has been led by Yvonne Hensman (2015-2019) and Tessa Varndell (2019-2022). At the latest meeting of the group on 19th October, the chair was handed over to Anne Amosford, a semi-retired textile conservator and mixed media artist, who has been researching the graveyard for many years. The group is always looking for people who would like to get involved with researching Exeter's protestant dissenters, so feel free to contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk if you'd like more information about our work.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 22nd October 2022.
EDGT volunteer Cathy Moran at the exhibition.
An Evening of Dissent
A big Thank You to everyone who participated in Friday's fund-raising event - An Evening of Dissent. The decision to proceed, following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, was taken on the morning of the event. The trustees send their sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this sad time.
Guests were welcomed by Sir Nathaniel Cosserat (Ben Clapp) and treated to a range of delicious nibbles created by Sally Dyer from recipes dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. Richard Parker and friends sang various songs including some hymns in the Undercroft of St Nicholas' Priory. Laura Jones then spoke to the assembly as Jane Kingdon, the mother of 'Iron Sam' - successful iron-founder and the first dissenter to be Mayor of Exeter. Short first-person biographies of Philip Gove (Ian Varndell), Georgiana Beckwith Gilchrist (Yvonne Hensman), John Milford (Nigel FitzHugh) and various members of the Katencamp and Merivale families (Rachel Knowles) were followed in the Great Chamber by a lecture from Emeritus Professor Norman Vance. Professor Vance gave an informed and amusing talk, "Right but Repulsive: Dissidence and Learning in English Dissent" in which he discussed the role of Dissenting Academies in the 18th and 19th centuries. An exhibition on the history of dissent in Exeter and the origins of the Dissenters' graveyard including some artefacts discovered during the conservation work complemented the presentations. Finally, thanks to Katharine and Paul Chant, members of the Exeter Historic Buildings Trust and St Nicholas' Priory for their help in compiling an interesting programme.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 11th September 2022.
A big Thank You to everyone who participated in Friday's fund-raising event - An Evening of Dissent. The decision to proceed, following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, was taken on the morning of the event. The trustees send their sincere condolences to the Royal Family at this sad time.
Guests were welcomed by Sir Nathaniel Cosserat (Ben Clapp) and treated to a range of delicious nibbles created by Sally Dyer from recipes dating to the 18th and 19th centuries. Richard Parker and friends sang various songs including some hymns in the Undercroft of St Nicholas' Priory. Laura Jones then spoke to the assembly as Jane Kingdon, the mother of 'Iron Sam' - successful iron-founder and the first dissenter to be Mayor of Exeter. Short first-person biographies of Philip Gove (Ian Varndell), Georgiana Beckwith Gilchrist (Yvonne Hensman), John Milford (Nigel FitzHugh) and various members of the Katencamp and Merivale families (Rachel Knowles) were followed in the Great Chamber by a lecture from Emeritus Professor Norman Vance. Professor Vance gave an informed and amusing talk, "Right but Repulsive: Dissidence and Learning in English Dissent" in which he discussed the role of Dissenting Academies in the 18th and 19th centuries. An exhibition on the history of dissent in Exeter and the origins of the Dissenters' graveyard including some artefacts discovered during the conservation work complemented the presentations. Finally, thanks to Katharine and Paul Chant, members of the Exeter Historic Buildings Trust and St Nicholas' Priory for their help in compiling an interesting programme.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 11th September 2022.
Biography of Reverend James Manning and family now available
The Reverend James Manning was pastor of the congregation at George's Meeting House (now a J.D. Wetherspoons pub) in South Street Exeter for 53 years until his death in 1831. There is a memorial to his exceptional service to the Unitarian ministry still viewable in the pub. One of our lead researchers - Yvonne Hensman - has now completed a biography of James and his family and it can be viewed here.
Some of the other religious figures known to have been buried in the Dissenters' graveyard and for whom biographies have been prepared include John Hogg, Joseph Bretland, Micaijah Towgood and Abraham Tozer. All the biographies are available in Social History on this website.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 11th September 2022.
The Reverend James Manning was pastor of the congregation at George's Meeting House (now a J.D. Wetherspoons pub) in South Street Exeter for 53 years until his death in 1831. There is a memorial to his exceptional service to the Unitarian ministry still viewable in the pub. One of our lead researchers - Yvonne Hensman - has now completed a biography of James and his family and it can be viewed here.
Some of the other religious figures known to have been buried in the Dissenters' graveyard and for whom biographies have been prepared include John Hogg, Joseph Bretland, Micaijah Towgood and Abraham Tozer. All the biographies are available in Social History on this website.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 11th September 2022.
New pull-up banners
Two new banners have been produced for use at events and exhibitions. Designed by Delphine Jones at Topics graphic design in Exeter and printed by Ashley House, the banners depict some of the people known to have been buried in the graveyard including John Milford and Sarah Barham, as well as images of some memorial stones and artefacts uncovered during the conservation work. The banners will be used for the first time at the Evening of Dissent on 9th September.
Added to the Newsfeed Wednesday 7th September 2022.
Two new banners have been produced for use at events and exhibitions. Designed by Delphine Jones at Topics graphic design in Exeter and printed by Ashley House, the banners depict some of the people known to have been buried in the graveyard including John Milford and Sarah Barham, as well as images of some memorial stones and artefacts uncovered during the conservation work. The banners will be used for the first time at the Evening of Dissent on 9th September.
Added to the Newsfeed Wednesday 7th September 2022.
New logo for St Leonards Neighbourhood Association
A smart new logo has been designed for the St Leonards Neighbourhood Association (SLNA) - one of the original supporters of the graveyard restoration project back in 2014. The Dissenters' graveyard lies in the Exeter parish of Holy Trinity, but many of those buried there resided in the neighbouring parish of St Leonards (see biographies for the Withers, Hogg, Mackintosh and Pope families). EDGT trustees are extremely grateful to the SLNA for financial support and for publishing a number of articles in their Association newsletter. Several St Leonards' residents have also been represented on the board of trustees since our inception.
Added to the Newsfeed Wednesday 27th July 2022.
A smart new logo has been designed for the St Leonards Neighbourhood Association (SLNA) - one of the original supporters of the graveyard restoration project back in 2014. The Dissenters' graveyard lies in the Exeter parish of Holy Trinity, but many of those buried there resided in the neighbouring parish of St Leonards (see biographies for the Withers, Hogg, Mackintosh and Pope families). EDGT trustees are extremely grateful to the SLNA for financial support and for publishing a number of articles in their Association newsletter. Several St Leonards' residents have also been represented on the board of trustees since our inception.
Added to the Newsfeed Wednesday 27th July 2022.
Professor Norman Vance
An Evening of Dissent!
Friday 9th September 2022 | St Nicholas Priory, Exeter | 6 - 8p.m.
A special fund-raising event for EDGT and the Exeter Historic Buildings Trust (EHBT) will take place on Friday 9th September 2022.
The venue will be St Nicholas Priory in the centre of Exeter.
Set at the time of the last wealthy merchant owner of the post reformation St Nicholas Priory, Nathaniel Elias Cosserat
(d.1796) and household will welcome guests to a reception. This evening of entertainment (with a serious core – Dissenters and Education) will start with fine nibbles and drink of the period - during which there will be singing and in character readings/snippets of local dissenters ending with a letter and then at 7pm we are delighted to welcome
Professor Norman Vance, a distinguished academic who is researching Dissenting Academies and who will give
a talk entitled 'Right but Repulsive? Dissidence and Learning in English Dissent.'
Tickets cost £20 and booking will open on 10th July 2022.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 3rd July 2022.
Friday 9th September 2022 | St Nicholas Priory, Exeter | 6 - 8p.m.
A special fund-raising event for EDGT and the Exeter Historic Buildings Trust (EHBT) will take place on Friday 9th September 2022.
The venue will be St Nicholas Priory in the centre of Exeter.
Set at the time of the last wealthy merchant owner of the post reformation St Nicholas Priory, Nathaniel Elias Cosserat
(d.1796) and household will welcome guests to a reception. This evening of entertainment (with a serious core – Dissenters and Education) will start with fine nibbles and drink of the period - during which there will be singing and in character readings/snippets of local dissenters ending with a letter and then at 7pm we are delighted to welcome
Professor Norman Vance, a distinguished academic who is researching Dissenting Academies and who will give
a talk entitled 'Right but Repulsive? Dissidence and Learning in English Dissent.'
Tickets cost £20 and booking will open on 10th July 2022.
Added to the Newsfeed Sunday 3rd July 2022.
No Mow May
No Mow May is a national campaign to encourage people not to mow their lawns (and graveyards) until the end of May in order to boost the flowers, and nectar, available to pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies and moths. Whilst the Dissenters' graveyard is only a small site it offers a valuable green space in an urban environment and attracts a wide range of pollinators.
Added to the Newsfeed Monday 6th June 2022. Photographs courtesy of Nigel FitzHugh.
No Mow May is a national campaign to encourage people not to mow their lawns (and graveyards) until the end of May in order to boost the flowers, and nectar, available to pollinating insects such as bees, butterflies and moths. Whilst the Dissenters' graveyard is only a small site it offers a valuable green space in an urban environment and attracts a wide range of pollinators.
Added to the Newsfeed Monday 6th June 2022. Photographs courtesy of Nigel FitzHugh.
Graveyard lives as inspiration for art
Anne Amosford, one of EDGT’s research team and Prism member, is exhibiting two works at The Arts Pavilion in Mile End, London as part of ‘UNTOLD’. Prism is an international exhibiting group working to dispel common preconceptions surrounding textiles. They embrace both contemporary textiles and the rich tradition of cloth and stitch. The group holds an annual exhibition showcasing the work of its members through selected curation. The exhibition runs until 18th April 2022.
Anne’s ongoing research for the Dissenter’s graveyard continues to spark her imagination as an artist. The lives of those who lived and died over two hundred years ago give rise to fascinating stories. Many remain to be told. Considering the lives of some of those interred in the graveyard, ‘Saints Rest 1’ and ‘Saints Rest 2’ are essentially memento mori based on detachable pockets and hair work jewellery popular at the time.
More of Anne's work can be found here. Added to the Newsfeed Monday 11th April 2022.
Anne Amosford, one of EDGT’s research team and Prism member, is exhibiting two works at The Arts Pavilion in Mile End, London as part of ‘UNTOLD’. Prism is an international exhibiting group working to dispel common preconceptions surrounding textiles. They embrace both contemporary textiles and the rich tradition of cloth and stitch. The group holds an annual exhibition showcasing the work of its members through selected curation. The exhibition runs until 18th April 2022.
Anne’s ongoing research for the Dissenter’s graveyard continues to spark her imagination as an artist. The lives of those who lived and died over two hundred years ago give rise to fascinating stories. Many remain to be told. Considering the lives of some of those interred in the graveyard, ‘Saints Rest 1’ and ‘Saints Rest 2’ are essentially memento mori based on detachable pockets and hair work jewellery popular at the time.
More of Anne's work can be found here. Added to the Newsfeed Monday 11th April 2022.
Photograph copyright Jonathan Dredge.
Mrs Hannah Tremlett and her links to Dartmouth and Exeter
The graveyard's burial record shows that a Mrs Hannah Tremlett was buried on 20th September 1803. She became the subject of a research project that uncovered aspects of her life. She was one of the grand-daughters of Thomas Newcomen, a Dartmouth-based pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. Her father, also Thomas, became a cloth manufacturer in Taunton and he served as a feoffee of Gray's Almshouses in the town. Hannah married for the first time in 1776 aged 44 years. Her husband, Arthur Holdsworth, was then Governor of Dartmouth Castle and was a very influential member of the community. He died the following year leaving Hannah some considerable wealth. Later, she married Anthony Tremlett, a successful Exeter merchant. Her story has recently been published in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association and is available to download here.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 22nd January 2022.
The graveyard's burial record shows that a Mrs Hannah Tremlett was buried on 20th September 1803. She became the subject of a research project that uncovered aspects of her life. She was one of the grand-daughters of Thomas Newcomen, a Dartmouth-based pioneer of the Industrial Revolution. Her father, also Thomas, became a cloth manufacturer in Taunton and he served as a feoffee of Gray's Almshouses in the town. Hannah married for the first time in 1776 aged 44 years. Her husband, Arthur Holdsworth, was then Governor of Dartmouth Castle and was a very influential member of the community. He died the following year leaving Hannah some considerable wealth. Later, she married Anthony Tremlett, a successful Exeter merchant. Her story has recently been published in the Transactions of the Devonshire Association and is available to download here.
Added to the Newsfeed Saturday 22nd January 2022.
Volunteers' Socially-distanced Christmas get-together!
Quiches, mince pies, ginger cake and mulled wine weighed down a table in the graveyard on a wet and windy 1st December. Several of our wonderful volunteers wrapped up warm and enjoyed the food, wine and company - for the first time in many months. It is through their dedication that the graveyard is so well maintained and the people buried there researched and remembered. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
Added to the Newsfeed Wednesday 1st December 2021.
Quiches, mince pies, ginger cake and mulled wine weighed down a table in the graveyard on a wet and windy 1st December. Several of our wonderful volunteers wrapped up warm and enjoyed the food, wine and company - for the first time in many months. It is through their dedication that the graveyard is so well maintained and the people buried there researched and remembered. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
Added to the Newsfeed Wednesday 1st December 2021.
Walking with Cameras - a graveyard photoshoot
In late October 2021 a group of amateur photographers visited the graveyard and spent a few hours capturing images of the memorial stones, natural features and other elements of the historic landscape. The Photo-walk, entitled 'Chasing the Light and Walking with Cameras' was facilitated by Meridian Raw CIC and led by Clive Chilvers. Some of the wonderfully atmospheric photographs of the graveyard and neighbouring buildings can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Friday 12th November 2021.
In late October 2021 a group of amateur photographers visited the graveyard and spent a few hours capturing images of the memorial stones, natural features and other elements of the historic landscape. The Photo-walk, entitled 'Chasing the Light and Walking with Cameras' was facilitated by Meridian Raw CIC and led by Clive Chilvers. Some of the wonderfully atmospheric photographs of the graveyard and neighbouring buildings can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Friday 12th November 2021.
Heritage Open Weekend - 18-19 September 2021
We are looking forward to welcoming friends old and new to the graveyard on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th September as part of the Heritage Open Weekend programme. Gates will be open from 11a.m. to 4p.m. and there will be stewards on hand to answer questions about the graveyard and the people who were buried and are commemorated there. Visitors will be able to scan QR codes to access information about some of the individuals and families we have researched.
We are delighted to announce that the West Gallery Quire will be performing in the graveyard on Saturday 18th September from 3 to 4p.m. They performed in the graveyard in 2017 (see left) and are back by popular request. Please come along and listen to their wonderful music (see West Gallery Music below).
West Gallery Music. Due to absentee clergy between c.1700 and 1850 the conduct of worship in country churches was often left to the Parish Clerk and his quire of singers and instrumentalists, who were usually located in a gallery at the west end of the church. Violin, clarinet, flute, cello, bassoon and serpent were the most commonly used instruments to accompany the singers. These same musicians would also be available to play for afternoon or evening devotions of Dissenters and Nonconformists, as well as for village dances, marriage ceremonies, harvest feasts and private parties.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 9th September 2021.
We are looking forward to welcoming friends old and new to the graveyard on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th September as part of the Heritage Open Weekend programme. Gates will be open from 11a.m. to 4p.m. and there will be stewards on hand to answer questions about the graveyard and the people who were buried and are commemorated there. Visitors will be able to scan QR codes to access information about some of the individuals and families we have researched.
We are delighted to announce that the West Gallery Quire will be performing in the graveyard on Saturday 18th September from 3 to 4p.m. They performed in the graveyard in 2017 (see left) and are back by popular request. Please come along and listen to their wonderful music (see West Gallery Music below).
West Gallery Music. Due to absentee clergy between c.1700 and 1850 the conduct of worship in country churches was often left to the Parish Clerk and his quire of singers and instrumentalists, who were usually located in a gallery at the west end of the church. Violin, clarinet, flute, cello, bassoon and serpent were the most commonly used instruments to accompany the singers. These same musicians would also be available to play for afternoon or evening devotions of Dissenters and Nonconformists, as well as for village dances, marriage ceremonies, harvest feasts and private parties.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 9th September 2021.
Using recycled plastic to stabilise stone fragments
Several of the memorial stones in the graveyard are in a fragmented state and their condition was creating a great deal of concern. Some of those stones originally stood vertically - as headstones, but for many years they have lain flat on the soil surface or, since our work began in 2014, on drainage plinths. The stone - usually limestone - is porous and any natural cracks become weakened by Winter freezing and soil heave. We have started to reposition some of the fragmented stones on frames made from plastic joists (PlasWood). These joists are formed from recycled plastic sheeting and are durable, sustainable and unlike wood will not absorb water and rot away. Simple rectangular frames were installed and back-filled with recovered bricks and coarse sand. Some of the smaller stone fragments have been glued together using a specialist stone resin to minimise water ingress. The example shown below is memorial 79 - a Portland limestone headstone commemorating two infant children of George and Mary Ann Cranford. Sadly, the children Harriet and Mary both died in January 1814.
More memorials will be stabilised in the coming months. Thanks to the National Heritage Lottery Fund for funding to enable this work to be carried out.
Added to the News Feed Friday 20th August 2021.
Several of the memorial stones in the graveyard are in a fragmented state and their condition was creating a great deal of concern. Some of those stones originally stood vertically - as headstones, but for many years they have lain flat on the soil surface or, since our work began in 2014, on drainage plinths. The stone - usually limestone - is porous and any natural cracks become weakened by Winter freezing and soil heave. We have started to reposition some of the fragmented stones on frames made from plastic joists (PlasWood). These joists are formed from recycled plastic sheeting and are durable, sustainable and unlike wood will not absorb water and rot away. Simple rectangular frames were installed and back-filled with recovered bricks and coarse sand. Some of the smaller stone fragments have been glued together using a specialist stone resin to minimise water ingress. The example shown below is memorial 79 - a Portland limestone headstone commemorating two infant children of George and Mary Ann Cranford. Sadly, the children Harriet and Mary both died in January 1814.
More memorials will be stabilised in the coming months. Thanks to the National Heritage Lottery Fund for funding to enable this work to be carried out.
Added to the News Feed Friday 20th August 2021.
Book about Gulliford Burial Ground
Gulliford Burial Ground is located in Meeting Lane at the boundary of Lympstone and Woodbury parishes in east Devon just off the main Exeter to Exmouth road. It was in a dilapidated condition until 2018 when a Friends Group - the Friends of Gulliford Burial Ground (www.fogbg.org.uk) - was formed with the intention of improving the site and learning more about the people buried there. The transformation has been remarkable and the Friends have now produced a book, "Gulliford: A burial ground of stories" which is available from Amazon.
There are many links between the Presbyterian and Unitarian families buried at Gulliford and in Exeter and several examples are mentioned in the book.
Both burial grounds will be open during the Heritage Open weekends in September and details will appear here shortly.
Added to the News Feed Monday 16th August 2021.
Gulliford Burial Ground is located in Meeting Lane at the boundary of Lympstone and Woodbury parishes in east Devon just off the main Exeter to Exmouth road. It was in a dilapidated condition until 2018 when a Friends Group - the Friends of Gulliford Burial Ground (www.fogbg.org.uk) - was formed with the intention of improving the site and learning more about the people buried there. The transformation has been remarkable and the Friends have now produced a book, "Gulliford: A burial ground of stories" which is available from Amazon.
There are many links between the Presbyterian and Unitarian families buried at Gulliford and in Exeter and several examples are mentioned in the book.
Both burial grounds will be open during the Heritage Open weekends in September and details will appear here shortly.
Added to the News Feed Monday 16th August 2021.
New information plaques ready to be installed
As part of the grant received from the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) we have been busy updating biographies and creating engraved plaques using QR codes. These codes enable us to place permanent markers in the graveyard which link to pages on our website. The nice thing is that the cameras in most modern phones have in-built QR code readers meaning that visitors can get up-to-the-minute information when they are standing in the graveyard. The information plaques have been engraved by Marcus Brown at FabLab in Exeter with input from one of our trustees, Nigel FitzHugh, and mounted on bespoke stakes fabricated by Simon Hall at Branscombe Forge. We hope to install around 50 plaques in the graveyard during 2021. Point the camera of your smart phone at the images below to lead to examples of the information available.
Added to the News Feed Saturday 6th March 2021.
As part of the grant received from the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) we have been busy updating biographies and creating engraved plaques using QR codes. These codes enable us to place permanent markers in the graveyard which link to pages on our website. The nice thing is that the cameras in most modern phones have in-built QR code readers meaning that visitors can get up-to-the-minute information when they are standing in the graveyard. The information plaques have been engraved by Marcus Brown at FabLab in Exeter with input from one of our trustees, Nigel FitzHugh, and mounted on bespoke stakes fabricated by Simon Hall at Branscombe Forge. We hope to install around 50 plaques in the graveyard during 2021. Point the camera of your smart phone at the images below to lead to examples of the information available.
Added to the News Feed Saturday 6th March 2021.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome all bees....
The third national lockdown might have closed a lot of hospitality venues, but we are pleased to announce that flying insects are more than welcome to visit the graveyard and try out the new Dissenters' Bee Hotel. Crafted by trustee Nigel FitzHugh, the hotel has been modelled on similar B&B's available on the RSPB's website (click here). We'll be watching out for solitary bees taking up residence. Nigel's next project will be a low level bug habitat constructed from logs, bricks and pallets. We're doing our bit inspired by Devon Wildlife Trust's Exeter Wild City programme.
Added to the News Feed Friday 8th January 2021.
The third national lockdown might have closed a lot of hospitality venues, but we are pleased to announce that flying insects are more than welcome to visit the graveyard and try out the new Dissenters' Bee Hotel. Crafted by trustee Nigel FitzHugh, the hotel has been modelled on similar B&B's available on the RSPB's website (click here). We'll be watching out for solitary bees taking up residence. Nigel's next project will be a low level bug habitat constructed from logs, bricks and pallets. We're doing our bit inspired by Devon Wildlife Trust's Exeter Wild City programme.
Added to the News Feed Friday 8th January 2021.
Zoom talk about Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard
As we enter the second national lockdown many organisations are planning to offer talks using the videoconferencing app Zoom. This is simple to use and you don't even need a computer or tablet to participate - you can watch talks on a smartphone or even just listen to the speaker on a landline. Former chairman of the Devon Gardens Trust and current Treasurer of EDGT, Dr Ian Varndell, is giving a talk via Zoom on Tuesday 1st December 2020 entitled, "A memorial landscape: Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard" .
Added to the News Feed Friday 6th November 2020.
Postscript 14th December 2020. A video recording of the talk is available here.
As we enter the second national lockdown many organisations are planning to offer talks using the videoconferencing app Zoom. This is simple to use and you don't even need a computer or tablet to participate - you can watch talks on a smartphone or even just listen to the speaker on a landline. Former chairman of the Devon Gardens Trust and current Treasurer of EDGT, Dr Ian Varndell, is giving a talk via Zoom on Tuesday 1st December 2020 entitled, "A memorial landscape: Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard" .
Added to the News Feed Friday 6th November 2020.
Postscript 14th December 2020. A video recording of the talk is available here.
Portrait by Antoine Toussaint de Chazal, painted in Mauritius in 1806–07
A link between Exeter's Dissenters' Graveyard and Captain Matthew Flinders
For those of us who watched with a mixture and envy "Britain's Biggest Dig" on BBCTwo (episode 1 of 4 was aired on 15th September at 9.00p.m.) we can offer at least one link between a burial in the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard with a celebrity burial in St James's London. The programmes follow major-scale archaeological digs conducted at points along the proposed route of the HS2 rail link. Hosted by Professor Alice Roberts and Dr Yasmin Khan, the project began, "by digging deeper into the fortunes of rich and poor in Georgian London through the excavations at St James’s burial ground next to Euston station that will make way for the new HS2 terminus. They are on the hunt for the lost explorer who extended Britain’s empire across the globe." That explorer was Captain Matthew Flinders - the first man to lead an expedition to circumnavigate the continent of Australia and, with George Bass, the first to show that Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) is an island. The discovery of his grave in St James's burial ground was announced in January 2019 and will be shown in an upcoming episode of the programme.
EDG researcher, Anne Amosford, wrote, "Catherine Hippius, née Mallison, an aunt by marriage to Captain Matthew Flinders is buried in the Dissenters graveyard. Flinders named Mallison Island in Australia after members of his family. As a prisoner of the French on the Isle de France (Mauritius) from 1803 to 1810, Matthew wrote many letters to his wife Ann, in one he mentioned Catherine’s husband, Jacob Godfey Hippius, a merchant, asking if Mr Hippius would be able to help in forwarding her letters to him." Catherine died whilst visiting Exeter in 1821 and a biography of her can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Friday 18th September 2020.
For those of us who watched with a mixture and envy "Britain's Biggest Dig" on BBCTwo (episode 1 of 4 was aired on 15th September at 9.00p.m.) we can offer at least one link between a burial in the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard with a celebrity burial in St James's London. The programmes follow major-scale archaeological digs conducted at points along the proposed route of the HS2 rail link. Hosted by Professor Alice Roberts and Dr Yasmin Khan, the project began, "by digging deeper into the fortunes of rich and poor in Georgian London through the excavations at St James’s burial ground next to Euston station that will make way for the new HS2 terminus. They are on the hunt for the lost explorer who extended Britain’s empire across the globe." That explorer was Captain Matthew Flinders - the first man to lead an expedition to circumnavigate the continent of Australia and, with George Bass, the first to show that Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) is an island. The discovery of his grave in St James's burial ground was announced in January 2019 and will be shown in an upcoming episode of the programme.
EDG researcher, Anne Amosford, wrote, "Catherine Hippius, née Mallison, an aunt by marriage to Captain Matthew Flinders is buried in the Dissenters graveyard. Flinders named Mallison Island in Australia after members of his family. As a prisoner of the French on the Isle de France (Mauritius) from 1803 to 1810, Matthew wrote many letters to his wife Ann, in one he mentioned Catherine’s husband, Jacob Godfey Hippius, a merchant, asking if Mr Hippius would be able to help in forwarding her letters to him." Catherine died whilst visiting Exeter in 1821 and a biography of her can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Friday 18th September 2020.
Heritage Open Weekends 2020 NEWS UPDATE
The recent increase in coronavirus infection rate coupled with the UK Government's impending legislation on gatherings in groups of no more than six individuals has prompted the trustees to consider whether the graveyard should be opened during the Heritage Open Weekends in September. It has been decided that the graveyard will open on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September between the hours of 11a.m. and 4p.m. The usual displays of research data and information boards will not be available. For most of the time only one Steward will be available at the site and it might not be possible to answer all questions about the history of the graveyard and those buried therein. We are trialling the use of QR codes in the graveyard and some memorial stones will have temporary laminated signs close to them. Visitors with smart phones will be able to scan the codes and access detailed information from the biographies held in our database. It is our intention to create and install permanent engraved signs in the graveyard, so this will be a good test of their utility.
THE GRAVEYARD WILL NOT BE OPEN OVER THE SECOND HERITAGE WEEKEND - 19th/20th SEPTEMBER.
We apologise for the reduced experience this year that has been enforced by the pandemic, but the health, safety and biosecurity of our volunteers and visitors is of paramount importance. Stay safe.
Added to the News Feed Friday 11th September 2020.
The recent increase in coronavirus infection rate coupled with the UK Government's impending legislation on gatherings in groups of no more than six individuals has prompted the trustees to consider whether the graveyard should be opened during the Heritage Open Weekends in September. It has been decided that the graveyard will open on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September between the hours of 11a.m. and 4p.m. The usual displays of research data and information boards will not be available. For most of the time only one Steward will be available at the site and it might not be possible to answer all questions about the history of the graveyard and those buried therein. We are trialling the use of QR codes in the graveyard and some memorial stones will have temporary laminated signs close to them. Visitors with smart phones will be able to scan the codes and access detailed information from the biographies held in our database. It is our intention to create and install permanent engraved signs in the graveyard, so this will be a good test of their utility.
THE GRAVEYARD WILL NOT BE OPEN OVER THE SECOND HERITAGE WEEKEND - 19th/20th SEPTEMBER.
We apologise for the reduced experience this year that has been enforced by the pandemic, but the health, safety and biosecurity of our volunteers and visitors is of paramount importance. Stay safe.
Added to the News Feed Friday 11th September 2020.
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Cranes and big bags of gravel
The easiest way to get 3.5 tonnes of gravel into the graveyard is to crane it over the wall. Our project to repair the pathway will require about 3 tonnes of self-binding gravel and the remainder will be used to improve the drainage under some of the damaged ledger stones (the large engraved memorial stones lying directly on the surface of the ground). Added to the News Feed Saturday 15th August 2020. |
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The path is relaid
Under glowering skies on Thursday 20th August six volunteers (the maximum number of people from different households who can meet outside under Covid-19 guidance) met onsite to spread the gravel. After a couple of hours the work was done - the surface will be rolled in a few days' time. Thanks to everyone who took part. Added to the News Feed Saturday 22nd August 2020. |
National Heritage Lottery Funds awards EDGT emergency grant
We are extremely grateful to the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) for a grant of £3,300 from their COVID-19 Emergency Fund to enable us to carry out repairs and key maintenance projects. During lockdown the graveyard was not allowed to open and we were not able to collect donations which form an important part of our annual income. The award is to cover the costs of conservation work on artefacts recovered from the site, to relay the surface of the path and to continue our programme of repairing and stabilising some of the damaged ledger stones. Work will commence shortly.
Added to News Feed Monday 20th July 2020.
We are extremely grateful to the National Heritage Lottery Fund (NHLF) for a grant of £3,300 from their COVID-19 Emergency Fund to enable us to carry out repairs and key maintenance projects. During lockdown the graveyard was not allowed to open and we were not able to collect donations which form an important part of our annual income. The award is to cover the costs of conservation work on artefacts recovered from the site, to relay the surface of the path and to continue our programme of repairing and stabilising some of the damaged ledger stones. Work will commence shortly.
Added to News Feed Monday 20th July 2020.
Graveyard re-opens its gates
The Trustees have agreed to re-open the graveyard gates between the hours of 10a.m. and 4p.m. on the following dates:
Saturday 25th July | Wednesday 12th August | Saturday 29th August | Wednesday 9th September | Saturday 26th September | Wednesday 14th October and Saturday 31st October 2020. We are also hoping to open over the weekends of 12th/13th and 19th/20th September, but details will be released nearer those dates. We hope that you will come along and visit the graveyard, but please remember to keep to the Government's social distancing guidelines.
Added to the News Feed Wednesday 8th July 2020.
The Trustees have agreed to re-open the graveyard gates between the hours of 10a.m. and 4p.m. on the following dates:
Saturday 25th July | Wednesday 12th August | Saturday 29th August | Wednesday 9th September | Saturday 26th September | Wednesday 14th October and Saturday 31st October 2020. We are also hoping to open over the weekends of 12th/13th and 19th/20th September, but details will be released nearer those dates. We hope that you will come along and visit the graveyard, but please remember to keep to the Government's social distancing guidelines.
Added to the News Feed Wednesday 8th July 2020.
Devon and Cornwall Record Society Facebook page published graveyard article
Throughout June and July 2020 the Devon & Cornwall Record Society has been publishing blogs written by historians, archivists, heritage volunteers, librarians, curators and writers on their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Devonandcornwallrecordsociety. An article on the graveyard was written by Ian Varndell (14th June). The items so far published are interesting and in many cases personal insights on how the global pandemic has influenced their views about heritage and history. Don't forget to "like" the posts!
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 30th June 2020.
Throughout June and July 2020 the Devon & Cornwall Record Society has been publishing blogs written by historians, archivists, heritage volunteers, librarians, curators and writers on their Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/Devonandcornwallrecordsociety. An article on the graveyard was written by Ian Varndell (14th June). The items so far published are interesting and in many cases personal insights on how the global pandemic has influenced their views about heritage and history. Don't forget to "like" the posts!
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 30th June 2020.
Article about the history of the graveyard published by the Devon Gardens Trust
The Devon Gardens Trust (DGT) has been a strong supporter of the conservation work carried out by the volunteers of the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard Trust, and has provided £3000 in grants since 2014 for which we are hugely grateful. In the most recent issue of the DGT Journal, there is an article on the history of the graveyard written by Ian Varndell who, in addition to his role as EDGT's Treasurer, chaired the DGT for four years (2012-16). If you'd like to receive a copy of the article please contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk.
Added to the News Feed Friday 29th May 2020.
The Devon Gardens Trust (DGT) has been a strong supporter of the conservation work carried out by the volunteers of the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard Trust, and has provided £3000 in grants since 2014 for which we are hugely grateful. In the most recent issue of the DGT Journal, there is an article on the history of the graveyard written by Ian Varndell who, in addition to his role as EDGT's Treasurer, chaired the DGT for four years (2012-16). If you'd like to receive a copy of the article please contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk.
Added to the News Feed Friday 29th May 2020.
New lower price for the Dissenter's Graveyard booklet!
During this time of social isolation, many of us are seeking out new reading material and now there is a chance to obtain the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard booklet at a special discounted price of £2.50 (plus £1.40 p&p) whilst stocks last. All the proceeds from booklet sales go towards the conservation work in the graveyard, so you can enjoy a good read safe in the knowledge that you are helping to protect one of Exeter's heritage assets. To buy the booklet please click here.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 7th April 2020.
During this time of social isolation, many of us are seeking out new reading material and now there is a chance to obtain the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard booklet at a special discounted price of £2.50 (plus £1.40 p&p) whilst stocks last. All the proceeds from booklet sales go towards the conservation work in the graveyard, so you can enjoy a good read safe in the knowledge that you are helping to protect one of Exeter's heritage assets. To buy the booklet please click here.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 7th April 2020.
A short video about John and Jane Cranch of Exeter and Kingsbridge
EDGT trustee, Ian Varndell, has recorded a 10-minute video about the life of John Cranch, the "Collector of Objects of Natural History" on an ill-fated expedition to the Congo River in 1816, and his wife Jane. The video touches on their life in Kingsbridge; John's obsession with collecting shells, insects and other organisms; a furious row played out in the pages of a weekly magazine, and John's early death from Yellow Fever. A fuller version was published in the Transactions of The Devonshire Association in December 2019 and can be accessed here. To view the video please click here.
Added to the News Feed Sunday 28th March 2020.
EDGT trustee, Ian Varndell, has recorded a 10-minute video about the life of John Cranch, the "Collector of Objects of Natural History" on an ill-fated expedition to the Congo River in 1816, and his wife Jane. The video touches on their life in Kingsbridge; John's obsession with collecting shells, insects and other organisms; a furious row played out in the pages of a weekly magazine, and John's early death from Yellow Fever. A fuller version was published in the Transactions of The Devonshire Association in December 2019 and can be accessed here. To view the video please click here.
Added to the News Feed Sunday 28th March 2020.
The Graveyard is closed until further notice
We are determined to support the UK Government's guidelines on the COVID-19 pandemic and we take the public's health and well-being very seriously. Accordingly, the Graveyard will remain closed until further notice. As soon as the situation improves and social distancing restrictions are relaxed, we will reconsider our decision. We hope everyone remains safe and we look forward to seeing friends - old and new alike - when the Graveyard re-opens.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 26th March 2020.
We are determined to support the UK Government's guidelines on the COVID-19 pandemic and we take the public's health and well-being very seriously. Accordingly, the Graveyard will remain closed until further notice. As soon as the situation improves and social distancing restrictions are relaxed, we will reconsider our decision. We hope everyone remains safe and we look forward to seeing friends - old and new alike - when the Graveyard re-opens.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 26th March 2020.
We are seeking memories, photographs and anecdotes.....
The next few weeks and months are not going to be fun for most of us, but we'd like to make the most of the time available. As schools closed today and pubs, clubs, gyms and restaurants are instructed to close their doors, we are intending to continue to open the Dissenters' graveyard to those who want to have a look at one of Exeter's historic burial grounds. Few of use can remember previous pandemics, and none of us have experienced the restrictions that are now being applied around the World. For a few moments just imagine what it must have been like in the Summer of 1832 with a cholera epidemic sweeping across Europe. Thomas Shapter, the doctor who chronicled the outbreak in Exeter, wrote, "The inhabitants of Exeter were not exempted from this remarkable and very curious state of feeling; as may be learned from the articles published on this subject by the local papers. At one time, the reality of the disease is asserted, and the greatest fears are expressed and apparently entertained; at another its existence is denied and those who venture to assert such a proposition are stigmatised as credulous, if not actuated by sinister motives." Whether the inhabitants of Exeter started panic-buying is not recorded, but when you could well at breakfast-time and dead by tea-time it must have been a terrifying few weeks. The first case was identified in the evening of 19th July and the last death from cholera recorded on 14th October 1832. In that time 402 people died out of the 1,135 people who contracted the disease.
We'd like to hear from anyone with a memory or story about the following:
If you have an elderly relative living, or who used to live, near Magdalen Street, Exeter, please ask them if they remember anything about the graveyard or the Meeting House.
Finally, please follow the UK Government's Public Health Guidelines and stay safe during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Added to the News Feed Friday 20th March 2020.
The next few weeks and months are not going to be fun for most of us, but we'd like to make the most of the time available. As schools closed today and pubs, clubs, gyms and restaurants are instructed to close their doors, we are intending to continue to open the Dissenters' graveyard to those who want to have a look at one of Exeter's historic burial grounds. Few of use can remember previous pandemics, and none of us have experienced the restrictions that are now being applied around the World. For a few moments just imagine what it must have been like in the Summer of 1832 with a cholera epidemic sweeping across Europe. Thomas Shapter, the doctor who chronicled the outbreak in Exeter, wrote, "The inhabitants of Exeter were not exempted from this remarkable and very curious state of feeling; as may be learned from the articles published on this subject by the local papers. At one time, the reality of the disease is asserted, and the greatest fears are expressed and apparently entertained; at another its existence is denied and those who venture to assert such a proposition are stigmatised as credulous, if not actuated by sinister motives." Whether the inhabitants of Exeter started panic-buying is not recorded, but when you could well at breakfast-time and dead by tea-time it must have been a terrifying few weeks. The first case was identified in the evening of 19th July and the last death from cholera recorded on 14th October 1832. In that time 402 people died out of the 1,135 people who contracted the disease.
We'd like to hear from anyone with a memory or story about the following:
- if you attended George's Meeting in South Street before it closed as a Meeting House
- if you worked in the West of England Eye Infirmary (now the Hotel du Vin) and walked past, or ate your sandwiches in, the graveyard
- if you lived close to the graveyard on Magdalen Street and remember anything about the graveyard itself
- if one of your antecedents was a Dissenter or is known to be buried in the graveyard (or elsewhere in Exeter)
- if you have any photographs of Magdalen Street (any era) - ideally if the graveyard is included in some way
If you have an elderly relative living, or who used to live, near Magdalen Street, Exeter, please ask them if they remember anything about the graveyard or the Meeting House.
Finally, please follow the UK Government's Public Health Guidelines and stay safe during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Added to the News Feed Friday 20th March 2020.
Tribute to Martin Dyer
A plaque commemorating the involvement of Martin Dyer as supervising archaeologist to the graveyard who died in November 2017 has been installed on the south wall. Carved by Ben Jones of Topsham, the stone includes the 'four Ps' that Martin was fond of mentioning - that Place connects People with both the Past and Present - a fitting tribute for a man who was loved and respected by all those who were fortunate enough to know him.
Added to the News Feed Sunday 29th December 2019.
A plaque commemorating the involvement of Martin Dyer as supervising archaeologist to the graveyard who died in November 2017 has been installed on the south wall. Carved by Ben Jones of Topsham, the stone includes the 'four Ps' that Martin was fond of mentioning - that Place connects People with both the Past and Present - a fitting tribute for a man who was loved and respected by all those who were fortunate enough to know him.
Added to the News Feed Sunday 29th December 2019.
John Cranch - Collector of Objects of Natural History
John Cranch was born in Exeter in 1785 and died in Africa in 1816, probably of Yellow Fever, whilst participating in a "voyage of discovery" supported by Sir Joseph Banks and the British Government. Although he died thousands of miles from his place of birth, John is commemorated on a gravestone in the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard that can be seen to this day. Some aspects of his life as an accomplished amateur natural historian have been published previously, but in volume 151 of the Transactions of The Devonshire Association, Ian Varndell reports the discovery of two letters from his wife which appeared in The Weekly Entertainer in 1811 which suggest that she was none too happy about his obsessive collecting habits. The article can be accessed here.
More details about The Devonshire Association can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Saturday 14th December 2019.
John Cranch was born in Exeter in 1785 and died in Africa in 1816, probably of Yellow Fever, whilst participating in a "voyage of discovery" supported by Sir Joseph Banks and the British Government. Although he died thousands of miles from his place of birth, John is commemorated on a gravestone in the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard that can be seen to this day. Some aspects of his life as an accomplished amateur natural historian have been published previously, but in volume 151 of the Transactions of The Devonshire Association, Ian Varndell reports the discovery of two letters from his wife which appeared in The Weekly Entertainer in 1811 which suggest that she was none too happy about his obsessive collecting habits. The article can be accessed here.
More details about The Devonshire Association can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Saturday 14th December 2019.
Graveyard mentioned in an article in The Devon Historian
The new issue of The Devon Historian, the journal of the Devon History Society, has just been published and contains a paper by the EDGT's Honorary Treasurer Ian Varndell. James Berry was a dissenter who lived in the West Quarter of Exeter at the end of the eighteenth century, and who, together with his parents, was buried in the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard. Berry worked for Emmanuel and Simon Levy who were busy silversmiths and their assay marked wares are still regularly sold by dealers and online auction sites. The paper, 'The life and tragic death of Simon Levy, a silversmith from Georgian Exeter ' describes the career of Simon Levy, from silversmith to itinerant optician, and reports his murder on the island of Jersey in January 1846 using contemporary newspaper accounts. Levy's killer, a hat-maker named Thomas Nicolle, was sentenced to death by Jersey's Grand Jury, but as a result of his attorney's efforts the sentence was commuted to transportation for life and Nicolle ended his days in Tasmania.
More details about the Devon History Society can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 3rd December 2019.
The new issue of The Devon Historian, the journal of the Devon History Society, has just been published and contains a paper by the EDGT's Honorary Treasurer Ian Varndell. James Berry was a dissenter who lived in the West Quarter of Exeter at the end of the eighteenth century, and who, together with his parents, was buried in the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard. Berry worked for Emmanuel and Simon Levy who were busy silversmiths and their assay marked wares are still regularly sold by dealers and online auction sites. The paper, 'The life and tragic death of Simon Levy, a silversmith from Georgian Exeter ' describes the career of Simon Levy, from silversmith to itinerant optician, and reports his murder on the island of Jersey in January 1846 using contemporary newspaper accounts. Levy's killer, a hat-maker named Thomas Nicolle, was sentenced to death by Jersey's Grand Jury, but as a result of his attorney's efforts the sentence was commuted to transportation for life and Nicolle ended his days in Tasmania.
More details about the Devon History Society can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 3rd December 2019.
Saints' Rest: Exeter Dissenters and their Graveyard
EDGT Treasurer, Ian Varndell, is giving a talk at 21 The Mint, Exeter, on Wednesday 27th November about the origins of the graveyard, the history of the graveyard and will provide an insight into the lives of some of the people buried there. Ian is a founder member of the EDGT and co-authored a booklet about the Exeter Dissenters' graveyard that was published in 2018 and is an active member of the Research Group. He has previously spoken to members of the Exeter Forum, the Exeter Civic Society and the Okehampton and District History Society about the graveyard and has conducted several group tours of the graveyard.
Everyone is welcome and tickets are available from https://www.nicholaspriory.com/events/saints-rest/.
Added to News Feed Sunday 24th November 2019.
EDGT Treasurer, Ian Varndell, is giving a talk at 21 The Mint, Exeter, on Wednesday 27th November about the origins of the graveyard, the history of the graveyard and will provide an insight into the lives of some of the people buried there. Ian is a founder member of the EDGT and co-authored a booklet about the Exeter Dissenters' graveyard that was published in 2018 and is an active member of the Research Group. He has previously spoken to members of the Exeter Forum, the Exeter Civic Society and the Okehampton and District History Society about the graveyard and has conducted several group tours of the graveyard.
Everyone is welcome and tickets are available from https://www.nicholaspriory.com/events/saints-rest/.
Added to News Feed Sunday 24th November 2019.
John Herman Merivale's wedding - 1805....Read all about it!
One of the EDGT's trustees, Rachel Knowles, is a descendant of the Merivale family who lived in Exeter in the 18th and 19th centuries. Anna Wilhelmina Merivale (1782-1815) wrote a number of letters to family and friends that have survived and Rachel has transcribed some of them (see Merivale Family). John Herman Merivale was one of Anna Wilhelmina's and she wrote about his wedding to Louisa Drury in July 1805. It is a fascinating insight into life at the start of the nineteenth century and describes in detail, and with humour, their wedding day. Read the letter here.
Added to the News Feed Monday 18th November 2019.
One of the EDGT's trustees, Rachel Knowles, is a descendant of the Merivale family who lived in Exeter in the 18th and 19th centuries. Anna Wilhelmina Merivale (1782-1815) wrote a number of letters to family and friends that have survived and Rachel has transcribed some of them (see Merivale Family). John Herman Merivale was one of Anna Wilhelmina's and she wrote about his wedding to Louisa Drury in July 1805. It is a fascinating insight into life at the start of the nineteenth century and describes in detail, and with humour, their wedding day. Read the letter here.
Added to the News Feed Monday 18th November 2019.
"Down among the dead men"
This was the headline to an article that appeared in the Express & Echo on 28th November 1984, recently uncovered at the Devon Heritage Centre. The article was written for the Echo by Simon Orrell, and reads: "Two young workers renovating Exeter's famous old Dissenters' Burial Ground at Bull Meadow, suddenly found themselves six feet under. As they hacked away at the ground preparing the way for a path, the earth parted, and the startled pair dropped six feet - on to the top of a skeleton. The shocked young men, part of a Manpower Services community programme, had been making a walkway from Magdalen Street through the ancient monument. But today they made no bones about the incident. They said they would merely fill in the grave and continue working. Bemused worker Michael Browning who witnessed the bizarre incident, told the Echo, "They just disappeared through the earth and into the grave. We are finding graves all over the place now." The team is moving gravestones so the area can be tidied up and possibly grassed. The non-conformists' burial ground dates back to 1747. Until recent weeks it had virtually been hidden by brambles and weeds. If funds become available, it is possible park benches will be placed in the ground and a plaque set on a wall giving a short history of the burial ground." The photograph (by Bert Davies) clearly shows two walled vaults, both of which appear to have stone slabs closing them (the shovel held by Michael Browning is resting on one of the slabs). Analysis of the burial records suggest that there might be as many as 45 such vaults built in the graveyard. If anyone who worked on the Manpower Services programme has memories of the graveyard, we'd love to hear from you - enquiries@edgt.org.uk.
Caption: Michael Browning and Andrew Bent with two of the graves that suddenly appeared
in the dissenters' burial ground in Magdalen Street, Exeter.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 3rd October 2019.
This was the headline to an article that appeared in the Express & Echo on 28th November 1984, recently uncovered at the Devon Heritage Centre. The article was written for the Echo by Simon Orrell, and reads: "Two young workers renovating Exeter's famous old Dissenters' Burial Ground at Bull Meadow, suddenly found themselves six feet under. As they hacked away at the ground preparing the way for a path, the earth parted, and the startled pair dropped six feet - on to the top of a skeleton. The shocked young men, part of a Manpower Services community programme, had been making a walkway from Magdalen Street through the ancient monument. But today they made no bones about the incident. They said they would merely fill in the grave and continue working. Bemused worker Michael Browning who witnessed the bizarre incident, told the Echo, "They just disappeared through the earth and into the grave. We are finding graves all over the place now." The team is moving gravestones so the area can be tidied up and possibly grassed. The non-conformists' burial ground dates back to 1747. Until recent weeks it had virtually been hidden by brambles and weeds. If funds become available, it is possible park benches will be placed in the ground and a plaque set on a wall giving a short history of the burial ground." The photograph (by Bert Davies) clearly shows two walled vaults, both of which appear to have stone slabs closing them (the shovel held by Michael Browning is resting on one of the slabs). Analysis of the burial records suggest that there might be as many as 45 such vaults built in the graveyard. If anyone who worked on the Manpower Services programme has memories of the graveyard, we'd love to hear from you - enquiries@edgt.org.uk.
Caption: Michael Browning and Andrew Bent with two of the graves that suddenly appeared
in the dissenters' burial ground in Magdalen Street, Exeter.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 3rd October 2019.
Technology at the Graveyard
We are very grateful to Dr Jacq Christmas (pictured right) from Exeter University who demonstrated Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) to a small group of trustees and visitors during the Sunday opening on 15th September. RTI is a computational photographic method using multi-directional lighting which reveals surface information that is not discernible when viewed normally. We intend to use the technique to enhance the eroded inscriptions on some of the stones. It was beautifully sunny on Sunday which was great for our Heritage Weekend visitors, but less than ideal for carrying out RTI. We chose a stone in the shade of the north-facing wall and took over 100 photographs illuminated by flash from multiple directions. All the captured images were processed by a specialist software package which combines them into one snapshot. The conditions for the trial were not ideal, and the stone chosen for the analysis was highly eroded, but even so it was possible to determine the inscription:
In Memory of
GEORGE BRYANT
Died June 1819
Now that Jacq has shown us how to perform RTI we will refine our skills on some of the stones with clear inscriptions and then progress to more challenging examples. We hope to uncover some previously unrecorded inscriptions. Watch this space!
Added to the News Feed Wednesday 18th September 2019.
We are very grateful to Dr Jacq Christmas (pictured right) from Exeter University who demonstrated Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) to a small group of trustees and visitors during the Sunday opening on 15th September. RTI is a computational photographic method using multi-directional lighting which reveals surface information that is not discernible when viewed normally. We intend to use the technique to enhance the eroded inscriptions on some of the stones. It was beautifully sunny on Sunday which was great for our Heritage Weekend visitors, but less than ideal for carrying out RTI. We chose a stone in the shade of the north-facing wall and took over 100 photographs illuminated by flash from multiple directions. All the captured images were processed by a specialist software package which combines them into one snapshot. The conditions for the trial were not ideal, and the stone chosen for the analysis was highly eroded, but even so it was possible to determine the inscription:
In Memory of
GEORGE BRYANT
Died June 1819
Now that Jacq has shown us how to perform RTI we will refine our skills on some of the stones with clear inscriptions and then progress to more challenging examples. We hope to uncover some previously unrecorded inscriptions. Watch this space!
Added to the News Feed Wednesday 18th September 2019.
Second donation from WUUFCC
We are very grateful to the Council members of the Western Union of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (WUUFCC) for their kind donation of £100 to support the ongoing maintenance and improvement work at the graveyard. Last year, some members of the Western Union's Council visited the burial ground and were able to view for themselves the site that received many of Exeter's Presbyterians and Unitarians in the period 1748-1854.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 5th September 2019.
We are very grateful to the Council members of the Western Union of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (WUUFCC) for their kind donation of £100 to support the ongoing maintenance and improvement work at the graveyard. Last year, some members of the Western Union's Council visited the burial ground and were able to view for themselves the site that received many of Exeter's Presbyterians and Unitarians in the period 1748-1854.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 5th September 2019.
Heritage Open Days - 14th/15th and 21st/22nd September
Come and hear about some of the people buried or commemorated in the Dissenters' Graveyard. People like Hartley Wood, an American visitor to the UK who died in Heavitree, Exeter in February 1810, and discover his links to the US House of Representatives; or John Cranch who was related by marriage to Sir John Bowring and to Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams the second President of the USA. John died in Africa in 1816 whilst on a 'voyage of discovery'. Rev. Micaiah Towgood was a well known dissenting minister who in 1769 wrote "A dissent from the Church of England Fully Justified" and was buried in the graveyard (see his portrait held by the RAMM, Exeter, right). Several victims of the 1832 cholera outbreak were interred at the site, including one man and three of his children. A grand-daughter of the Dartmouth-born inventor, Thomas Newcomen, lies in the graveyard following her second marriage to Anthony Tremlett, an Exeter merchant.
The graveyard will be open this September as part of the Heritage Open Weekends - https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/dissenters-graveyard. We look forward to seeing you.
Added to the News Feed Monday 2nd September 2019.
Come and hear about some of the people buried or commemorated in the Dissenters' Graveyard. People like Hartley Wood, an American visitor to the UK who died in Heavitree, Exeter in February 1810, and discover his links to the US House of Representatives; or John Cranch who was related by marriage to Sir John Bowring and to Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams the second President of the USA. John died in Africa in 1816 whilst on a 'voyage of discovery'. Rev. Micaiah Towgood was a well known dissenting minister who in 1769 wrote "A dissent from the Church of England Fully Justified" and was buried in the graveyard (see his portrait held by the RAMM, Exeter, right). Several victims of the 1832 cholera outbreak were interred at the site, including one man and three of his children. A grand-daughter of the Dartmouth-born inventor, Thomas Newcomen, lies in the graveyard following her second marriage to Anthony Tremlett, an Exeter merchant.
The graveyard will be open this September as part of the Heritage Open Weekends - https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/dissenters-graveyard. We look forward to seeing you.
Added to the News Feed Monday 2nd September 2019.
Gulliford Burial Ground Open Day and Photographic Exhibition - 11 August 2019
The Friends of Gulliford Burial Ground (http://fogbg.org.uk/) are holding an open day on August 11th (see poster). This year along side the tours they are holding a photographic exhibition titled "Our Beautiful East Devon", with some wonderful photographs of the area. The photos will be on display throughout the day; free entrance to the site and exhibition. With more research coming to light, the tours are changing, now with stories of the characters buried at Gulliford - from a Whaler having to move the boiling of blubber because the neighbours complained of the smell....to a baker who invested £100 in 1845 for the Exeter to Exmouth Railway.
Although the site itself is not a registered landscape, the perimeter wall and three chest tombs - to Rev. J. Jervis, T.H. Lee and Abraham Stogdon - are listed at grade II by Historic England (click here to view the record).
Gulliford Burial Ground is located on Meeting Lane, Lympstone - just off the main A376 Exeter to Exmouth road. Contact the Friends group (http://fogbg.org.uk/) for more details.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 1st August 2019.
The Friends of Gulliford Burial Ground (http://fogbg.org.uk/) are holding an open day on August 11th (see poster). This year along side the tours they are holding a photographic exhibition titled "Our Beautiful East Devon", with some wonderful photographs of the area. The photos will be on display throughout the day; free entrance to the site and exhibition. With more research coming to light, the tours are changing, now with stories of the characters buried at Gulliford - from a Whaler having to move the boiling of blubber because the neighbours complained of the smell....to a baker who invested £100 in 1845 for the Exeter to Exmouth Railway.
Although the site itself is not a registered landscape, the perimeter wall and three chest tombs - to Rev. J. Jervis, T.H. Lee and Abraham Stogdon - are listed at grade II by Historic England (click here to view the record).
Gulliford Burial Ground is located on Meeting Lane, Lympstone - just off the main A376 Exeter to Exmouth road. Contact the Friends group (http://fogbg.org.uk/) for more details.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 1st August 2019.
Heritage Open Weekends 2019 - 14th/15th and 21st/22nd September
This year for the first time the graveyard will be open to visitors for two weekends during the Heritage Open Days event in September. Our volunteers will be on hand to inform you about the history of the site and there will be information boards on site describing some of the people and families who were buried here between 1748 and 1854. The graveyard will be open from 11a.m. until 4p.m. on each of the open days. More information about the Heritage Open Days can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 30th July 2019.
This year for the first time the graveyard will be open to visitors for two weekends during the Heritage Open Days event in September. Our volunteers will be on hand to inform you about the history of the site and there will be information boards on site describing some of the people and families who were buried here between 1748 and 1854. The graveyard will be open from 11a.m. until 4p.m. on each of the open days. More information about the Heritage Open Days can be found here.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 30th July 2019.
Conserving railings
One of our chest tombs has an incomplete run of iron railings surrounding it. Although we don't know exactly when they were installed, the railings are of a tetra-concave style, typically found elsewhere in Georgian Exeter. Peter Meehan, a historic metal conservator (http://www.hm-cc.co.uk/), suggested that we should abrade the rust from the surface of the railings and paint them to prolong their integrity. Work has now begun to conserve the railings.
Added to the News Feed Saturday 20th July 2019.
One of our chest tombs has an incomplete run of iron railings surrounding it. Although we don't know exactly when they were installed, the railings are of a tetra-concave style, typically found elsewhere in Georgian Exeter. Peter Meehan, a historic metal conservator (http://www.hm-cc.co.uk/), suggested that we should abrade the rust from the surface of the railings and paint them to prolong their integrity. Work has now begun to conserve the railings.
Added to the News Feed Saturday 20th July 2019.
Plaque commemorates Beryl Coe (1944-2015)
The fact that the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard still exists owes a lot to the energy and dedication of many people, but two women in particular played important roles. Hazel Harvey, now President of the Exeter Civic Society, campaigned during the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s to foil a number of development proposals at the site. Exeter City Council, to their great credit, refused all applications and Hazel, with others, formed a consortium of heritage organisations that became EDGT in 2014 and which secured the future of the graveyard.
In 2001 Beryl Coe, a resident of Thorverton, was carrying out some genealogical research and discovered she had some antecedents buried in the graveyard. On visiting the graveyard she was appalled by the state of the ground and wrote a letter to Gilbert Venn* which was published in the Express & Echo on 8th June 2001 (see image right). Beryl was not one to ignore a problem, and as she had personal links to six people buried there, she contributed significantly to compiling the history of the graveyard as well as many of the people commemorated on headstones. Beryl also joined the Steering Group in 2014 and chaired the Research Group from 2014 to her untimely and unexpected death in November 2015. Our booklet published in 2018 was based on a draft completed by Beryl, and is a tribute to her research work. The graveyard's trustees have now dedicated one of the benches in the graveyard to Beryl and a brass plaque acknowledges her contribution with the words, "Historian of this Graveyard " (see images below).
*Gilbert Venn wrote the booklet Discovering Exeter: St. Leonard's which was published by the Exeter Civic Society in 1982.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 28th March 2019.
The fact that the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard still exists owes a lot to the energy and dedication of many people, but two women in particular played important roles. Hazel Harvey, now President of the Exeter Civic Society, campaigned during the late 1990s and throughout the 2000s to foil a number of development proposals at the site. Exeter City Council, to their great credit, refused all applications and Hazel, with others, formed a consortium of heritage organisations that became EDGT in 2014 and which secured the future of the graveyard.
In 2001 Beryl Coe, a resident of Thorverton, was carrying out some genealogical research and discovered she had some antecedents buried in the graveyard. On visiting the graveyard she was appalled by the state of the ground and wrote a letter to Gilbert Venn* which was published in the Express & Echo on 8th June 2001 (see image right). Beryl was not one to ignore a problem, and as she had personal links to six people buried there, she contributed significantly to compiling the history of the graveyard as well as many of the people commemorated on headstones. Beryl also joined the Steering Group in 2014 and chaired the Research Group from 2014 to her untimely and unexpected death in November 2015. Our booklet published in 2018 was based on a draft completed by Beryl, and is a tribute to her research work. The graveyard's trustees have now dedicated one of the benches in the graveyard to Beryl and a brass plaque acknowledges her contribution with the words, "Historian of this Graveyard " (see images below).
*Gilbert Venn wrote the booklet Discovering Exeter: St. Leonard's which was published by the Exeter Civic Society in 1982.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 28th March 2019.
Memorial to an American stranger
Fragments of a distinctive memorial stone were uncovered during the clearance work in 2014, but there was no name on any of the three pieces. When cemented together a partial inscription could be deciphered. There was both a dedication to the deceased and a verse. The first part of the inscription read:
To the Memory of
Mafsachusets No Ama. w..
this City Feb 28th 1810. Ag..
The burial ledger showed that in February 1810 a 25-year old visitor to Exeter died and was buried in the Dissenters' graveyard. His name was Hartley Wood and he had travelled to England from his home in Massachusetts. Our Research Group has managed to prepare a brief biography of Mr Wood which can be downloaded here. Unfortunately, we don't know why he was in the U.K. or how long he had been in Exeter.
An anonymous donation enabled the trustees to commission stonemason Andy French to stabilise the fragments and hang the finished stone on the east-facing boundary wall. This work has now been completed and our thanks go to Andy and to the donor for making this possible.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 21st March 2019.
Fragments of a distinctive memorial stone were uncovered during the clearance work in 2014, but there was no name on any of the three pieces. When cemented together a partial inscription could be deciphered. There was both a dedication to the deceased and a verse. The first part of the inscription read:
To the Memory of
Mafsachusets No Ama. w..
this City Feb 28th 1810. Ag..
The burial ledger showed that in February 1810 a 25-year old visitor to Exeter died and was buried in the Dissenters' graveyard. His name was Hartley Wood and he had travelled to England from his home in Massachusetts. Our Research Group has managed to prepare a brief biography of Mr Wood which can be downloaded here. Unfortunately, we don't know why he was in the U.K. or how long he had been in Exeter.
An anonymous donation enabled the trustees to commission stonemason Andy French to stabilise the fragments and hang the finished stone on the east-facing boundary wall. This work has now been completed and our thanks go to Andy and to the donor for making this possible.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 21st March 2019.
The Lapidarium is completed
During the clearance work at the graveyard from 2014 onwards, we encountered many stone fragments buried or otherwise discarded in corners of the site. In most cases we had no idea where they would originally have been placed, so the late Martin Dyer suggested creating an area where the most interesting pieces of worked stone could be displayed. A group of volunteers has now created the display area - fondly referred to as 'Martin's Lapidarium' - and several items have been exhibited. There are fragments of gravestones, tomb edging stones and stones that would have formed the vertical surfaces of chest tombs. Marble, Portland stone, slate and other stone types are on display. Thanks to Jane, Sally, Peter, Paul, Steve, Nigel, Gordon and Ian for helping to create the lapidarium.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 15th March 2019.
During the clearance work at the graveyard from 2014 onwards, we encountered many stone fragments buried or otherwise discarded in corners of the site. In most cases we had no idea where they would originally have been placed, so the late Martin Dyer suggested creating an area where the most interesting pieces of worked stone could be displayed. A group of volunteers has now created the display area - fondly referred to as 'Martin's Lapidarium' - and several items have been exhibited. There are fragments of gravestones, tomb edging stones and stones that would have formed the vertical surfaces of chest tombs. Marble, Portland stone, slate and other stone types are on display. Thanks to Jane, Sally, Peter, Paul, Steve, Nigel, Gordon and Ian for helping to create the lapidarium.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 15th March 2019.
EDGT Booklet reviewed in the Genealogist's Magazine
A nice review of our booklet has been written by Claire Bullen, Deputy Head of Archive and Library Services at the Society of Genealogists. Published in the March 2019 issue of the Genealogist's Magazine, the review refers to, "This neat, well-presented booklet", and comments that it provides a "fascinating account of the history and fabric of the (graveyard)". The Society of Genealogists (www.sog.org.uk) was founded in 1911 and is Britain's premier family history society. The society operates a genealogical library and education centre in Clerkenwell, London. Our thanks go to Claire and her colleagues for reviewing our booklet and helping to promote our work at the graveyard.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 5th March 2019.
A nice review of our booklet has been written by Claire Bullen, Deputy Head of Archive and Library Services at the Society of Genealogists. Published in the March 2019 issue of the Genealogist's Magazine, the review refers to, "This neat, well-presented booklet", and comments that it provides a "fascinating account of the history and fabric of the (graveyard)". The Society of Genealogists (www.sog.org.uk) was founded in 1911 and is Britain's premier family history society. The society operates a genealogical library and education centre in Clerkenwell, London. Our thanks go to Claire and her colleagues for reviewing our booklet and helping to promote our work at the graveyard.
Added to the News Feed Tuesday 5th March 2019.
Friends of Gulliford Burial Ground website launched
A new website (www.fogbg.org.uk) has been launched by the Friends of Gulliford Burial Ground. The non-conformist graveyard is located near Lympstone, East Devon, close to the main Exeter to Exmouth road (A376). The website includes sections on the history of the site, the names of people commemorated on stones at the graveyard, events and a selection of images. In November 2017 one of the boundary walls collapsed into a neighbouring property. Work is underway to stabilise the wall and the Friends are seeking funding to have it professionally rebuilt.
Congratulations to the FOGBG for all the work they are doing at this historic burial ground.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 21st February 2019.
A new website (www.fogbg.org.uk) has been launched by the Friends of Gulliford Burial Ground. The non-conformist graveyard is located near Lympstone, East Devon, close to the main Exeter to Exmouth road (A376). The website includes sections on the history of the site, the names of people commemorated on stones at the graveyard, events and a selection of images. In November 2017 one of the boundary walls collapsed into a neighbouring property. Work is underway to stabilise the wall and the Friends are seeking funding to have it professionally rebuilt.
Congratulations to the FOGBG for all the work they are doing at this historic burial ground.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 21st February 2019.
Occupations of the people buried in the graveyard
An updated list of the occupations recorded in the burial registers and Account Book has been added to the Social History page. Ninety different occupations/professions appear on the list, with 194 individuals recorded with a specific occupation. The vast majority of the occupations are attributed to men, but eight women appear on the list with occupations including nurse, woolcomber, weaver and stonecutter. If you are interested in researching occupations in Georgian and early Victorian Exeter please contact us (enquiries@edgt.org.uk).
Added to the News Feed Sunday 13th January 2019.
An updated list of the occupations recorded in the burial registers and Account Book has been added to the Social History page. Ninety different occupations/professions appear on the list, with 194 individuals recorded with a specific occupation. The vast majority of the occupations are attributed to men, but eight women appear on the list with occupations including nurse, woolcomber, weaver and stonecutter. If you are interested in researching occupations in Georgian and early Victorian Exeter please contact us (enquiries@edgt.org.uk).
Added to the News Feed Sunday 13th January 2019.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to our volunteers and supporters
Although the majority of the renovation work at the graveyard was completed in 2017, there was much activity this year with maintenance work, two Open Weekends, twice monthly openings, talks and tours, and the publication of a booklet on the history of the site (click here to be directed to our store). Our Research Group has been active and many biographies of individuals and families buried in the graveyard have been published on our website in the last twelve months (see Social History). The Group has been involved with a number of descendants who are tracing their deceased forebears and assistance has been given to the Friends of the Gulliford Burial Ground in Lympstone who are seeking to improve their graveyard. Many of the families buried at Gulliford had links to Exeter and had relatives buried in the Dissenters' Graveyard.
The Trustees wish to thank everyone who has supported the work at the graveyard - either directly as volunteers and visitors, or indirectly through our social media network and by sending donations and messages of encouragement. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Finally, a big thanks to the Trustees who give their time and energy to this worthwhile project. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 20th December 2018.
Although the majority of the renovation work at the graveyard was completed in 2017, there was much activity this year with maintenance work, two Open Weekends, twice monthly openings, talks and tours, and the publication of a booklet on the history of the site (click here to be directed to our store). Our Research Group has been active and many biographies of individuals and families buried in the graveyard have been published on our website in the last twelve months (see Social History). The Group has been involved with a number of descendants who are tracing their deceased forebears and assistance has been given to the Friends of the Gulliford Burial Ground in Lympstone who are seeking to improve their graveyard. Many of the families buried at Gulliford had links to Exeter and had relatives buried in the Dissenters' Graveyard.
The Trustees wish to thank everyone who has supported the work at the graveyard - either directly as volunteers and visitors, or indirectly through our social media network and by sending donations and messages of encouragement. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Finally, a big thanks to the Trustees who give their time and energy to this worthwhile project. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.
Added to the News Feed Thursday 20th December 2018.
Booklet review and new articles published
The Devon Family History Society (DFHS: devonfhs.org.uk) published a brief review of the Dissenters' Graveyard booklet in its November 2018 newsletter - "This delightful little book has been carefully researched and presented. It contains good colour photographs throughout". A copy of the booklet has been lodged at the Tree House Library which is owned and managed by the DFHS.
Two short articles by EDGT Trustee Ian Varndell appear in the current (Autumn 2018) issue of the newsletter of the Devon Gardens Trust (DGT: devongardenstrust.org.uk). "New life for an old burial ground" describes the conservation work undertaken at the graveyard since the EDGT took ownership of the site in 2014. The DGT has provided financial support to the EDGT and was represented on the original Steering Group because the burial ground is a historic designed landscape, and the remit of county gardens trusts is to protect, conserve and promote historic gardens, parks and cemeteries. A second article, "The mystery of Nathan Sprigg Jeffery" recounts the discovery of a hidden memorial to a 9-month old child buried in the graveyard in 1756. The EDGT's Research Group is very active, investigating individuals and families who were buried in the graveyard between 1748 and its closure in 1854 - see Social History for more information.
We offer our thanks to both organisations for their interest and support in the work of the EDGT.
Added to the News Feed Saturday 3rd November 2018.
The Devon Family History Society (DFHS: devonfhs.org.uk) published a brief review of the Dissenters' Graveyard booklet in its November 2018 newsletter - "This delightful little book has been carefully researched and presented. It contains good colour photographs throughout". A copy of the booklet has been lodged at the Tree House Library which is owned and managed by the DFHS.
Two short articles by EDGT Trustee Ian Varndell appear in the current (Autumn 2018) issue of the newsletter of the Devon Gardens Trust (DGT: devongardenstrust.org.uk). "New life for an old burial ground" describes the conservation work undertaken at the graveyard since the EDGT took ownership of the site in 2014. The DGT has provided financial support to the EDGT and was represented on the original Steering Group because the burial ground is a historic designed landscape, and the remit of county gardens trusts is to protect, conserve and promote historic gardens, parks and cemeteries. A second article, "The mystery of Nathan Sprigg Jeffery" recounts the discovery of a hidden memorial to a 9-month old child buried in the graveyard in 1756. The EDGT's Research Group is very active, investigating individuals and families who were buried in the graveyard between 1748 and its closure in 1854 - see Social History for more information.
We offer our thanks to both organisations for their interest and support in the work of the EDGT.
Added to the News Feed Saturday 3rd November 2018.
Edgar Mihas presents the WUU cheque to Paul Chant (EDGT). L-R Steve Wills, Edgar Mihas, Bob Goddard, Ian Varndell, Martin Fieldhouse and Paul Chant.
Western Union of Unitarians donation
We are extremely grateful to the Western Union of Unitarians and Free Christian Churches for a recent donation to the EDGT. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the graveyard was the final resting place for members of Exeter’s Unitarian congregation who worshipped at George’s Meeting House in South Street – now a public house owned by JD Wetherspoons.
Although there is no longer an active Unitarian Meeting Place in Exeter, the Western Union of Unitarians (WUU) has keenly followed the progress of the work, and their Council members agreed to award a grant to EDGT to help fund further restoration. WUU’s former President Dr Martin Fieldhouse said, “The work undertaken by EDGT is most commendable, and whilst we do not usually provide grants to burial grounds this project has revealed fascinating insights into the lives of Exeter’s Unitarian and Presbyterian congregations from the mid-1700s”. Current Unitarians meet regularly elsewhere in Devon in their chapels in Cullompton, Sidmouth, Torquay, and Plymouth, and annually in Moretonhampstead.
A cheque was presented to members of the EDGT by Dr Edgar Mihas, a Vice President of WUU, accompanied by Martin Fieldhouse and Bob Goddard.
Added to News Feed Tuesday 30th October 2018.
We are extremely grateful to the Western Union of Unitarians and Free Christian Churches for a recent donation to the EDGT. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the graveyard was the final resting place for members of Exeter’s Unitarian congregation who worshipped at George’s Meeting House in South Street – now a public house owned by JD Wetherspoons.
Although there is no longer an active Unitarian Meeting Place in Exeter, the Western Union of Unitarians (WUU) has keenly followed the progress of the work, and their Council members agreed to award a grant to EDGT to help fund further restoration. WUU’s former President Dr Martin Fieldhouse said, “The work undertaken by EDGT is most commendable, and whilst we do not usually provide grants to burial grounds this project has revealed fascinating insights into the lives of Exeter’s Unitarian and Presbyterian congregations from the mid-1700s”. Current Unitarians meet regularly elsewhere in Devon in their chapels in Cullompton, Sidmouth, Torquay, and Plymouth, and annually in Moretonhampstead.
A cheque was presented to members of the EDGT by Dr Edgar Mihas, a Vice President of WUU, accompanied by Martin Fieldhouse and Bob Goddard.
Added to News Feed Tuesday 30th October 2018.
Link to a talented landscape artist uncovered
In February 1837, Mary Ann Tucker was laid to rest in the graveyard and a small headstone was erected to her memory (see below left). Her husband, John Wallace Tucker, died in 1830 and was described as a "celebrated marine and landscape painter..." in a local newspaper. The article continued, "..(he died)..when his talents as an artist had attained a general estimation which warranted the most flattering results, & justly commanded the admiration of all, for the works of a pencil aided only by the energetic conceptions of a native & highly gifted genius." Mary Ann and John had two sons, John Wallace Tucker (1809-1869) and Frederick Wallace Tucker (1811-1876), both of whom became artists in their own right, although John Wallace, the elder brother, is most well known with 21 paintings illustrated on the ArtUK website. For more information about Mary Ann's family please visit our Social History page or download the biography here.
Added to News feed Friday 21st September 2018.
In February 1837, Mary Ann Tucker was laid to rest in the graveyard and a small headstone was erected to her memory (see below left). Her husband, John Wallace Tucker, died in 1830 and was described as a "celebrated marine and landscape painter..." in a local newspaper. The article continued, "..(he died)..when his talents as an artist had attained a general estimation which warranted the most flattering results, & justly commanded the admiration of all, for the works of a pencil aided only by the energetic conceptions of a native & highly gifted genius." Mary Ann and John had two sons, John Wallace Tucker (1809-1869) and Frederick Wallace Tucker (1811-1876), both of whom became artists in their own right, although John Wallace, the elder brother, is most well known with 21 paintings illustrated on the ArtUK website. For more information about Mary Ann's family please visit our Social History page or download the biography here.
Added to News feed Friday 21st September 2018.
A successful Heritage Open Weekend at the graveyard
Almost one hundred people visited the graveyard this weekend (8th/9th September), many of whom wrote some lovely remarks on the Visitor sheets including, "Beautifully restored ", "Very interesting ", "Wonderful renovation ", "We value the hard work gone into the preservation of Exeter history. Thank you ". Unsurprisingly, most of the visitors were from Exeter and surrounding towns, but it was gratifying to show our work to people from London, Birmingham, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire and Cheshire. Thank you to everyone who took the time and trouble to visit the graveyard and to our wonderful volunteer stewards for welcoming our guests and answering a myriad of questions.
Added to News feed Monday 10th September 2018.
Almost one hundred people visited the graveyard this weekend (8th/9th September), many of whom wrote some lovely remarks on the Visitor sheets including, "Beautifully restored ", "Very interesting ", "Wonderful renovation ", "We value the hard work gone into the preservation of Exeter history. Thank you ". Unsurprisingly, most of the visitors were from Exeter and surrounding towns, but it was gratifying to show our work to people from London, Birmingham, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire and Cheshire. Thank you to everyone who took the time and trouble to visit the graveyard and to our wonderful volunteer stewards for welcoming our guests and answering a myriad of questions.
Added to News feed Monday 10th September 2018.
Descendants of the Willcocks family visit the graveyard
Almost 186 years to the day after three members of the Willcocks family were buried in the graveyard, two of their descendants visited the graveyard. Penny Willcocks and her father, Anthony (pictured below right) are researching their family tree and visited Exeter to see where their antecedents lived and worked. On 20th August 1832, three of the children of Thomas Willcocks and his wife Elizabeth, Eliza (4), James (6) and Ellen (10), were buried, presumed victims of the cholera morbus outbreak that ravaged Exeter in the late Summer of 1832. Thomas was a musical instrument maker and the family lived in Gandy Street. Sadly, Thomas (44) died a few days after his children and was buried on 31st August 1832. Penny has provided a copy of a photograph (below left) showing her great grandparents John Arthur (b. 1870) and Rosetta Ethel Willcocks, and her grandfather John Austin Willcocks (b. 1903; centre). John Arthur's father, Thomas, was born in Devonshire (c. 1824) and served as a Policeman in London.
It was lovely to meet Penny and Anthony and we look forward to learning more about their family history.
Added to News feed Monday 28th August 2018.
Almost 186 years to the day after three members of the Willcocks family were buried in the graveyard, two of their descendants visited the graveyard. Penny Willcocks and her father, Anthony (pictured below right) are researching their family tree and visited Exeter to see where their antecedents lived and worked. On 20th August 1832, three of the children of Thomas Willcocks and his wife Elizabeth, Eliza (4), James (6) and Ellen (10), were buried, presumed victims of the cholera morbus outbreak that ravaged Exeter in the late Summer of 1832. Thomas was a musical instrument maker and the family lived in Gandy Street. Sadly, Thomas (44) died a few days after his children and was buried on 31st August 1832. Penny has provided a copy of a photograph (below left) showing her great grandparents John Arthur (b. 1870) and Rosetta Ethel Willcocks, and her grandfather John Austin Willcocks (b. 1903; centre). John Arthur's father, Thomas, was born in Devonshire (c. 1824) and served as a Policeman in London.
It was lovely to meet Penny and Anthony and we look forward to learning more about their family history.
Added to News feed Monday 28th August 2018.
Heritage Open Weekend - Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th September
The Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard will be open to visitors on Saturday and Sunday 8th and 9th September between the hours of 11a.m. and 4p.m. Transcriptions of the memorial stones will be displayed and there will be much more information available about some of the 1500+ people who were buried in the graveyard from 1748 to 1854. Our new booklet (see here) will be available for visitors to purchase. Volunteer stewards will be on hand to answer questions and to guide visitors around the site. We look forward to seeing as many people as possible over the two days.
Added to News feed Friday 17th August 2018.
The Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard will be open to visitors on Saturday and Sunday 8th and 9th September between the hours of 11a.m. and 4p.m. Transcriptions of the memorial stones will be displayed and there will be much more information available about some of the 1500+ people who were buried in the graveyard from 1748 to 1854. Our new booklet (see here) will be available for visitors to purchase. Volunteer stewards will be on hand to answer questions and to guide visitors around the site. We look forward to seeing as many people as possible over the two days.
Added to News feed Friday 17th August 2018.
James Prentice - a stranger. Buried 1810.
James Prentice was a student at Trinity College Dublin when he died in Exeter, aged 19, in February 1810. Why was he in Exeter? We don't yet know. How long was he in the UK? We don't know. Why did he die? That's another question we can't answer. What we do know about James has just been added to our Social History page and can be accessed here.
Added to News feed Friday 10th August 2018.
James Prentice was a student at Trinity College Dublin when he died in Exeter, aged 19, in February 1810. Why was he in Exeter? We don't yet know. How long was he in the UK? We don't know. Why did he die? That's another question we can't answer. What we do know about James has just been added to our Social History page and can be accessed here.
Added to News feed Friday 10th August 2018.
Biography of Captain Peter Palmer's family.
Although Captain Peter Palmer was not buried in the graveyard, his wife, her parents and several of their children were laid to rest in EDG. A brief biography of the family can be found here. Our Research Group is continuing to work on the families and individuals who were buried in the graveyard between 1748 and 1854 and many of the completed biographies can be found on our Social History page. If you are a descendant of anyone known to be buried in the graveyard, or if you would like us to check, please do not hesitate to contact us by email at enquiries@edgt.org.uk.
Added to News feed Sunday 5th August 2018.
Although Captain Peter Palmer was not buried in the graveyard, his wife, her parents and several of their children were laid to rest in EDG. A brief biography of the family can be found here. Our Research Group is continuing to work on the families and individuals who were buried in the graveyard between 1748 and 1854 and many of the completed biographies can be found on our Social History page. If you are a descendant of anyone known to be buried in the graveyard, or if you would like us to check, please do not hesitate to contact us by email at enquiries@edgt.org.uk.
Added to News feed Sunday 5th August 2018.
Guided tours of the Burial Ground at Gulliford, Lympstone - Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th August 2018
A new Friends Group has been formed to help protect and maintain the non-conformist burial ground at Gulliford near Lympstone. On Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th August 2018 they will be conducting guided tours of the burial ground at 10.30a.m. and 2.30p.m. on both days. Many of the people buried at Gulliford had relatives in Exeter, including the Gifford, Mardon, Cox and Baring families. Three chest tombs and the perimeter wall appear on the Historic England List of Buildings with Special Architectural or Historic Interest (link). EDGT has been invited to attend on the Open Days and we will have a couple of information boards on display as well as our new booklet available for purchase. The burial ground is located on Meeting Lane just off the main A376 Exeter to Exmouth road and a brief introduction to the site can be found here.
Added to News feed Sunday 29th July 2018.
A new Friends Group has been formed to help protect and maintain the non-conformist burial ground at Gulliford near Lympstone. On Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th August 2018 they will be conducting guided tours of the burial ground at 10.30a.m. and 2.30p.m. on both days. Many of the people buried at Gulliford had relatives in Exeter, including the Gifford, Mardon, Cox and Baring families. Three chest tombs and the perimeter wall appear on the Historic England List of Buildings with Special Architectural or Historic Interest (link). EDGT has been invited to attend on the Open Days and we will have a couple of information boards on display as well as our new booklet available for purchase. The burial ground is located on Meeting Lane just off the main A376 Exeter to Exmouth road and a brief introduction to the site can be found here.
Added to News feed Sunday 29th July 2018.
The first 270 years of the Dissenters' Graveyard - Exeter Civic Society - Saturday 21st July 2018
EDG was founded in 1748, so this year we are commemorating 270 years of its existence. Ian Varndell, one of our trustees, is giving a talk on the history and conservation of the graveyard to members of the Exeter Civic Society at the Belmont Chapel, Western Way, Exeter on Saturday 21st July, see the ECS programme here.
The Exeter Civic Society was one of the founder groups of EDGT and has a long history of helping to protect the graveyard from inappropriate development. Ian Varndell is the current EDGT Treasurer and has previously given talks about the graveyard to the Exeter Forum, Okehampton & District History Society and at the Devon & Exeter Institution.
Added to News feed Tuesday 16th July 2018.
EDG was founded in 1748, so this year we are commemorating 270 years of its existence. Ian Varndell, one of our trustees, is giving a talk on the history and conservation of the graveyard to members of the Exeter Civic Society at the Belmont Chapel, Western Way, Exeter on Saturday 21st July, see the ECS programme here.
The Exeter Civic Society was one of the founder groups of EDGT and has a long history of helping to protect the graveyard from inappropriate development. Ian Varndell is the current EDGT Treasurer and has previously given talks about the graveyard to the Exeter Forum, Okehampton & District History Society and at the Devon & Exeter Institution.
Added to News feed Tuesday 16th July 2018.
TUESDAY 26th JUNE 2018
A warm tribute for the EDGT Booklet from a descendant
Several copies of the recently published Graveyard booklet have winged their way across the Atlantic Ocean to members of the Gifford family. One of them, Nancy O'Connell Ronning who lives in New Jersey (USA), is the 5x Great Granddaughter of William Gifford, a grocer in the City of Exeter, who died in 1757 and his wife, Honor (d. 1759), contacted trustee Yvonne Hensman with the following comment: "The Dissenters Book is beautiful and flows thru the story and the people and the descriptions with such seeming ease. It must have been a labour of love. It shows. I loved the history - so complicated yet so clearly told. The graphics are amazing."
Our thanks go to Nancy for her lovely words.
A warm tribute for the EDGT Booklet from a descendant
Several copies of the recently published Graveyard booklet have winged their way across the Atlantic Ocean to members of the Gifford family. One of them, Nancy O'Connell Ronning who lives in New Jersey (USA), is the 5x Great Granddaughter of William Gifford, a grocer in the City of Exeter, who died in 1757 and his wife, Honor (d. 1759), contacted trustee Yvonne Hensman with the following comment: "The Dissenters Book is beautiful and flows thru the story and the people and the descriptions with such seeming ease. It must have been a labour of love. It shows. I loved the history - so complicated yet so clearly told. The graphics are amazing."
Our thanks go to Nancy for her lovely words.
WEDNESDAY 13th JUNE 2018
Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard on Devon Live
We are extremely grateful to Paul Greaves from Devon Live for a nice article (with embedded video) on the graveyard published on the Devon Live website. Click here to access the article. The graveyard was also featured on BBC TV's Spotlight programme on Monday 11th June. You can view the pieceby visiting 'EDGT in the Media' here.
Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard on Devon Live
We are extremely grateful to Paul Greaves from Devon Live for a nice article (with embedded video) on the graveyard published on the Devon Live website. Click here to access the article. The graveyard was also featured on BBC TV's Spotlight programme on Monday 11th June. You can view the pieceby visiting 'EDGT in the Media' here.
MONDAY 11th JUNE 2018
Booklet now on sale online
Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard: A brief history of a Georgian burial ground from 1748 to 2018 compiled by Beryl Coe, Gordon Read and Ian Varndell is a 32-page booklet that describes the origins of the graveyard in the eighteenth century through to the completion of the restoration project in 2018. Historian Dr Ed Legon wrote the introductory section on the History of dissent in Exeter and this is followed by details of how the graveyard was administered and operated throughout the 106 years from 1748 to 1854 when it was closed. The recent conservation work undertaken by the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard Trust volunteers is described and illustrated in full colour.
The booklet is now available for purchase from our online shop and costs just £4.95 (which includes post and packing to UK addresses) with all proceeds going to conservation projects and maintenance of the graveyard. Click here to be directed to our online shop.
Non-UK customers please contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk for information on pricing and how to place orders.
Booklet now on sale online
Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard: A brief history of a Georgian burial ground from 1748 to 2018 compiled by Beryl Coe, Gordon Read and Ian Varndell is a 32-page booklet that describes the origins of the graveyard in the eighteenth century through to the completion of the restoration project in 2018. Historian Dr Ed Legon wrote the introductory section on the History of dissent in Exeter and this is followed by details of how the graveyard was administered and operated throughout the 106 years from 1748 to 1854 when it was closed. The recent conservation work undertaken by the Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard Trust volunteers is described and illustrated in full colour.
The booklet is now available for purchase from our online shop and costs just £4.95 (which includes post and packing to UK addresses) with all proceeds going to conservation projects and maintenance of the graveyard. Click here to be directed to our online shop.
Non-UK customers please contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk for information on pricing and how to place orders.
WEDNESDAY 6th JUNE 2018
View a virtual tour of the graveyard!
We have recently commissioned Neil Henderson from the Virtual Tour Company based in Topsham, Devon, to create a virtual tour of the graveyard so that anyone who is interested in seeing what the site looks like, but cannot visit it, can get some idea of the size and layout of the burial ground. The video can be found on our home page. Neil also took the excellent photograph of the graveyard entrance that we have used on the front cover of the booklet (see below).
View a virtual tour of the graveyard!
We have recently commissioned Neil Henderson from the Virtual Tour Company based in Topsham, Devon, to create a virtual tour of the graveyard so that anyone who is interested in seeing what the site looks like, but cannot visit it, can get some idea of the size and layout of the burial ground. The video can be found on our home page. Neil also took the excellent photograph of the graveyard entrance that we have used on the front cover of the booklet (see below).
SATURDAY and SUNDAY 9th/10th JUNE 2018
Open Weekend
The graveyard will be open for visitors this coming weekend from 11a.m. to 4p.m. Stewards will be on hand to answer questions and to show people around. We will also be launching our brand new booklet, "Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard: A brief history of a Georgian burial ground from 1748 to 2018 ". The booklet was originally drafted by Beryl Coe before her untimely death in 2015, and has now been completed by trustees Gordon Read and Ian Varndell.
Priced at only £4.00, all proceeds from the sale of the booklet go towards the maintenance of the graveyard. Details of how to purchase the booklet online will be released shortly.
Open Weekend
The graveyard will be open for visitors this coming weekend from 11a.m. to 4p.m. Stewards will be on hand to answer questions and to show people around. We will also be launching our brand new booklet, "Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard: A brief history of a Georgian burial ground from 1748 to 2018 ". The booklet was originally drafted by Beryl Coe before her untimely death in 2015, and has now been completed by trustees Gordon Read and Ian Varndell.
Priced at only £4.00, all proceeds from the sale of the booklet go towards the maintenance of the graveyard. Details of how to purchase the booklet online will be released shortly.
SATURDAY 19th MAY 2018
Privacy Policy published
A new Privacy Policy for EDGT has been published in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (2018) and the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (Directive 2002/58/EC and the 2009 update, Directive 2009/136). The Policy can be accessed here, and links to it appear in the footer of each page on this website.
Privacy Policy published
A new Privacy Policy for EDGT has been published in compliance with the General Data Protection Regulations (2018) and the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications (Directive 2002/58/EC and the 2009 update, Directive 2009/136). The Policy can be accessed here, and links to it appear in the footer of each page on this website.
MONDAY 30th APRIL 2018
A descendant of John James Hirtzell visits EDG
We were delighted to welcome David Hirtzell from Auckland, New Zealand, who visited the graveyard to see where his six times great grandfather was buried. Although there is no headstone or tomb attributable to John James Hirtzel (died 1778), he wrote in his will, "As to my body I desire it may be exposed to the open air in the room where I shall die during the full span of three days and three nights and then to be buried in a plain and decent manner in the Cave built in December in the year 1767 at the burying ground in Magdalen Street purchased some years before by the Dissenters ". The Hirtzell family came to Exeter from Switzerland in the early 18th century, and David's great-great-great grandfather emigrated to New Zealand in 1860 where he became a sheep farmer. David is researching his family's history and we hope to publish a summary in due course.
A descendant of John James Hirtzell visits EDG
We were delighted to welcome David Hirtzell from Auckland, New Zealand, who visited the graveyard to see where his six times great grandfather was buried. Although there is no headstone or tomb attributable to John James Hirtzel (died 1778), he wrote in his will, "As to my body I desire it may be exposed to the open air in the room where I shall die during the full span of three days and three nights and then to be buried in a plain and decent manner in the Cave built in December in the year 1767 at the burying ground in Magdalen Street purchased some years before by the Dissenters ". The Hirtzell family came to Exeter from Switzerland in the early 18th century, and David's great-great-great grandfather emigrated to New Zealand in 1860 where he became a sheep farmer. David is researching his family's history and we hope to publish a summary in due course.
WEDNESDAY 28th MARCH 2018
Chairman of Trust steps down after 4 years
Peter Wadham who has chaired the Exeter Dissenters's Graveyard Trust since its inception in 2014 has stepped down as Chairman. He is current Chairman of the Exeter Civic Society and wishes to concentrate on this demanding role. We send our grateful thanks to Peter for all his efforts on behalf of the EDGT and wish him well with his other commitments.
Chairman of Trust steps down after 4 years
Peter Wadham who has chaired the Exeter Dissenters's Graveyard Trust since its inception in 2014 has stepped down as Chairman. He is current Chairman of the Exeter Civic Society and wishes to concentrate on this demanding role. We send our grateful thanks to Peter for all his efforts on behalf of the EDGT and wish him well with his other commitments.
SATURDAY 3rd MARCH 2018
A Spring Wonderland!
Snow might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it does add a touch of magic - even to a graveyard. Thanks to Bridget Garrood for braving the elements during the recent Storm Emma/Beast from the East and taking the photograph.
A Spring Wonderland!
Snow might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it does add a touch of magic - even to a graveyard. Thanks to Bridget Garrood for braving the elements during the recent Storm Emma/Beast from the East and taking the photograph.
Image courtesy of Richard Crisp
SATURDAY 24th FEBRUARY 2018
Gulliford Burial Ground
On this bright, but very cold, Saturday morning a group of about 40 people (pictured right) braved the elements to help clear Gulliford Burial Ground of years of over-grown ivy and laurels. People from as far away as Cullompton, Exeter and East Budleigh, with locals from Woodbury and Lympstone turned out to show their support for this historic site. Although its Chapel was demolished in 1907, the burial ground still maintains a presence, with the boundary wall and three tombs Grade II listed. With the help of this band of people the site has opened out, which will allow wild flowers to flourish. Not only was the site cleared but we now have ideas for the future, one of which is to form a "Friends of Gulliford" group. Many thanks to all those who gave their time and helped with the clearance.
Angela Coles
Sunday 18th March 2018
Salem Chapel, Vicarage Road, East Budleigh
Open 1.30pm-4.30pm | Refreshments, Book Sales.
An opportunity to see this rare & complete example of a Dissenters Chapel with its adjoining Schoolroom. Grade II*
Gulliford Burial Ground
On this bright, but very cold, Saturday morning a group of about 40 people (pictured right) braved the elements to help clear Gulliford Burial Ground of years of over-grown ivy and laurels. People from as far away as Cullompton, Exeter and East Budleigh, with locals from Woodbury and Lympstone turned out to show their support for this historic site. Although its Chapel was demolished in 1907, the burial ground still maintains a presence, with the boundary wall and three tombs Grade II listed. With the help of this band of people the site has opened out, which will allow wild flowers to flourish. Not only was the site cleared but we now have ideas for the future, one of which is to form a "Friends of Gulliford" group. Many thanks to all those who gave their time and helped with the clearance.
Angela Coles
Sunday 18th March 2018
Salem Chapel, Vicarage Road, East Budleigh
Open 1.30pm-4.30pm | Refreshments, Book Sales.
An opportunity to see this rare & complete example of a Dissenters Chapel with its adjoining Schoolroom. Grade II*
SATURDAY 3rd FEBRUARY 2018
Testing treatments to protect the memorial stones
If you have visited the graveyard you will know that many of the memorial stones are in poor condition, either due to mechanical damage or simply through the action of rain and ice leading to weathering of the surface. Several stones are now indecipherable because their engraved inscriptions have simply eroded. Some of the stones are also friable, so tend to crumble or delaminate and this process is also hastened by the action of moisture and vegetation, including moss. We have recently started testing some stone sealants which are designed to shed water rather than let it sit on the surface and slowly penetrate the stone. Only three stones have been tested so far, and the sealant has been applied in squares delineated on the cleaned surface of two of them using masking tape; alternate squares remaining untreated (see below). One stone was so badly damaged that the entire surface has been sealed in the hope that further deterioration will be slowed. We will observe the stones over a period of time to determine whether the treated squares remain free from moss and require less cleaning.
Thanks to Steve Wills and Barry Stanley for the photographs and for assisting Paul Chant with the cleaning and application of sealant.
Testing treatments to protect the memorial stones
If you have visited the graveyard you will know that many of the memorial stones are in poor condition, either due to mechanical damage or simply through the action of rain and ice leading to weathering of the surface. Several stones are now indecipherable because their engraved inscriptions have simply eroded. Some of the stones are also friable, so tend to crumble or delaminate and this process is also hastened by the action of moisture and vegetation, including moss. We have recently started testing some stone sealants which are designed to shed water rather than let it sit on the surface and slowly penetrate the stone. Only three stones have been tested so far, and the sealant has been applied in squares delineated on the cleaned surface of two of them using masking tape; alternate squares remaining untreated (see below). One stone was so badly damaged that the entire surface has been sealed in the hope that further deterioration will be slowed. We will observe the stones over a period of time to determine whether the treated squares remain free from moss and require less cleaning.
Thanks to Steve Wills and Barry Stanley for the photographs and for assisting Paul Chant with the cleaning and application of sealant.
SATURDAY 24th FEBRUARY 2018
Gulliford Burial Ground - Foliage Clearance Morning
There will be a foliage clearance and tidying morning at Gulliford Burial Ground on Saturday 24th February. If you can spare a couple of hours to help to conserve this important dissenters' graveyard it will be greatly appreciated.
Gulliford lies in Meetings Lane and the top of Strawberry Hill, Lympstone. Initially, it was a Presbyterian and later Unitarian site dating back to the 17th century. The first chapel was built in 1687 and in 1774 a further plot of land was donated to extend the site for a second larger chapel to be built to replace the original chapel, which was then too small for the extra congregation.
Burials at Gulliford include Worthington Brice, a merchant whose business comprised the whaling industry based at his home at Parsonage Stile, Margaret and Charles Baring whose family were the banking dynasty from Courtlands (now Lympstone Manor), Brice Wakeford Lee of Ebford Barton, a Major-General in the Indian Army, and George Mason, aged just 25, and a talented artist whose work hung in the Royal Academy.
Today the burial ground is jointly looked after by Lympstone and Woodbury Parish Councils. The perimeter walls and the Jervis, the Lees and the Stogdon tombs are Grade II Listed. A notice board informs visitors of its past, the site’s history hidden behind ivy & yew. A bench welcomes the caller to stop and listen to the bird song. Adapted from an article by Angela Coles published on the www.lympstone.org website in November 2017.
Gulliford Burial Ground - Foliage Clearance Morning
There will be a foliage clearance and tidying morning at Gulliford Burial Ground on Saturday 24th February. If you can spare a couple of hours to help to conserve this important dissenters' graveyard it will be greatly appreciated.
Gulliford lies in Meetings Lane and the top of Strawberry Hill, Lympstone. Initially, it was a Presbyterian and later Unitarian site dating back to the 17th century. The first chapel was built in 1687 and in 1774 a further plot of land was donated to extend the site for a second larger chapel to be built to replace the original chapel, which was then too small for the extra congregation.
Burials at Gulliford include Worthington Brice, a merchant whose business comprised the whaling industry based at his home at Parsonage Stile, Margaret and Charles Baring whose family were the banking dynasty from Courtlands (now Lympstone Manor), Brice Wakeford Lee of Ebford Barton, a Major-General in the Indian Army, and George Mason, aged just 25, and a talented artist whose work hung in the Royal Academy.
Today the burial ground is jointly looked after by Lympstone and Woodbury Parish Councils. The perimeter walls and the Jervis, the Lees and the Stogdon tombs are Grade II Listed. A notice board informs visitors of its past, the site’s history hidden behind ivy & yew. A bench welcomes the caller to stop and listen to the bird song. Adapted from an article by Angela Coles published on the www.lympstone.org website in November 2017.
WEDNESDAY 10th JANUARY 2018
Happy New Year!
There will be a Work Day from 1p.m. on Wednesday 10th January 2018. There are a few tasks to carry out and everyone is welcome to lend a hand for an hour or so.
If you are interested in joining the Research Group, the next meeting will be on Thursday 25th January 2018 starting at 11a.m. at 21, The Mint - please feel free to come along if you are interested in Exeter's dissenting families and wish to get involved. Please let us know in advance by email (enquiries@edgt.org.uk) or phone (07769335506) in case the arrangements change.
Happy New Year!
There will be a Work Day from 1p.m. on Wednesday 10th January 2018. There are a few tasks to carry out and everyone is welcome to lend a hand for an hour or so.
If you are interested in joining the Research Group, the next meeting will be on Thursday 25th January 2018 starting at 11a.m. at 21, The Mint - please feel free to come along if you are interested in Exeter's dissenting families and wish to get involved. Please let us know in advance by email (enquiries@edgt.org.uk) or phone (07769335506) in case the arrangements change.
FRIDAY 1st DECEMBER 2017
During the clearance work and graveyard surveys, a number of interesting stone fragments, coffin handles and other artefacts were recovered. They were identified and recorded by Martin Dyer, Pru Manning and Naomi Payne. A cupboard has been built for the purpose of keeping these artefacts dry and secure and we wish to thank Nigel Fitzhugh for constructing it. We will now be able to display some of the more interesting finds at Open Days.
During the clearance work and graveyard surveys, a number of interesting stone fragments, coffin handles and other artefacts were recovered. They were identified and recorded by Martin Dyer, Pru Manning and Naomi Payne. A cupboard has been built for the purpose of keeping these artefacts dry and secure and we wish to thank Nigel Fitzhugh for constructing it. We will now be able to display some of the more interesting finds at Open Days.
WEDNESDAY 8th NOVEMBER 2017
Thanks to Nigel, Yvonne, Paul, Jane, Gordon, Rachel, Peter, Cathy, Ian and Pam for helping at the graveyard today. Nigel has constructed a cupboard for the storage of stones and other items found at the graveyard, and the floor area of the small building - which we think was either a shelter or tool store for the gravedigger - has been outlined in brick and covered in blue slate chippings (see photograph). The two benches have received a coating of oil to help protect them over the winter, and general gardening and clearance tasks were carried out in fine weather. Details of the next work day will be posted here and on Twitter (@ExeterDGT).
Thanks to Nigel, Yvonne, Paul, Jane, Gordon, Rachel, Peter, Cathy, Ian and Pam for helping at the graveyard today. Nigel has constructed a cupboard for the storage of stones and other items found at the graveyard, and the floor area of the small building - which we think was either a shelter or tool store for the gravedigger - has been outlined in brick and covered in blue slate chippings (see photograph). The two benches have received a coating of oil to help protect them over the winter, and general gardening and clearance tasks were carried out in fine weather. Details of the next work day will be posted here and on Twitter (@ExeterDGT).
MONDAY 6th NOVEMBER 2017
It is with profound sadness that the Trustees and volunteers learned of the death of Martin Dyer, the supervising archaeologist on our conservation project at the Dissenters' graveyard. Everyone who knew and worked with Martin was touched by his knowledge, enthusiasm and desire to see the graveyard professionally conserved. His last visit to the graveyard was on Saturday 9th September to watch and listen to the West Gallery Quire (see below). He will be sorely missed by everyone at EDGT. Our thoughts and sincere condolences go to his wife, Sally, their sons, family and friends.
Photo. Martin Dyer with a group of University students at the graveyard in October 2016.
It is with profound sadness that the Trustees and volunteers learned of the death of Martin Dyer, the supervising archaeologist on our conservation project at the Dissenters' graveyard. Everyone who knew and worked with Martin was touched by his knowledge, enthusiasm and desire to see the graveyard professionally conserved. His last visit to the graveyard was on Saturday 9th September to watch and listen to the West Gallery Quire (see below). He will be sorely missed by everyone at EDGT. Our thoughts and sincere condolences go to his wife, Sally, their sons, family and friends.
Photo. Martin Dyer with a group of University students at the graveyard in October 2016.
WEDNESDAY 8th NOVEMBER 2017
There will be a Work Day at the graveyard on Wednesday 8th November. It's a drop-in event and the gate will open at 10a.m. There will be gardening and general maintenance jobs to carry out. Everyone welcome.
There will be a Work Day at the graveyard on Wednesday 8th November. It's a drop-in event and the gate will open at 10a.m. There will be gardening and general maintenance jobs to carry out. Everyone welcome.
WEDNESDAY 25th OCTOBER 2017
Huge thanks to Exeter Civic Society for donating a further £250 to our conservation funds. This will enable us to complete some tasks, such as marking the floor area of a historic small building on the site. A few stones only remain at ground level, some of them being large blocks of Heavitree breccia. We don't know what the building was used for, but the discovery of eighteenth and nineteenth century clay pipe fragments and broken glass against the east wall suggests that it might have been used as a shelter or tool shed for the gravedigger(s).
Huge thanks to Exeter Civic Society for donating a further £250 to our conservation funds. This will enable us to complete some tasks, such as marking the floor area of a historic small building on the site. A few stones only remain at ground level, some of them being large blocks of Heavitree breccia. We don't know what the building was used for, but the discovery of eighteenth and nineteenth century clay pipe fragments and broken glass against the east wall suggests that it might have been used as a shelter or tool shed for the gravedigger(s).
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SATURDAY 9th and SUNDAY 10th September 2017 | HERITAGE OPEN WEEKEND We were delighted to welcome more than 130 people to the graveyard over the Heritage weekend, including several who had travelled to Exeter from far afield. There was a lot of interest in the work carried out by the EDGT, but also many questions about Dissenters in general and about life in Georgian Exeter. |
The highlight of Saturday afternoon was the West Gallery Quire who dodged the showers and sang a number of sacred songs, psalms and a funeral ode. A video of their performance appears above (apologies for the wind noise). The particular piece was taken from a book of church music that was rescued from a skip when George's Meeting was being converted by Wetherspoons in the 1980s.
Our thanks to the Quire, to volunteer stewards Cathy, Dalia, Geoff, Gordon, Ian, Jane, Paul, Peter, Rachel, Sandra and Yvonne, and to all our visitors who braved the showers. Video and images courtesy of Martin Dyer.
Our thanks to the Quire, to volunteer stewards Cathy, Dalia, Geoff, Gordon, Ian, Jane, Paul, Peter, Rachel, Sandra and Yvonne, and to all our visitors who braved the showers. Video and images courtesy of Martin Dyer.
WEDNESDAY 30th August 2017
HERITAGE OPEN WEEKEND - SATURDAY 9th and SUNDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2017
The graveyard will be open on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September 2017 between the hours of 11a.m. and 4p.m. Stewards will be on hand to explain the history of the site and to show visitors the results of our Social History research.
At 2.30p.m. on Saturday 9th September the West Gallery Quire (see http://www.wgma.org.uk/index.htm) - a group with an interest in the sacred music of the Georgian era will be singing hymns and psalms at the graveyard, including settings from a book rescued from Georges Meeting House. SEE PRESS RELEASE HERE.
HERITAGE OPEN WEEKEND - SATURDAY 9th and SUNDAY 10th SEPTEMBER 2017
The graveyard will be open on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September 2017 between the hours of 11a.m. and 4p.m. Stewards will be on hand to explain the history of the site and to show visitors the results of our Social History research.
At 2.30p.m. on Saturday 9th September the West Gallery Quire (see http://www.wgma.org.uk/index.htm) - a group with an interest in the sacred music of the Georgian era will be singing hymns and psalms at the graveyard, including settings from a book rescued from Georges Meeting House. SEE PRESS RELEASE HERE.
WEDNESDAY 5th July 2017
THE WILDFLOWERS ARE FLOWERING
Some areas of the graveyard are now flowering. Come and see for yourself at our Open Day on Saturday 8th July from 11a.m. to 4p.m.
THE WILDFLOWERS ARE FLOWERING
Some areas of the graveyard are now flowering. Come and see for yourself at our Open Day on Saturday 8th July from 11a.m. to 4p.m.
SATURDAY 8th July 2017
OPEN DAY
The graveyard will be open on Saturday 8th July 2017 between the hours of 11a.m. and 4p.m. Stewards will be on hand to explain the history of the site and to show visitors the results of our Social History research.
OPEN DAY
The graveyard will be open on Saturday 8th July 2017 between the hours of 11a.m. and 4p.m. Stewards will be on hand to explain the history of the site and to show visitors the results of our Social History research.
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Thursday 1st June 2017
WE'RE LETTING THE GRASS GROW UNDER OUR FEET...BUT THAT'S GOOD! A wildflower lawn seed mix was applied to the graveyard in the middle of May once the threat of late frosts had passed. Germination has commenced and successive seeding will take place into the Autumn to ensure that all areas of the graveyard will be fully covered. The seed mix we've used is 80% slow-growing grasses and 20% pollinator-attractive wildflowers, obtained from Habitat Aid. Details of the seed mix is available here. The grass should be well established by the time of the next Open Day on Saturday 8th July 2017. |
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Friday 12th May 2017
THIRD INTERPRETATION BOARD IS NOW IN PLACE
Three interpretation boards have now been installed at the graveyard. One board is attached to the wall outside the graveyard, the other two have been positioned alongside the main path. All three of the boards have been designed by EDGT trustee Nigel FitzHugh and we are very grateful for the skillful way he has communicated information about the origin of the graveyard, details on some of the families buried there, and the types of monuments found at the site.
THIRD INTERPRETATION BOARD IS NOW IN PLACE
Three interpretation boards have now been installed at the graveyard. One board is attached to the wall outside the graveyard, the other two have been positioned alongside the main path. All three of the boards have been designed by EDGT trustee Nigel FitzHugh and we are very grateful for the skillful way he has communicated information about the origin of the graveyard, details on some of the families buried there, and the types of monuments found at the site.
Wednesday 10th May 2017
THE GRAVEYARD HAS SEATING!
The wooden benches have now been moved to their final positions. Thanks to Nigel for laying the slate slabs on a very warm day!
THE GRAVEYARD HAS SEATING!
The wooden benches have now been moved to their final positions. Thanks to Nigel for laying the slate slabs on a very warm day!
Monday 1st May 2017
BENCHES ARE DELIVERED
Two wooden benches have been purchased for the graveyard. One of them has been donated by an anonymous Exeter resident and the other will be dedicated to the memory of Beryl Coe who died unexpectedly in November 2015. Beryl was instrumental in the early days of the conservation work and led the Research Group from 2013 until her death.
One of the benches will be sited at the end of the path, and "Beryl's Bench" will be positioned close to the gate looking across the graveyard. Visitors will be able to sit in quiet contemplation and in comfort!
BENCHES ARE DELIVERED
Two wooden benches have been purchased for the graveyard. One of them has been donated by an anonymous Exeter resident and the other will be dedicated to the memory of Beryl Coe who died unexpectedly in November 2015. Beryl was instrumental in the early days of the conservation work and led the Research Group from 2013 until her death.
One of the benches will be sited at the end of the path, and "Beryl's Bench" will be positioned close to the gate looking across the graveyard. Visitors will be able to sit in quiet contemplation and in comfort!
Thursday 16th March 2017
NEW INTERPRETATION BOARD
The second of three interpretation boards has been installed in the graveyard. Designed by EDGT trustee Nigel FitzHugh, the board commemorates some of the people buried at the site, including Micaijah Towgood, the Bowring, Gifford, Nation and Bielfeld families amongst others.
NEW INTERPRETATION BOARD
The second of three interpretation boards has been installed in the graveyard. Designed by EDGT trustee Nigel FitzHugh, the board commemorates some of the people buried at the site, including Micaijah Towgood, the Bowring, Gifford, Nation and Bielfeld families amongst others.
Monday 27th February 2017
RICHORD AND THOMAS EDMONDS HANGED.....on the wall
Many of the headstones in the graveyard have been damaged by weathering and by other factors to such an extent that they cannot be stabilised and positioned upright. We have set most of them onto gently sloping stone ballast plinths so that rainwater runs off their surface, whilst a few smaller stones have been attached to the boundary walls. A couple of large pieces of a headstone were recovered from the Bowring vault in 2016 (see April 2016 below) and it was evident that the headstone had been buried for some time because the carved lettering was in good condition. The headstone commemorated Richord Edmonds (d. 1832) and her husband Thomas, a joiner, who died seven years later. The lower part of the headstone has not been found so it could not be repaired and re-inserted into the ground. The trustees made the decision to contract stonemason Andy French to glue the pieces and fix the stone to the western boundary wall of the graveyard and this has now been done (see images below).
RICHORD AND THOMAS EDMONDS HANGED.....on the wall
Many of the headstones in the graveyard have been damaged by weathering and by other factors to such an extent that they cannot be stabilised and positioned upright. We have set most of them onto gently sloping stone ballast plinths so that rainwater runs off their surface, whilst a few smaller stones have been attached to the boundary walls. A couple of large pieces of a headstone were recovered from the Bowring vault in 2016 (see April 2016 below) and it was evident that the headstone had been buried for some time because the carved lettering was in good condition. The headstone commemorated Richord Edmonds (d. 1832) and her husband Thomas, a joiner, who died seven years later. The lower part of the headstone has not been found so it could not be repaired and re-inserted into the ground. The trustees made the decision to contract stonemason Andy French to glue the pieces and fix the stone to the western boundary wall of the graveyard and this has now been done (see images below).
Sunday 5th February 2017
NEW PATH HAS BEEN LAID
A self-binding gravel path has been laid at the graveyard using 8 cubic metres of 'hoggin'. The surface has been rolled to compress the gravel, creating a smooth, water-permeable and, hopefully, weed-resistant path which has significantly improved accessibility for wheelchair users.
Phase Two of the conservation project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund is now almost complete. Some final repairs to monuments and re-positioning of headstones is currently under way. Once the weather improves, the graveyard will be strimmed, perennial weeds will be treated and the site will be seeded with a grass-wild flower mixture obtained from Habitat Aid (www.habitataid.co.uk), a seed supplier recommended by Caring for God's Acre (www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk).
The next Volunteer Work Day will be Saturday 4th March between the hours of 10a.m. and 4p.m.
NEW PATH HAS BEEN LAID
A self-binding gravel path has been laid at the graveyard using 8 cubic metres of 'hoggin'. The surface has been rolled to compress the gravel, creating a smooth, water-permeable and, hopefully, weed-resistant path which has significantly improved accessibility for wheelchair users.
Phase Two of the conservation project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund is now almost complete. Some final repairs to monuments and re-positioning of headstones is currently under way. Once the weather improves, the graveyard will be strimmed, perennial weeds will be treated and the site will be seeded with a grass-wild flower mixture obtained from Habitat Aid (www.habitataid.co.uk), a seed supplier recommended by Caring for God's Acre (www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk).
The next Volunteer Work Day will be Saturday 4th March between the hours of 10a.m. and 4p.m.
Monday 16th January 2017
GATE METALWORK IS COMPLETED
The final section of the gate metalwork has been installed (see Gallery). Fabricated by ASH Ironworks at Powderham Forge, the metalwork in the arch has five spokes representing the Meeting Houses (Bow, Georges, Little, James and Mint) where the people buried in the graveyard worshipped.
The next stage of the restoration work will be to lay hoggin - a self-binding gravel surface - over the exposed brick path. The brick path is a late addition to the graveyard - probably laid in the 1980s - over the course of the original gravel path. We hope that the hoggin will look natural and will create a wheelchair and pram-friendly surface - as well as being resistant to weeds. Time will tell!
GATE METALWORK IS COMPLETED
The final section of the gate metalwork has been installed (see Gallery). Fabricated by ASH Ironworks at Powderham Forge, the metalwork in the arch has five spokes representing the Meeting Houses (Bow, Georges, Little, James and Mint) where the people buried in the graveyard worshipped.
The next stage of the restoration work will be to lay hoggin - a self-binding gravel surface - over the exposed brick path. The brick path is a late addition to the graveyard - probably laid in the 1980s - over the course of the original gravel path. We hope that the hoggin will look natural and will create a wheelchair and pram-friendly surface - as well as being resistant to weeds. Time will tell!
Saturday 7th January 2017
THE EXETER DISSENTERS' GRAVEYARD SEMINAR | Rowe Hall, The Mint Methodist Centre, Fore Street, Exeter
Almost 70 people attended an afternoon seminar giving an update on the conservation work undertaken at the graveyard. The programme appears below. Our thanks to the speakers and attendees for their time and support of the graveyard project.
THE EXETER DISSENTERS' GRAVEYARD SEMINAR | Rowe Hall, The Mint Methodist Centre, Fore Street, Exeter
Almost 70 people attended an afternoon seminar giving an update on the conservation work undertaken at the graveyard. The programme appears below. Our thanks to the speakers and attendees for their time and support of the graveyard project.
9 December 2016
INTERPRETATION BOARD
An interpretation board has been fixed to the north wall outside the graveyard. Designed by EDGT trustee Nigel FitzHugh, the board explains who Dissenters were and outlines the origin of the graveyard. Two more boards are in production and will be sited inside the graveyard.
Jane Marston signals her approval of the new interpretation board.
INTERPRETATION BOARD
An interpretation board has been fixed to the north wall outside the graveyard. Designed by EDGT trustee Nigel FitzHugh, the board explains who Dissenters were and outlines the origin of the graveyard. Two more boards are in production and will be sited inside the graveyard.
Jane Marston signals her approval of the new interpretation board.
21 November 2016
GATES INSTALLED
The new gates have been installed. Fabricated by Andrew Hall at ASH Ironworks, Powderham Forge, the gates are galvanised metal, black-painted to match the railings that were installed earlier in the year. For many years temporary gates constructed from marine plywood have fronted the graveyard, offering no views of the site. The transformation is dramatic and our thanks go to Andrew and his team, and to the Heritage Lottery Fund which supported the fabrication of the railings and gates.
GATES INSTALLED
The new gates have been installed. Fabricated by Andrew Hall at ASH Ironworks, Powderham Forge, the gates are galvanised metal, black-painted to match the railings that were installed earlier in the year. For many years temporary gates constructed from marine plywood have fronted the graveyard, offering no views of the site. The transformation is dramatic and our thanks go to Andrew and his team, and to the Heritage Lottery Fund which supported the fabrication of the railings and gates.
19 October 2016
A SUCCESSFUL WORK DAY
Several stalwart volunteers, including eight members of the Exeter University Student Volunteers Environment Project team, worked at the graveyard on Wednesday 19th October, and assisted with the recovery of worked stone that had been dumped into a collapsed vault many years ago. By removing the stone it became possible for Archaeologist Martin Dyer to access part of the vault and describe and photograph it (see photographs below).
The volunteers also back-filled an exposed walled grave, cleaned memorial stones, strimmed the grass and carried out general clearance work. Our thanks go to everyone who helped, including Steve Wills (pictured right with some of the stones removed from trench five - the collapsed vault), Yvonne Hensman, Jane Marston, Nigel Fitzhugh, Ian Varndell and Martin Dyer.
The next Volunteer Work Day will be in early November.
A SUCCESSFUL WORK DAY
Several stalwart volunteers, including eight members of the Exeter University Student Volunteers Environment Project team, worked at the graveyard on Wednesday 19th October, and assisted with the recovery of worked stone that had been dumped into a collapsed vault many years ago. By removing the stone it became possible for Archaeologist Martin Dyer to access part of the vault and describe and photograph it (see photographs below).
The volunteers also back-filled an exposed walled grave, cleaned memorial stones, strimmed the grass and carried out general clearance work. Our thanks go to everyone who helped, including Steve Wills (pictured right with some of the stones removed from trench five - the collapsed vault), Yvonne Hensman, Jane Marston, Nigel Fitzhugh, Ian Varndell and Martin Dyer.
The next Volunteer Work Day will be in early November.
19 October 2016
DONATION TO THE RESEARCH GROUP FROM CARTRIDGES LAW
Cartridges Law based in Cowick Street, St Thomas, Exeter has made a further donation to the work of the Trust. Bridget Garrood, a partner in the law firm, presented a cheque for £250 to Yvonne Hensman, chair of the EDGT Research Group at a recent meeting at 21 The Mint, Exeter. Bridget has been researching the life of Samuel Molland Cox, an attorney of the City of Exeter, whose wife and baby child died within a few days of each other in 1829 and are both buried in the graveyard. Family members of a number of men working in the legal profession are commemorated in the graveyard.
Anyone wishing to join the Research Group or is interested in the non-conformist family history of Georgian Exeter will be very welcome and should contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk in the first instance.
Photo. EDGT Research Group (clockwise from left: Sally Dyer, Tessa Varndell, Sarah Taylor, Anne Amosford (seated), Bridget Garrood, Yvonne Hensman and Sue Moss.
DONATION TO THE RESEARCH GROUP FROM CARTRIDGES LAW
Cartridges Law based in Cowick Street, St Thomas, Exeter has made a further donation to the work of the Trust. Bridget Garrood, a partner in the law firm, presented a cheque for £250 to Yvonne Hensman, chair of the EDGT Research Group at a recent meeting at 21 The Mint, Exeter. Bridget has been researching the life of Samuel Molland Cox, an attorney of the City of Exeter, whose wife and baby child died within a few days of each other in 1829 and are both buried in the graveyard. Family members of a number of men working in the legal profession are commemorated in the graveyard.
Anyone wishing to join the Research Group or is interested in the non-conformist family history of Georgian Exeter will be very welcome and should contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk in the first instance.
Photo. EDGT Research Group (clockwise from left: Sally Dyer, Tessa Varndell, Sarah Taylor, Anne Amosford (seated), Bridget Garrood, Yvonne Hensman and Sue Moss.
16 October 2016
VOLUNTEER WORK DAY - Wednesday 19th October.
The graveyard will be open from 10a.m. on Wednesday (19th October) and anyone wishing to lend a hand with some tasks will be very welcome.
VOLUNTEER WORK DAY - Wednesday 19th October.
The graveyard will be open from 10a.m. on Wednesday (19th October) and anyone wishing to lend a hand with some tasks will be very welcome.
16 October 2016
AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY
Stonemason Andy French has been working on memorial 6 dedicated to the Bielfeld family. Over the years the base had been reduced to a pile of bricks and has been re-built by Peter Lee and, latterly, by Andy French to a height of nine courses (see images below). Before replacing the stone on top of the bricks, Andy noticed that there is an inscription on the underside. Archaeologist Martin Dyer recorded the inscription:
Here Lyeth the Body of
NATHAN SPRIGG JEFFERY
[S]on of EDMd. JEFFERY of this
[C]ity who Died Jany Ye 5th 1756
Aged 9 Months
Martin also commented, "There was no further inscription below this. Some letters at both edges of the inscription had been truncated by the cutting of the rounded edge of the slab. The lettering was still very sharp and completely unweathered. It therefore looks as though the original inscription was cut on a straight edged slab. For some reason this memorial was not used but the slab was later reused by the stonemason for the Bielfeld memorial, when a rounded edge was put on it, truncating the earlier inscription in the process." The infant, Nathan Sprigg Jeffery, is the only member of his family known to have been buried in the graveyard.
AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY
Stonemason Andy French has been working on memorial 6 dedicated to the Bielfeld family. Over the years the base had been reduced to a pile of bricks and has been re-built by Peter Lee and, latterly, by Andy French to a height of nine courses (see images below). Before replacing the stone on top of the bricks, Andy noticed that there is an inscription on the underside. Archaeologist Martin Dyer recorded the inscription:
Here Lyeth the Body of
NATHAN SPRIGG JEFFERY
[S]on of EDMd. JEFFERY of this
[C]ity who Died Jany Ye 5th 1756
Aged 9 Months
Martin also commented, "There was no further inscription below this. Some letters at both edges of the inscription had been truncated by the cutting of the rounded edge of the slab. The lettering was still very sharp and completely unweathered. It therefore looks as though the original inscription was cut on a straight edged slab. For some reason this memorial was not used but the slab was later reused by the stonemason for the Bielfeld memorial, when a rounded edge was put on it, truncating the earlier inscription in the process." The infant, Nathan Sprigg Jeffery, is the only member of his family known to have been buried in the graveyard.
5 September 2016
EDGT Archaeologist Martin Dyer has exposed part of a brick built walled grave with a partly-collapsed barrel-vaulted roof (see photographs below). The grave measures 80cm across, and was therefore only wide enough to take a single coffin. This makes it too small to be called a vault, which has to be two coffin widths or more.
The grave is located close to two of the chest tombs (Nos 43 & 44) (the location is marked in red on the plan – right). It was discovered when a broken headstone (No. 84) was being reset and a small sink hole appeared beside it. Further investigation showed that the headstone had been set into the top of the roof, probably causing it to collapse. The resulting void was filled with soil containing pieces of 20th century glass and plastic as well as bricks from the collapsed roof, and it therefore seems likely that the disturbance occurred during the MSC tidy-up in 1984/5**. The grave is built along the south side of the collapsed vault that was excavated in July 2015.
As the original memorial stone does not survive, it is not possible to say who was buried in the grave. The contents of the grave will be left undisturbed. The grave will remain exposed during the HERITAGE OPEN DAYS – Saturday 10th and Sunday 12th September 2016.
** If anyone has any information about the Manpower Services Commission work at the graveyard in the 1980s please contact Mr Paul Chant (secretary@edgt.org.uk).
EDGT Archaeologist Martin Dyer has exposed part of a brick built walled grave with a partly-collapsed barrel-vaulted roof (see photographs below). The grave measures 80cm across, and was therefore only wide enough to take a single coffin. This makes it too small to be called a vault, which has to be two coffin widths or more.
The grave is located close to two of the chest tombs (Nos 43 & 44) (the location is marked in red on the plan – right). It was discovered when a broken headstone (No. 84) was being reset and a small sink hole appeared beside it. Further investigation showed that the headstone had been set into the top of the roof, probably causing it to collapse. The resulting void was filled with soil containing pieces of 20th century glass and plastic as well as bricks from the collapsed roof, and it therefore seems likely that the disturbance occurred during the MSC tidy-up in 1984/5**. The grave is built along the south side of the collapsed vault that was excavated in July 2015.
As the original memorial stone does not survive, it is not possible to say who was buried in the grave. The contents of the grave will be left undisturbed. The grave will remain exposed during the HERITAGE OPEN DAYS – Saturday 10th and Sunday 12th September 2016.
** If anyone has any information about the Manpower Services Commission work at the graveyard in the 1980s please contact Mr Paul Chant (secretary@edgt.org.uk).
31 August 2016
COUNCIL FOR BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY. We are grateful to the Council of British Archaeology for a donation to the investigative work being undertaken at the graveyard. The CBA has provided a grant of £1000 from its Mick Aston Archaeology Fund. Professor Mick Aston was well known as a member of Channel 4's Time Team, and was credited with popularising archaeology and encouraging amateurs to get involved, although his role in the programme was very much as the "resident academic". He died in June 2013 shortly before his 67th birthday.
COUNCIL FOR BRITISH ARCHAEOLOGY. We are grateful to the Council of British Archaeology for a donation to the investigative work being undertaken at the graveyard. The CBA has provided a grant of £1000 from its Mick Aston Archaeology Fund. Professor Mick Aston was well known as a member of Channel 4's Time Team, and was credited with popularising archaeology and encouraging amateurs to get involved, although his role in the programme was very much as the "resident academic". He died in June 2013 shortly before his 67th birthday.
5 August 2016
HERITAGE OPEN DAYS - 10th and 11th September 2016
The graveyard will be open to visitors during the Heritage Open Weekend in September and this will include an artistic recreation of the lives of some Dissenters in Exeter with costumed actors leading a tour of the City, ending at the graveyard.
There will be a few work days on the site when volunteers are invited to help with various tasks, including brick-laying, weeding and general tidying - tentative dates are 20th, 21st, 30th, 31st August and 8th September. If you can spare a few hours on one of those dates it would be great - contact secretary@edgt.org.uk to receive more information.
HERITAGE OPEN DAYS - 10th and 11th September 2016
The graveyard will be open to visitors during the Heritage Open Weekend in September and this will include an artistic recreation of the lives of some Dissenters in Exeter with costumed actors leading a tour of the City, ending at the graveyard.
There will be a few work days on the site when volunteers are invited to help with various tasks, including brick-laying, weeding and general tidying - tentative dates are 20th, 21st, 30th, 31st August and 8th September. If you can spare a few hours on one of those dates it would be great - contact secretary@edgt.org.uk to receive more information.
25-29 July 2016
RAILINGS INSTALLED
Andrew Hall and his team at ASH Ironworks (Powderham and Branscombe) began installing railings on the eastern boundary of the graveyard this week. The railings have been fabricated, galvanised and painted black and are similar to eighteenth century railings found elsewhere within the St Leonards area of Exeter. Later in the Summer, new gates into the graveyard will be installed.
RAILINGS INSTALLED
Andrew Hall and his team at ASH Ironworks (Powderham and Branscombe) began installing railings on the eastern boundary of the graveyard this week. The railings have been fabricated, galvanised and painted black and are similar to eighteenth century railings found elsewhere within the St Leonards area of Exeter. Later in the Summer, new gates into the graveyard will be installed.
May 2016
OPEN DAY - Saturday 25th June 2016
The graveyard will be open to visitors from 11a.m. to 4.00p.m.
VOLUNTEER DAYS - Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June
The graveyard will be open from 9.30a.m. on Saturday and Sunday (4th/5th June) and anyone wishing to lend a hand with some tasks will be very welcome.
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DONATION FROM THE LECHE TRUST
The trustees of the EDG are extremely grateful for a donation of £2000 from The Leche Trust to support the repair work to the tomb of William Gifford which is situated on the right hand side of the entrance to the graveyard. See below for a report of the visit of one of William's descendants in April 2016.
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VOLUNTEER DAYS - Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th May
The graveyard will be open from 10a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday (10th/11th May) and anyone wishing to lend a hand with some tasks will be very welcome. Some of the work that needs to be achieved:
- lifting and re-setting bricks along the path
- probing for voids below the path
- setting new ground levels
- bricklaying
- weeding
Drinks and biscuits will be provided, but please bring snacks/lunch.
Drop in for an hour - or stay all day - your contribution to the work at the site will be gratefully appreciated.
OPEN DAY - Saturday 25th June 2016
The graveyard will be open to visitors from 11a.m. to 4.00p.m.
VOLUNTEER DAYS - Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June
The graveyard will be open from 9.30a.m. on Saturday and Sunday (4th/5th June) and anyone wishing to lend a hand with some tasks will be very welcome.
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DONATION FROM THE LECHE TRUST
The trustees of the EDG are extremely grateful for a donation of £2000 from The Leche Trust to support the repair work to the tomb of William Gifford which is situated on the right hand side of the entrance to the graveyard. See below for a report of the visit of one of William's descendants in April 2016.
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VOLUNTEER DAYS - Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th May
The graveyard will be open from 10a.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday (10th/11th May) and anyone wishing to lend a hand with some tasks will be very welcome. Some of the work that needs to be achieved:
- lifting and re-setting bricks along the path
- probing for voids below the path
- setting new ground levels
- bricklaying
- weeding
Drinks and biscuits will be provided, but please bring snacks/lunch.
Drop in for an hour - or stay all day - your contribution to the work at the site will be gratefully appreciated.
April 2016
The original eighteenth century granite step into the graveyard has been cleared of the unsightly, slightly domed, concrete capping that covered the threshold. This has revealed two granite sills that are joined by a curved iron bar that is fixed with lead into sockets in each sill. There is a depression behind the bar, which would have retained the drop bolt at the bottom of the east gate. A circular socket by the west end of the bar and/or another offset to the north may have secured the drop bolt of the west gate. There is a square socket at the end of each sill beside the gate piers, which would have held the pintles for the two gates (see photographs below).
The gravel has been moved revealing the brickwork path. Work will be carried out to relay part of the path once the granite sills have been lifted and reset.
The original eighteenth century granite step into the graveyard has been cleared of the unsightly, slightly domed, concrete capping that covered the threshold. This has revealed two granite sills that are joined by a curved iron bar that is fixed with lead into sockets in each sill. There is a depression behind the bar, which would have retained the drop bolt at the bottom of the east gate. A circular socket by the west end of the bar and/or another offset to the north may have secured the drop bolt of the west gate. There is a square socket at the end of each sill beside the gate piers, which would have held the pintles for the two gates (see photographs below).
The gravel has been moved revealing the brickwork path. Work will be carried out to relay part of the path once the granite sills have been lifted and reset.
April 2016
THE BOWRING FAMILY
During a volunteer day in mid-2015 a hole opened in the main path that bisects the graveyard. The trustees had no option but to cordon off the site until an archaeological investigation could take place. This was undertaken in September 2015 and the work to re-seal the vault and rebuild the chest tomb was completed early in 2016.
The entrance to the tomb had collapsed and earth had fallen back into the vault. Our site contractors, Westpointe Ltd., carefully removed the soil and debris and once the entrance had been cleared a number of bones were visible. The tomb is known to be dedicated to the Bowring family, and nine bodies are thought to have been buried, but only five skulls were observed. Charlotte Coles, a forensic osteo-archaeologist was asked to describe the bones that were visible, without removing them. Her report can be downloaded here.
THE BOWRING FAMILY
During a volunteer day in mid-2015 a hole opened in the main path that bisects the graveyard. The trustees had no option but to cordon off the site until an archaeological investigation could take place. This was undertaken in September 2015 and the work to re-seal the vault and rebuild the chest tomb was completed early in 2016.
The entrance to the tomb had collapsed and earth had fallen back into the vault. Our site contractors, Westpointe Ltd., carefully removed the soil and debris and once the entrance had been cleared a number of bones were visible. The tomb is known to be dedicated to the Bowring family, and nine bodies are thought to have been buried, but only five skulls were observed. Charlotte Coles, a forensic osteo-archaeologist was asked to describe the bones that were visible, without removing them. Her report can be downloaded here.
April 2016
EDGT trustee Yvonne Hensman recently played host to an American visitor. Nancy O'Connell Ronning (pictured on the left below with Yvonne Hensman) lives in New Jersey, USA. She is the 5x Great Granddaughter of William Gifford, a grocer in the City of Exeter, who died in 1757 and his wife, Honor (d. 1759). Both are commemorated on a memorial which has recently been rebuilt, along with their son William, noted to be a Doctor of Physick (sic) and others (click here for a short biography of those commemorated).
A second tomb at the graveyard commemorates Nancy's 4x Great Uncle, John, first wife, Anna, and others. John was the brother of William, the doctor, commemorated on the above memorial.
Nancy's family tree:-
John Gifford (died 1688) lived near Wellington, Somerset.
- Thomas Gifford (died 1718) married to Anne Norrish. They lived in Somerset.
- - William Gifford (died 1757) married to Honor Hutchings from Moretonhampstead.
- - - William Gifford (1788) not married but all four children born to Martha Whitelock.
- - - - Charlotte Gifford (died 1845) married Lewis Kelly at St. Leonard's Church, Exeter.
- - - - - Anne Kelly (died ?) married Waldron Kelly (her 1st cousin!) in Ireland.
- - - - - - Anson H Kelly# (died in 1898) married Catherine Matthews in New Jersey, USA.
- - - - - - - Kathryn Kelly (died 1961) married John O'Connell in New Jersey, USA (grandparents)
# It was Anson Kelly who, as a boy of 15, went to the USA on his own and started the American line of the family.
EDGT trustee Yvonne Hensman recently played host to an American visitor. Nancy O'Connell Ronning (pictured on the left below with Yvonne Hensman) lives in New Jersey, USA. She is the 5x Great Granddaughter of William Gifford, a grocer in the City of Exeter, who died in 1757 and his wife, Honor (d. 1759). Both are commemorated on a memorial which has recently been rebuilt, along with their son William, noted to be a Doctor of Physick (sic) and others (click here for a short biography of those commemorated).
A second tomb at the graveyard commemorates Nancy's 4x Great Uncle, John, first wife, Anna, and others. John was the brother of William, the doctor, commemorated on the above memorial.
Nancy's family tree:-
John Gifford (died 1688) lived near Wellington, Somerset.
- Thomas Gifford (died 1718) married to Anne Norrish. They lived in Somerset.
- - William Gifford (died 1757) married to Honor Hutchings from Moretonhampstead.
- - - William Gifford (1788) not married but all four children born to Martha Whitelock.
- - - - Charlotte Gifford (died 1845) married Lewis Kelly at St. Leonard's Church, Exeter.
- - - - - Anne Kelly (died ?) married Waldron Kelly (her 1st cousin!) in Ireland.
- - - - - - Anson H Kelly# (died in 1898) married Catherine Matthews in New Jersey, USA.
- - - - - - - Kathryn Kelly (died 1961) married John O'Connell in New Jersey, USA (grandparents)
# It was Anson Kelly who, as a boy of 15, went to the USA on his own and started the American line of the family.
March 2016
Conservation work continues at the graveyard with more memorial stones being mounted onto sand plinths to raise them above soil level. Several headstones have been set upright as this will allow them to shed rainwater which will slow their deterioration and is, of course, how they would have been positioned originally. Our thanks to everyone who has helped to lift, to dig, to move earth, to glue stone fragments, to build plinths and place stones onto them, including the University of Exeter Community Volunteers - you are helping to transform this historic graveyard from a sad and derelict site to a lovely place of contemplation and respect.
Conservation work continues at the graveyard with more memorial stones being mounted onto sand plinths to raise them above soil level. Several headstones have been set upright as this will allow them to shed rainwater which will slow their deterioration and is, of course, how they would have been positioned originally. Our thanks to everyone who has helped to lift, to dig, to move earth, to glue stone fragments, to build plinths and place stones onto them, including the University of Exeter Community Volunteers - you are helping to transform this historic graveyard from a sad and derelict site to a lovely place of contemplation and respect.
February 2016
The Finds Day was a great success with many items being cleaned, dried and identified. Naomi Payne explained the dating of post-mediaeval pottery sherds, clay pipes and other items including coffin fittings. Thanks to everyone who attended and especially to Naomi Payne, Martin and Sally Dyer for their expert guidance.
The Finds Day was a great success with many items being cleaned, dried and identified. Naomi Payne explained the dating of post-mediaeval pottery sherds, clay pipes and other items including coffin fittings. Thanks to everyone who attended and especially to Naomi Payne, Martin and Sally Dyer for their expert guidance.
February 2016
FINDS DAY - Saturday 13th February 2016
St Thomas Methodist Church, Cowick Street, Exeter EX4 1JE | 10.00h - 16.00h
10.00h onwards Wash and clean finds and lay them out to dry.
13.00h Lunch
13.30h onwards Naomi Payne will examine, identify and date the finds and provide information on dating post-medieval pottery, glass bottles and clay pipes.
15.30h onwards A review of the investigations at the graveyard in the light of the dating evidence from the finds.
16.00h Finish and pack-up.
For more details download the programme here.
January 2016
Four new trustees - Cathy Moran, Jane Marston, Yvonne Hensman and Councillor Norman Shiel have been appointed.
FINDS DAY - Saturday 13th February 2016
St Thomas Methodist Church, Cowick Street, Exeter EX4 1JE | 10.00h - 16.00h
10.00h onwards Wash and clean finds and lay them out to dry.
13.00h Lunch
13.30h onwards Naomi Payne will examine, identify and date the finds and provide information on dating post-medieval pottery, glass bottles and clay pipes.
15.30h onwards A review of the investigations at the graveyard in the light of the dating evidence from the finds.
16.00h Finish and pack-up.
For more details download the programme here.
January 2016
Four new trustees - Cathy Moran, Jane Marston, Yvonne Hensman and Councillor Norman Shiel have been appointed.
11 December 2015
A transforming year for the graveyard is drawing to a close and twenty or so volunteers raised their glasses to the work that has been completed. Supervising archaeologist Martin Dyer gave a short presentation highlighting the conservation work to the boundary walls and to several of the tombs as well as details of the excavation of the Bowring tomb (details to follow), a collapsed vault and a small building discovered on the site. This was followed by the presentation of a cheque for £500 to the Trust by Bridget Garrood, a Partner at Cartridges Law in Exeter. Cartridges Law has supported the conservation of the site since 2013 and Bridget has volunteered at various events since that time.
The donation was to cover the cost of the refurbishment of tomb 63 commemorating the Hill family, in particular it is to celebrate the women of the Hill family - Indiana (d. 1812) and her daughter Thomasin (d. 1817). We are very grateful to Cartridges for their donation.
The guests enjoyed a convivial evening with food and drinks provided by members of the Steering Group to whom thanks are given.
Photograph shows Bridget Garrood handing a cheque to EDGT Chairman Peter Wadham.
A transforming year for the graveyard is drawing to a close and twenty or so volunteers raised their glasses to the work that has been completed. Supervising archaeologist Martin Dyer gave a short presentation highlighting the conservation work to the boundary walls and to several of the tombs as well as details of the excavation of the Bowring tomb (details to follow), a collapsed vault and a small building discovered on the site. This was followed by the presentation of a cheque for £500 to the Trust by Bridget Garrood, a Partner at Cartridges Law in Exeter. Cartridges Law has supported the conservation of the site since 2013 and Bridget has volunteered at various events since that time.
The donation was to cover the cost of the refurbishment of tomb 63 commemorating the Hill family, in particular it is to celebrate the women of the Hill family - Indiana (d. 1812) and her daughter Thomasin (d. 1817). We are very grateful to Cartridges for their donation.
The guests enjoyed a convivial evening with food and drinks provided by members of the Steering Group to whom thanks are given.
Photograph shows Bridget Garrood handing a cheque to EDGT Chairman Peter Wadham.
10 November 2015
It is with great sadness that the trustees have been informed of the death of fellow trustee Beryl Coe following recent surgery. Beryl led the EDGT's Research Group and had antecedents buried in the graveyard. We send our sincere condolences to Beryl's family.
7 November 2015
Work at the graveyard has now been completed by specialist contractors Westpointe and Andy French. Thanks are due to them and to Simon Bastone Associates for their great service.
It is with great sadness that the trustees have been informed of the death of fellow trustee Beryl Coe following recent surgery. Beryl led the EDGT's Research Group and had antecedents buried in the graveyard. We send our sincere condolences to Beryl's family.
7 November 2015
Work at the graveyard has now been completed by specialist contractors Westpointe and Andy French. Thanks are due to them and to Simon Bastone Associates for their great service.
18 October 2015
Several members of the Somerset Dowsers visited the graveyard on Sunday to help with locating voids - spaces underground that could be vaults or entrances to vaults. Recently, a sinkhole appeared in the main path that on subsequent inspection turned out to be the entrance into one of the vaults. As there is no plan of where underground chambers might have been built, any help we can get to map the site is greatly appreciated. Matthew French and Geoff Brinkman (in the black coat) are pictured left surveying the ground close to the western boundary wall.
The trustees are extremely grateful to Matthew, Geoff and Mandy Bennett for their expert help. There are more photographs of the dowsers at work in the Gallery.
Several members of the Somerset Dowsers visited the graveyard on Sunday to help with locating voids - spaces underground that could be vaults or entrances to vaults. Recently, a sinkhole appeared in the main path that on subsequent inspection turned out to be the entrance into one of the vaults. As there is no plan of where underground chambers might have been built, any help we can get to map the site is greatly appreciated. Matthew French and Geoff Brinkman (in the black coat) are pictured left surveying the ground close to the western boundary wall.
The trustees are extremely grateful to Matthew, Geoff and Mandy Bennett for their expert help. There are more photographs of the dowsers at work in the Gallery.
26 September 2015
We are very grateful to the team of student volunteers - Rosie, Bethan, Jessica and Matt who helped with laying new drainage plinths and setting several memorial stones under the guidance of Peter Dare and Martin Dyer.
It has been a busy month with structural and conservation work commencing on site. Conservation specialist Andy French and structural engineering contractors Westpointe Ltd. have already carried out a lot of work - some photographs appear below.
We are very grateful to the team of student volunteers - Rosie, Bethan, Jessica and Matt who helped with laying new drainage plinths and setting several memorial stones under the guidance of Peter Dare and Martin Dyer.
It has been a busy month with structural and conservation work commencing on site. Conservation specialist Andy French and structural engineering contractors Westpointe Ltd. have already carried out a lot of work - some photographs appear below.
13 September 2015
Thanks to everyone who visited the graveyard on Saturday and Sunday. We collected almost £100 in donations which will be put to good use.
12 September 2015
The Exeter Dissenters' Tour - see poster and cast in the GALLERY page. The tours are scheduled to leave the Cathedral at 11a.m. and 2p.m. and will conclude at the graveyard.
Exeter Heritage Open Days - September 2015
The graveyard will be open to visitors from 11a.m. to 4p.m. on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September 2015. Everyone is welcome. See Gallery for photographs of the day.
Thanks to everyone who visited the graveyard on Saturday and Sunday. We collected almost £100 in donations which will be put to good use.
12 September 2015
The Exeter Dissenters' Tour - see poster and cast in the GALLERY page. The tours are scheduled to leave the Cathedral at 11a.m. and 2p.m. and will conclude at the graveyard.
Exeter Heritage Open Days - September 2015
The graveyard will be open to visitors from 11a.m. to 4p.m. on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September 2015. Everyone is welcome. See Gallery for photographs of the day.
September 2015
Our main funder, the Heritage Lottery Fund, is conducting research into the success of its projects and wants feedback from visitors, volunteers, participants and trainees. Please click this link and take part - it will take 5-10 minutes and you are not asked for your name.
August 2015
A report on the excavations carried out in June and July 2015 on the small building and collapsed vault (see image), both uncovered during the clearance process, has been compiled by archaeologist Martin Dyer and is available for download here.
Our main funder, the Heritage Lottery Fund, is conducting research into the success of its projects and wants feedback from visitors, volunteers, participants and trainees. Please click this link and take part - it will take 5-10 minutes and you are not asked for your name.
August 2015
A report on the excavations carried out in June and July 2015 on the small building and collapsed vault (see image), both uncovered during the clearance process, has been compiled by archaeologist Martin Dyer and is available for download here.
July 2015
Work on Phase 2 of the restoration project has begun under the supervision of master stonemason Peter Dare. See GALLERY for photographs of the work being carried out.
The conservation work has had a European flavour in the last few weeks, with three Italian students - Julia, Fausto and Andrea - helping to prepare new stone beds as well as moving, cleaning and glueing stone fragments. Their enthusiastic involvement was much appreciated. Grazie di cuore.
The next sessions of work at the site are planned for:
Tuesday/Wednesday 4th/5th August
Saturday/Sunday 15th/16th August
Tuesday/Wednesday 25th/26th August
Everyone is welcome - no experience necessary. - - - o O o - - -
Work on Phase 2 of the restoration project has begun under the supervision of master stonemason Peter Dare. See GALLERY for photographs of the work being carried out.
The conservation work has had a European flavour in the last few weeks, with three Italian students - Julia, Fausto and Andrea - helping to prepare new stone beds as well as moving, cleaning and glueing stone fragments. Their enthusiastic involvement was much appreciated. Grazie di cuore.
The next sessions of work at the site are planned for:
Tuesday/Wednesday 4th/5th August
Saturday/Sunday 15th/16th August
Tuesday/Wednesday 25th/26th August
Everyone is welcome - no experience necessary. - - - o O o - - -
June 2015
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE OPEN DAY SCHEDULED FOR 27TH JUNE HAS BEEN CANCELLED. WE APOLOGISE FOR THE DISAPPOINTMENT.
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May 2015
Exeter Dissenters Graveyard Trust (EDGT) has received £60,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for Phase 2 of the restoration work. This phase, which starts in late May, will continue the process of rescuing the Graveyard from dereliction.
Led by volunteers from the local community, the project will repair gravestones and monuments, install wrought iron gates, put railings on the side with a sheer drop, repair and re-point walls, and remove intrusive and damaging tree stumps.
Volunteers will carry out much of the work, with the initial training and expert supervision we can provide, and we welcome anyone wanting to join our numbers. Where professional work is required we will appoint contractors who employ apprentices and again would welcome approaches from such contractors.
Commenting on the award Claire Rudkins, EDGT's Press Officer said “We are delighted to receive this HLF award which will enable us to secure the long term future of the Graveyard by repairing the monuments and walls. We look forward to showing the public the results of our work at our Open Days on the 11th/12th of September.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE OPEN DAY SCHEDULED FOR 27TH JUNE HAS BEEN CANCELLED. WE APOLOGISE FOR THE DISAPPOINTMENT.
- - - o O o - - -
May 2015
Exeter Dissenters Graveyard Trust (EDGT) has received £60,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for Phase 2 of the restoration work. This phase, which starts in late May, will continue the process of rescuing the Graveyard from dereliction.
Led by volunteers from the local community, the project will repair gravestones and monuments, install wrought iron gates, put railings on the side with a sheer drop, repair and re-point walls, and remove intrusive and damaging tree stumps.
Volunteers will carry out much of the work, with the initial training and expert supervision we can provide, and we welcome anyone wanting to join our numbers. Where professional work is required we will appoint contractors who employ apprentices and again would welcome approaches from such contractors.
Commenting on the award Claire Rudkins, EDGT's Press Officer said “We are delighted to receive this HLF award which will enable us to secure the long term future of the Graveyard by repairing the monuments and walls. We look forward to showing the public the results of our work at our Open Days on the 11th/12th of September.
May 2015
A routine gardening session at the graveyard was interrupted when a hole appeared in the path (pictured right). Martin Dyer, the consulting archaeologist who led the site survey, was summoned to the scene and it seems likely that the path was covering, in part, the entrance into a chest tomb. The area has been cordoned off, and will be the subject of a detailed survey in the coming weeks. As there are several chest tombs located close to the path, it is possible that other concealed entrances might exist. A full risk assessment will be undertaken to ensure that the site is safe for visitors.
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A routine gardening session at the graveyard was interrupted when a hole appeared in the path (pictured right). Martin Dyer, the consulting archaeologist who led the site survey, was summoned to the scene and it seems likely that the path was covering, in part, the entrance into a chest tomb. The area has been cordoned off, and will be the subject of a detailed survey in the coming weeks. As there are several chest tombs located close to the path, it is possible that other concealed entrances might exist. A full risk assessment will be undertaken to ensure that the site is safe for visitors.
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April 2015
Devon Fire and Rescue Service personnel attended the graveyard on 29th April - not to deal with a fire, but to lift and move some of the large memorial stones as a prelude to restoration work beginning later this year. The stones, some of which are estimated to weigh several hundred kilos, were lifted and positioned onto wooden sleepers. Much of the brickwork supporting the stones needs to be dismantled and re-built. Once that work has been completed the stones can be replaced.
Our thanks go to the Devon Fire and Rescue Service for their skillful assistance.
Devon Fire and Rescue Service personnel attended the graveyard on 29th April - not to deal with a fire, but to lift and move some of the large memorial stones as a prelude to restoration work beginning later this year. The stones, some of which are estimated to weigh several hundred kilos, were lifted and positioned onto wooden sleepers. Much of the brickwork supporting the stones needs to be dismantled and re-built. Once that work has been completed the stones can be replaced.
Our thanks go to the Devon Fire and Rescue Service for their skillful assistance.
April 2015
Almost fifty people visited the graveyard during our Open Day on Easter Saturday (4th April). Our thanks go to them for their interest in what we are doing, but also for the donations they made to support our work.
Many thanks to Exeter Life for publishing an article on the graveyard. Click here for more information.
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March 2015
HM Revenue and Customs has been enrolled in the Gift Aid Scheme so we can reclaim tax on donations made to us by UK taxpayers. To make a donation please click the button below.
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Almost fifty people visited the graveyard during our Open Day on Easter Saturday (4th April). Our thanks go to them for their interest in what we are doing, but also for the donations they made to support our work.
Many thanks to Exeter Life for publishing an article on the graveyard. Click here for more information.
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March 2015
HM Revenue and Customs has been enrolled in the Gift Aid Scheme so we can reclaim tax on donations made to us by UK taxpayers. To make a donation please click the button below.
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February 2015
An 83-page archaeology report on the graveyard has been prepared by Martin Dyer who supervised the clearance and topographical survey of the site in early 2014. The Report is available as a .pdf on application to the Secretary of the EDGT (email secretary@edgt.org.uk).
The Report Summary is available for download here.
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January 2015
The Trust has been given a £2,000 Exeter Board Community Grant (link) to assist with the renovation and remedial works at the site. We are extremely grateful for the award and details of how this money will be spent will appear on this website later in 2015.
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November and December 2014
20th December 2014. Our Research group uncovered a fascinating account of the graveyard in The Western Times from August 1888. The article can be accessed in the History and Links section of this website.
An 83-page archaeology report on the graveyard has been prepared by Martin Dyer who supervised the clearance and topographical survey of the site in early 2014. The Report is available as a .pdf on application to the Secretary of the EDGT (email secretary@edgt.org.uk).
The Report Summary is available for download here.
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January 2015
The Trust has been given a £2,000 Exeter Board Community Grant (link) to assist with the renovation and remedial works at the site. We are extremely grateful for the award and details of how this money will be spent will appear on this website later in 2015.
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November and December 2014
20th December 2014. Our Research group uncovered a fascinating account of the graveyard in The Western Times from August 1888. The article can be accessed in the History and Links section of this website.
1st December 2014. EDGT has been been registered with the Charity Commission (No. 1159449). The Objects are to assist in the restoration, preservation, improvement, maintenance and conservation of Exeter Dissenters' Graveyard and to advance education in the graveyard and an understanding of the history and heritage of the graveyard. Our thanks go to Andrew Butler at Charity Expert who helped with the application.
Plans for Phase 2 of the renovation project are well underway and the trustees are preparing an application for funding. The work will involve repairs to the boundary and retaining walls, fabrication and installation of metalwork heritage gates and railings, the renovation of a number of tombs and headstones, the re-surfacing of the main path and, finally, the landscaping of the site and the installation of interpretation boards.
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Plans for Phase 2 of the renovation project are well underway and the trustees are preparing an application for funding. The work will involve repairs to the boundary and retaining walls, fabrication and installation of metalwork heritage gates and railings, the renovation of a number of tombs and headstones, the re-surfacing of the main path and, finally, the landscaping of the site and the installation of interpretation boards.
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October 2014
EDGT was shortlisted for a Pride of Exeter Community Group award. The ceremony took place on Friday 7th November 2014 at Sandy Park. It was a great achievement to be short-listed at this early stage in our project to renovate the graveyard, but we didn't win. Our congratulations go to the Wonford Luncheon Club and all their volunteers.
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EDGT was shortlisted for a Pride of Exeter Community Group award. The ceremony took place on Friday 7th November 2014 at Sandy Park. It was a great achievement to be short-listed at this early stage in our project to renovate the graveyard, but we didn't win. Our congratulations go to the Wonford Luncheon Club and all their volunteers.
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September 2014
24th September. The graveyard received an award at a ceremony hosted by the Lord Mayor of Exeter at the Guildhall. Cathy Moran and Ian Varndell attended the event and came away with a "It's Your Neighbourhood Award: Level 2 - Improving " certificate awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society and South West in Bloom. Judges visited the site earlier in the Summer and commented on the progress made by our volunteers to clear and prepare the site for landscaping. A photograph of the certificate appears in the Gallery section of this website.
18th September. EDGT Secretary Paul Chant and Treasurer Ian Varndell attended a one-day conference on Burial Grounds organised by the charity Caring for God's Acre and held at Exeter City FC's conference venue. The Dissenters' graveyard was used by one of the speakers (Torquil McNeillage) as an example of a site being targeted for renovation. There was much food for thought as we plan the remedial work and the landscaping of the graveyard.
13th-14th September. Over 200 people visited the graveyard during the Exeter Heritage Open Days weekend (13-14 September). A team of volunteers weeded and tidied the graveyard a few days before the event, and others acted as stewards handing leaflets to visitors and explaining the work that we are conducting at the site. The visitors donated over £144 to the EDGT and many supportive comments were made by those who toured the graveyard (see photograph above).
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24th September. The graveyard received an award at a ceremony hosted by the Lord Mayor of Exeter at the Guildhall. Cathy Moran and Ian Varndell attended the event and came away with a "It's Your Neighbourhood Award: Level 2 - Improving " certificate awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society and South West in Bloom. Judges visited the site earlier in the Summer and commented on the progress made by our volunteers to clear and prepare the site for landscaping. A photograph of the certificate appears in the Gallery section of this website.
18th September. EDGT Secretary Paul Chant and Treasurer Ian Varndell attended a one-day conference on Burial Grounds organised by the charity Caring for God's Acre and held at Exeter City FC's conference venue. The Dissenters' graveyard was used by one of the speakers (Torquil McNeillage) as an example of a site being targeted for renovation. There was much food for thought as we plan the remedial work and the landscaping of the graveyard.
13th-14th September. Over 200 people visited the graveyard during the Exeter Heritage Open Days weekend (13-14 September). A team of volunteers weeded and tidied the graveyard a few days before the event, and others acted as stewards handing leaflets to visitors and explaining the work that we are conducting at the site. The visitors donated over £144 to the EDGT and many supportive comments were made by those who toured the graveyard (see photograph above).
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August 2014
An article on Dissent in Exeter by postgraduate history student Ed Legon has been added to the website. Click here to read more.
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June 2014
A group of volunteers who are researching some of the families interred at the graveyard met to discuss progress. Using the memorial stones as starting points, some thirty individuals and families have been researched with varying degrees of success using information from online sources and from documents held at the Devon Heritage Centre and the Devon and Exeter Institution. Examples of the biographical details being assembled were on display at the Open Day on Saturday 28th June.
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April and May 2014
Almost sixty volunteers worked on the site over three weekends, and some weekdays, under the guidance of Supervising Archaeologist Martin Dyer. Vegetation was cleared and several tons of rubble and soil were removed from the site. Eighty seven stone markers were uncovered or re-discovered and each one has been photographed, described and any inscriptions transcribed. Many of the stones have been damaged, either by weathering, or by mechanical means during previous site clearance work, and are now the subject of conservation work where that is practicable. Structural engineers have examined the boundary and retaining walls and a programme of remedial work is being drawn up. First, the roots of several small trees have to be prevented from doing further damage to the brickwork and several applications of selective herbicide have been applied. Devon Young Archaeologists assisted with the deciphering of inscriptions on the stones, and they helped to uncover a number of pottery sherds and other artefacts from the graveyard. Photographs of the work can be viewed here.
An Open Day was held at the site on Saturday 19th April to show the progress that had been made. Approximately 100 people visited the graveyard, where they were able to speak to some of the volunteers who had worked on the site. Another Open Day is scheduled for Saturday 28th June 2014 (11a.m.-4.00p.m.).
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March 2014
The archaeological survey is due to be carried out over two weekends - 22nd/23rd and 29th/30th March. Contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk for details or to volunteer to help.
We are extremely grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund (see Donors) for a grant of £7,900 to enable to survey and clearance work to be carried out with professional supervision.
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January 2014
The Graveyard has been bought by the Exeter Dissenters Graveyard Trust - a charitable incorporated organisation which has been formed for the sole purpose of researching, recording and restoring this important historic site. When safe to do so, the graveyard will be opened to the public as a place of interest and for tranquil contemplation. Interpretation boards will provide details of the history of the site and visitors to the City will be encouraged to spend a few minutes at the graveyard.
The next steps will be an archaeological investigation in which fly-tipped material will be removed, graves and displaced tombstones will be identified to be re-united where possible, monuments will be checked and the original pathways found. A landscape plan will be developed, enabling the site to be restored as an asset to St Leonards and the City during the second phase of works. Volunteers will carry out a lot of the investigation work under professional supervision and will conduct documentary research to contribute to an archive of the history and physical state of the site.
An article on Dissent in Exeter by postgraduate history student Ed Legon has been added to the website. Click here to read more.
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June 2014
A group of volunteers who are researching some of the families interred at the graveyard met to discuss progress. Using the memorial stones as starting points, some thirty individuals and families have been researched with varying degrees of success using information from online sources and from documents held at the Devon Heritage Centre and the Devon and Exeter Institution. Examples of the biographical details being assembled were on display at the Open Day on Saturday 28th June.
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April and May 2014
Almost sixty volunteers worked on the site over three weekends, and some weekdays, under the guidance of Supervising Archaeologist Martin Dyer. Vegetation was cleared and several tons of rubble and soil were removed from the site. Eighty seven stone markers were uncovered or re-discovered and each one has been photographed, described and any inscriptions transcribed. Many of the stones have been damaged, either by weathering, or by mechanical means during previous site clearance work, and are now the subject of conservation work where that is practicable. Structural engineers have examined the boundary and retaining walls and a programme of remedial work is being drawn up. First, the roots of several small trees have to be prevented from doing further damage to the brickwork and several applications of selective herbicide have been applied. Devon Young Archaeologists assisted with the deciphering of inscriptions on the stones, and they helped to uncover a number of pottery sherds and other artefacts from the graveyard. Photographs of the work can be viewed here.
An Open Day was held at the site on Saturday 19th April to show the progress that had been made. Approximately 100 people visited the graveyard, where they were able to speak to some of the volunteers who had worked on the site. Another Open Day is scheduled for Saturday 28th June 2014 (11a.m.-4.00p.m.).
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March 2014
The archaeological survey is due to be carried out over two weekends - 22nd/23rd and 29th/30th March. Contact enquiries@edgt.org.uk for details or to volunteer to help.
We are extremely grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund (see Donors) for a grant of £7,900 to enable to survey and clearance work to be carried out with professional supervision.
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January 2014
The Graveyard has been bought by the Exeter Dissenters Graveyard Trust - a charitable incorporated organisation which has been formed for the sole purpose of researching, recording and restoring this important historic site. When safe to do so, the graveyard will be opened to the public as a place of interest and for tranquil contemplation. Interpretation boards will provide details of the history of the site and visitors to the City will be encouraged to spend a few minutes at the graveyard.
The next steps will be an archaeological investigation in which fly-tipped material will be removed, graves and displaced tombstones will be identified to be re-united where possible, monuments will be checked and the original pathways found. A landscape plan will be developed, enabling the site to be restored as an asset to St Leonards and the City during the second phase of works. Volunteers will carry out a lot of the investigation work under professional supervision and will conduct documentary research to contribute to an archive of the history and physical state of the site.
This is a community project and we will welcome volunteers to help – people with no relevant skills will be as welcome as those with previous experience. More details about the work on the graveyard will appear on this site. Please bookmark this page.
The Steering Group is very grateful for the grants and donations received to allow the work to be undertaken (click here for a list of donors).
The Steering Group (see Members here) can be contacted at enquiries@edgt.org.uk.
The Steering Group is very grateful for the grants and donations received to allow the work to be undertaken (click here for a list of donors).
The Steering Group (see Members here) can be contacted at enquiries@edgt.org.uk.