Shaping Devon's libraries
I approach the current project Shaping Devon's libraries with a mixture of despair and hope. I accessed the main sections of the project as far as they relate to Exeter in early January:
Background to the consultation. Version 3.
Reduction and standardisation of opening hours. Version 3.
The proposed new opening hours. Version 3.
Library area: Exeter city and Crediton. Version 3.
There is despair because the future is ever more cuts. Cuts to opening hours, cuts to resources, cuts to professional staff. There will be an increasing use of volunteers, plans to hand over some branches to agencies within local communities. The proposals offered do seem to make the best of a bad job, so I have completed the questionnaire with a few comments.
There is despair too because it is not generally realised quite how much has already been lost or abandoned, particularly on the heritage and culture fronts. In 2012 the massive community memory bank of Exeter and its region was transferred to the Devon Heritage Centre on Sowton Industrial Estate where it is managed by South West Heritage Trust (SWHT), based in Taunton, Somerset from where a librarian visits one day a week. This resource, formerly the Westcountry Studies Library (WSL) now rebadged West Country Studies Library (WCSL, an unfortunate abbreviation, deliberately avoided in 1975), had a similar number of documents to the county stack in Exeter Central Library. Exact figures are hard to come by, as the advanced search facility on the SWHT catalogue provides highly misleading results but, based on a 2016 search before the Devon County Council local studies database was closed, the estimated figures are:
Books, pamphlets, ephemera: Westcountry general works: 10,000 documents. Devon: 45,000. Cornwall: 7,000. Somerset: 7,000. Dorset: 6,000. Bristol: 2,000. Channel Islands 1,000.
Illustrations: 30,000. Maps: 16,000. Individual indexed periodical articles: 8,000. Periodical titles: 1,700. Newspaper titles 500. Sound, video, microfilms 800.
Totals: Books, pamphlets, ephemera: 98,000 documents. Other media: 57,000 documents.
GRAND TOTAL: 155,000 documents.
Devon county stack in Exeter Central Library holds around 150,000 documents.
Barclay, Alexander, 1475?-1552. Stultifera nauis = The ship of fooles, ... 2nd edition. —
London : John Cawood, 1570. — [12],259,[3] leaves : illustrations ; 2º. —
The earliest printed work by a Devonian author. Held by WCSL.
The Devon bibliography provides fuller listings of Devon publications and has links to an archive of the Westcountry Studies Library website. This recovers more than 5,000 pages from web archives at various dates between 1999 and 2005 which were deleted from the Devon County Council website in 2006.
The effects of the withdrawal of professional staffing and resource funding can be seen in accession figures. A search made on the SWHT online catalogue in January 2026 shows only 65 items added to WCSL stock in 2024 (18 of them individual periodical issues rather than books) while the figure for WSL in 2004 was 1225 (many of them also periodical issues). This is a drop of 95% and is not made up for by links to internet resources. The situation is particularly disastrous for planning documents, of which there are virtually none listed for the county or district councils since 2013. Of the more than sixty neighbourhood plans for smaller communities across Devon in this period not one is listed, nor is a link made to online versions. Over the last decade WCSL has become an information black hole.
Devon and Exeter should work together to pool resources, rather than operate in separate silos, and this applies above all to the libraries. For example there are loan books on the open shelves in Exeter Central Library that were really intended by donors for the county's research collection (for example A history of the Edwinsford and Clovelly communities by David T. R. Lewis, 2017). There are also books in the Exeter "Cage" that belong to the Westcountry Studies Library, particularly items relating to Sir Walter Raleigh, although such provenance is less evident now that the more than 150,000 WSL stock cards have been unceremoniously dumped. At the very least Libraries Unlimited should inform the Devon Heritage Centre of local books that it has added to stock which SWHT might not have the resources to acquire for WCSL.
Raleigh, Walter, Sir, 1554-1618. The history of the world, in five books. London : printed [by William Stansby] for Walter Burre , 1614. —
[84], 492, 491-651, [3], 776, [64] pages, [8] folded plates ; 2°. — USTC 3006285. —
Copy formerly in WSL, now in the Cage. Part of the Brushfield Collection.
Nor is this loss limited to local studies information. Exeter Central Library holds in the "Cage" more than 5,000 titles, including about 1800 books printed before 1801, 2500 in an important collection of early children's books, 425 prints about Napoleon including satirical caricatures in the Heber Mardon Collection, some of which were exhibited in Caen, 556 items on shorthand, some dating from the 17th century, in the Pocknell Collection, as well as important reference items and private press books from the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of these were moved to safety during the War, survived the 1942 bombing and so form part of the foundation collections of Exeter City Library. A member of Libraries Unlimited staff took great interest in these collections, working with the University in producing Sickness in the archives a celebration of medical works in the collections, starting "white glove experiences" and introducing an "adopt a book scheme". She has now left Exeter Central Library.
Martin, Mary Catherine. The Comic Adventures of Old Mother Hubbard and Her Dog.
London : J. Harris; 1805.
The first edition, held in the Cage, Exeter Central Library
In 2024 a request was made to adopt An exact survey of the microcosmus a rare and important anatomical work by Johann Remmelin, containing engravings with lift-up flaps to show internal organs. This offer was intended as a memorial to a recently-departed spouse who had worked in medical libraries, but the potential donor was told that the offer could not be accepted. The heritage collections apparently do not form part of the core service agreement between Devon County Council and Libraries Unlimited and any work undertaken on them was a personal initiative and should not impact work on the core objectives. Books were no longer being added to the collections and a consignment of 19th century books recently offered to the children's collection was returned. The cage material had been valued by a local bookseller and items were considered as "heritage assets". The fear was expressed that conservation work could lower the value of the item.
An exact survey of the microcosmus. Visio secunda. Copy in Cage, Exeter Library
Remmelin, Johann. An exact survey of the microcosmus. or little world. Being an anatomie, of the bodies of man and woman Wherein the skin, veins, nerves, muscles, bones, sinews and ligaments are accurately delineated. And curiously pasted together, so as at first sight you may behold all the outward parts of man and woman. And by turning up the several dissections of the paper take a view of all their inwards. With alphabetical referrences to every member and part of the body. Usefull for all doctors, chirurgeons, &c. As also for painters, carvers, and all persons that desire to be acquainted with the parts, and their names, in the bodies of man, or woman. Set forth by Michael Spaher of Tyrol. And Englished by John Ireton, and lastly perused and corrected, by several rare anatomists. -
London : Printed by Joseph Moxon, and sold at his shop in Russel street, at the sign of Atlas,
MDCLXX, [1670]. -
[4] pages, 4 leaves of plates : illustrations (line-engraved) ; 2º . - ESTC R42719 ; Wing (2nd ed.), S4792A. -
Plates have superimposed moveable flaps. This edition uses the plates of the Dutch edition of 1667, whereas later English editions have re-engraved plates. The Dutch plates in turn were based on the 1613 Latin edition, instead of the revised 1619 edition which formed the basis of Latin and German editions.
There are a number of alarm bells ringing here. What do hard-pressed local authorities do with "assets" that could raise a tidy sum? What price culture, heritage, memory? What do the present owners owe to those who donated items to the library in the past for the benefit of future generations? What is the use of these primitive artefacts of a superseded technology anyway in a world where everything is on-line, enhanced by artificial intelligence?
But there is hope. Although there is no mention of local government reorganisation in the consultation on Shaping Devon's libraries, there is a probability that Exeter will once more become a unitary authority, which it was in effect, as a county borough, before 1975. It will become one more a library authority and under the terms of the Public Libraries and Museums Act 1964 (UK Public General Acts 1964 c. 75) Section 7 - the emboldenings are my own:
It shall be the duty of every library authority to provide a comprehensive and efficient library service for all persons desiring to make use thereof, ... a library authority shall in particular have regard to the desirability [...]
(a) of securing, by the keeping of adequate stocks, by arrangements with other library authorities, and by any other appropriate means, that facilities are available for the borrowing of, or reference to, books and other printed matter, and pictures, gramophone records, films and other materials, sufficient in number, range and quality to meet the general requirements and any special requirements both of adults and children; and
(b) of encouraging both adults and children to make full use of the library service, and of providing advice as to its use and of making available such bibliographical and other information as may be required by persons using it; and
(c) of securing, in relation to any matter concerning the functions both of the library authority as such and any other authority whose functions are exercisable within the library area, that there is full co-operation between the persons engaged in carrying out those functions.
Exeter City Council is also drawing up a plan, Exeter Vision 2040, which includes the following aspiration:
Exeter will be known nationally and internationally as a city of culture. It will innovate and lead in the area of the environment, wellbeing, cultural literacy, creative making and heritage innovation to build a living city where everyone thrives. Under its UNESCO City of Literature status Exeter will become a destination for writers and a city of readers. The city will use the power of literature and words to pursue a set of wellbeing goals to improve life for all.
Exeter's cultural policies and programmes have been evolving over a long period since Exeter historian W.G. Hoskins wrote in Two thousand years in Exeter (page 134) in 1960: "Somewhere between 1860 and now, Exeter ceased to be a cultured city". The basic working document appears to be A Cultural Strategy for the City of Exeter. This is undated but seems to be "Draft 3", perhaps originating as early as 2003. It aims to establish Exeter as the major cultural and leisure centre for Devon and the surrounding area. No policies are linked to libraries or literature, but there is a mention of a cultural quarter in the area of the Museum, Arts Centre and Library. More detail is provided by Futurecity in Liveable Exeter, connected culture, cultural placemaking strategy, commissioned by Exeter City Council in 2024. Cultural placemaking has as its four pillars: heritage, arts and literature, learning and innovation, and climate.
But there is a long way to go. Where can the writers and readers who will flock to learn about the heritage of this nationally and internationally renowned city of culture go as a focal point to discover the hidden treasures of this unique community? Where, for that matter, will tourists, researchers, students, schoolchildren, go for informed guidance through the wealth of information available to them in libraries, museums, archives and the historic and natural environment? And what of the therapeutic value of reading about and seeing images of the community and its environment, from young children discovering the world around them to older people on a nostalgia trip or recovering local memories in a mind tormented with dementia?
The only tourist information centre is a small establishment in the Custom House on the Quay. Not many people arrive in Exeter by canal these days and many visitors never find their way down to the riverside. The largest library of local studies resources is hidden away on an industrial estate three miles east of Exeter Central Library. All that can be found on open access in Exeter Central Library is a shifting collection of perhaps one hundred books. Some charity shops in the city can do better than that for local material, and similar numbers of books can be found in the "little free libraries" that are scattered in coffee shops and elsewhere in Exeter, although few titles deal with local topics. A recent visitor from Germany was horrified that there were more documents in Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Arabic on the open shelves than there were for Exeter and its region. A group of individuals is building up a collection of books, pamphlets and other resources on Exeter and its region that could be freely accessible somewhere in the heart of Exeter if a suitable location could be found.
Exeter needs a cultural heritage centre, perhaps with a catchy name to rival Plymouth's The Box - how about The Exeperience or The Exetravaganza? But where can it be located and how large might it be?
It should be fronted by a tourist information office where people could buy admission tickets for local sites, book theatre or concert tickets, pick up local guides and publicity, buy books, prints, cards and digital media on Exeter and its region or gather for redcoat tours.
There should be a permanent display of images past and present of Exeter and its region with space for special exhibitions by local groups or for special commemorations.
There should be a space for meetings, lectures, seminars and group study.
And most importantly, such a cultural centre must have a working collection of books and other documentation on Exeter and its region with access to digital information, both current and archived. This could be largely made up of duplicates of items in the Devon Heritage Centre with multiple copies of items such as directories and large-scale plans for group research. A loan collection of duplicates of local and genealogical interest could also be transferred there, and there could be a Record Office service point.
There could also be space for local organisations and their resources - for example the Devon Family History Society is currently looking for a new home and there are many other local organisations in the heritage field who might appreciate an office desk and storage or display space, such as the Devon and Cornwall Record Society and their collection of transcripts.
It should be in the centre of Exeter, preferably in the cultural quarter and not too remote from the bus station, the High Street transport hub and Exeter Central Station. What about the telephone exchange? With the miniaturisation of telecommunications apparatus BT must be rattling around in there, and it is a currently inaccessible blot on the architectural landscape, despite all the colourful images that have been placed on its forbidding walls.
A good example of such a centre can be found in Hull, a well established city of culture where the Hull History Centre brings together the Hull City Council and the University of Hull to provide an active heritage hub in the heart of the community.
So, that is my Exeter Heritage Vision 2040. Take it or leave it; after almost half a century working to record and make accessible Devon's published heritage, I am moving on to pastures new.
Devon. Manuscript library catalogue compiled by a member of the Speke family, possibly for Orleigh Court, Buckland Brewer, 1930s.
I had successfully bid for this just before I left for Berlin in September. It proved to be a large folio stock book produced by Pollard of Exeter with 56 leaves with eight pockets on each side giving a total of 896 pockets, perhaps half of which were filled with cards, loosely inserted, giving author, title, imprint and binding. The coverage includes history, local antiquarianism and topography, theology, poetry, "polite literature", hunting etc., in fact just the sort of country house library that W. G. Hoskins described so eloquently and lovingly in 1954 on page 294 of his Devon. It would be a shame if this were lost to the county, but I would like to have a look at it before depositing it somewhere.
Devon country house catalogue, 1930s
There is an implied link in the auctioneer's description with John Hanning Speke (1827 – 1864), an English explorer and army officer who made three exploratory expeditions to Africa. He was born at Orleigh Court, Buckland Brewer, near Bideford, the property of the politician John Lee Lee (sic), 1802 –1874), who let it to his sister and her husband, William Speke, the father of John Hanning Speke. From 1845 the house was occupied by other tenants and the main activity of cataloguing the collection seems to have taken place in the 1920s and 1930s.
The catalogue is in two alphabetical sequences, perhaps for smaller and larger volumes - the owner seems to have been in the middle of rearranging the books when work on it stopped. At the back are some printed catalogue entries for the Bampfylde estates, so perhaps the real location could be Poltimore. Closer analysis of the entries, which contain many local items, might make this clearer.
The Newte Library, Tiverton
The Friends of Devon's Library AGM was held in Tiverton on 15 November 2025 and it gave me the opportunity to see the Newte Library in its new location. It is one of only four parish libraries founded in Devon before 1800 that still retains the bulk of its collection and the only one to remain in its parish church. The notes to the illustrations have been unashamedly cribbed from the informative texts in the display. Anna-Lujz Gilbert's recent doctoral thesis Public books in provincial towns: parish and town libraies in early modern Devon is a prime source of information on this, and other Devon parish libraries.
It was founded in St Peter's Church in 1716 from part of the private library of of Rev John Newte, rector of the Tidcombe and Pitt portions of Tiverton who had previously inherited the library from his father, Richard Newte in 1678. John himself had no surviving children. The library's significance lies in its historical context, offering insights into the religious and political landscape of the 17th and 18th centuries. It also provides rare evidence of the reading habits during early modern period.
In his last will and testament John Newte listed more than 250 books from his library to be given to the rectors of Tiverton and their successors, for the use of the clergymen and schoolmaster of Tiverton. Careful for the management of the library, Newte requested that the rectors take particular care to preserve the books from loss and decay and laid out the strict coditions under which books could be lent out.
The catalogue on display was probably made soon after his death and indicates that the volumes were transferred into St Peter's Church in 1718. From this catalogue it appears that John Newte bequeathed 117 folios, 64 quartos and 135 octavo volumes, rather more than the 250 volumes stated in his will.
Further donations were made over the next century, for which three of the donors can be identified from gift inscriptions or bookplates. William Rayner, master of Blundell's School, donated a book early in the library's history. Rayner had been a witness to part of John Newte's will and had previously donated a book to the Dodderidge Library in Barnstaple. In 1736, Samuel Wesley the Younger donated a book written by his father, whilst a master of Blundell's School. Tristam Whitter, who was a rector of Tiverton from 1742 to 1777, or possibly a member of his family, donated several folio volumes after 1740.
A clerical lending library was set up in 1853 by the associates of Thomas Bray, comprising around 53 volumes and which was further augmented in 1872. Today the library is no longer being added to.
This mid-14th century Book of Hours is thought to have provenance in the south-west of England. Three people are mentioned at the bottom of the table of eclipses of the sun and moon at the beginning of the manuscript. Little is known about the first person, Richard Roper, but he is thought to have been a resident of Bristol and a resident of Bristol and owner of the manuscript at some point. The second person named is John Soumour who was a Franciscan at Bridgwater who studied astrology and created astronomical calendars. The final name is William Worcester who also lived in Bristol and was descended from a wealthy family in Coventry and often used his mother's name Botoner. It is a collection of prayers and religious texts that are meant to be recited throughout the day, organised around the canonical hours of Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline. Annotations reveal some of the changes within the political and religious landscape of the centuries. The erasure of St Thomas of Canterbury in the calendar demonstrates the effect of Henry VIII and the Reformation. St Patrick's day was also erased but reinserted at a later date. As well as being a devotional aid, the volume was richly illuminated in the high gothic style.
The first printed map published outside Italy to name the River Exe appeared in Ulm, printed by Lienhart Holle in 1482. This carefully hand-coloured copy is the earliest printed book in the Newte Library.
The taking of Tiverton, 1645
Thomas Fairfax reported on the siege of Tiverton Castle and St Peter's Church on 19 October 1645 in a pamphlet entitled The taking of Tiverton, that was published in London as early as 23 October. The church was badly damaged in the siege, with many windows smashed and the Courtney chapel, most likely on the site where the vestry is now located, mostly destroyed. The Civil War and rebellions of the 17th century had a profound effect on John Newte. He collected a total of 321 tracts relating to events between 1603 and 1709 which are bound into sixteen volumes, many of which contain handwritten tables of contents by Newte himself.
The tracts illustrate the progress of the theological and political controversies of the time. John Newte was deeply interested in the Royalist cause and is father's involvement. He sought to ensure that his father's suffering was recorded and gave detailed accounts to John Prince for his Danmonii Orientales Illustres: or, The Worthies of Devon, printed in Exeter by Samuel Farley in 1701.
Newte augmented many tracts with his own words on the martyrdom of royalists during the Wars, with accounts of coups, trials and dying speeches of royalist martyrs, including accounts of the Rye House plot to assassinate Charles II and the Duke of York on the way back from Newmarket races. Other tracts include details of the scaffold speeches of Algernon Sidney and Lord Russell, and the execution of the Duke of Monmouth.
It also contains a collection of books primarily focussed on divinity, including bibles in ancient languages, works of the church fathers and sermons, including one published by Newte himself.
Newte, John. Sermon on the lawfulness of use of organs in the Christian church. 2nd edition, 1701
and Dodwell, Henry. A treatise concerning the lawfulness of instrumntal musick in holy offices
prefaced by a vindication of Mr Newte's sermon on the lawfulness and use of organs. 1700.
One of John Newte's great achievements was raising the money for the organ at St Peter's, which is still in use today. The organ was built by Christian Smith, nephew and pupil of Bernard Smith who built the organ for Christopher Wren at St Paul's Cathedral in London. There was strong opposition from the puritan contingent in the town, but Newte refuted their objections and on 13 December 1696 when the organ was first used, Newte preached the sermon "on the usefulness and use of organs in the Christian church" in which he spoke out strongly against the period of unrest during the Civil War when the use of music in churches was "sacreligiously discontinued" and criticised those who removed music from church services. He believed that organ music would improve devotion and "regulate the untunable voices of the multitude and make the singing in church more orderly and harmonious".
His sermon came under criticism from puritan groups and four years later in 1700, Henry Dodwell, a contemporary and acquaintance of Newt, published a treatise answering these attacks. John Newte wrote the preface for Dodwell's treatise and he end it by stating "since the late erection of the Organ [...] and much by the means of it, we have a Regular and decent, and I hope as Devout a Congregation as any in he whole Diocese".
Kingsbridge map of 1586
The Friends of Devon's Archives have supported the acquisition of The trewe platt of the newe bylding, upon fyve pyllers of stone, betwixt the Church styles of Kyngsbrydge, dated 1586. It is a bird's-eye view map of Kingsbridge, drawn in watercolour wash and pen and ink on vellum. It depicts a new building constructed on five stone pillars between the church styles of Kingsbridge. The map includes inscriptions in contemporary and later hands, and it was later engraved by G.P. Harris for the Gentleman's Magazine in 1799, with some directional errors noted (e.g., “The Wester parte” is actually the south).
The trewe platt of the newe bylding [in] Kyngsbrydge, dated 1586
Below is the only version known to Cookworthy Museum, who had launched an appeal to put in a bid. It would be interesting to know where the map was held when the copy was made in 1799 and under what circumstances it left Kingsbridge, if indeed it was ever held there.
The trewe platt of the newe bylding [in] Kyngsbrydge, engraved by G.P. Harris in 1799
The extents of Canonsleigh Abbey
The Friends of Devon's Archives also contributed to the publication of the 2026 volume in the series of publications by the Devon and Cornwall Record Society.
the extents of Canonsleigh Abbey (Harleian MS no. 3660)
a translation edited and with an introduction by Des Atkinson.
Exeter : Devon and Cornwall Record Society ; Boydell Publishing Services, 2026.
156 pages. - ISBN 9780901853653. - Devon and Cornwall Record Society, new series, vol. 68.
Exeter History Book Festival 2026
The Exeter Local History Society will be running the second Exeter History Book Festival on 21 February at the Mint Methodist Church Centre at the top of Fore Street. At the festival, apart from the fascinating talks, there will be a series of stands, from one of which I will, ever hopeful, be attempting to dispose of some of my own publications and those of Exeter Civic Society.
Countess Wear, a new Exeter Civic Society booklet
I have been helping the Countess Wear Heritage Group to prepare this new addition to the Discovering Exeter series for the printer, and it should be ready for the Exeter History Book Festival. The illustration below is a proof and the published version will have blue bands top and bottom, the colour of the CWHG's logo.
Countess Wear / by Angela Goddard and Laurie Fentimen.
Exeter : Exeter Civic Society, 2026. - 48 pages : colour illustrations, maps ; 15x21 cm. -
ISBN 9780954434335. - Discovering Exeter ; no. 13. - Copies: WSL (to be deposited).
The following volume emanated from the Print Networks Conference: "Printing for Tourists", held in Appleby-in-Westmorland, Cumbria in July 2020:
Print and tourism
: travel-related publications from the
sixteenth to the twentieth century / edited by Catherine Armstrong and Elaine Jackson. - Oxford ; Berlin [etc] : Peter Lang, 2026. - 1 volume (ca. 260 pages) : . - ISSN 2504-4915 ; ISBN 978-1-80374-244-1 (Print)
; 978-1-80374-245-8 (ePDF)
; 978-1-80374-246-5 (ePub) ; DOI 10.3726/b20937. - (Printing history and culture ; volume 7). -
It includes on pages 103-126: "Two Devon tourists of 1863: the illustrated travel journals of
Harriette Armytage and John Follett". The introduction states: "Ian Maxted focuses on two distinct individuals: Harriette Armytage
and John Follett and examines their illustrated travel journals in Devon
in the early 1860s. The collections show how cheap steel line-engraved
vignettes were used in different forms to illustrate their travels and offer a
fascinating insight into the range of images available to tourists at the time." It also reveals many engraved prints which were not known to Somers Cocks when he compiled his catalogue of Devon topographical prints, published in 1977.
The next Print Networks annual conference entitled "Print, printing and industrial heritage" will be held in the Westcountry on 10 – 11 June 2026 at Kresen Kernow (Cornwall Archives for non-Cornic speakers), Little Vauxhall, Redruth, Cornwall TR15 1AS. The theme is inspired by the industrial heritage of Cornwall.
