News

Festival of Devon in the 1920s

We are very excited this year to be taking part in the Festival of Devon in the 1920s. This is being organised by the Devon History Society, Devon Family History Society, South West Heritage Trust, and The Box in Plymouth, and it is the culmination of several years of research into what life was like in Devon one hundred years ago.

There are more than forty events and exhibitions taking place across the county, including a special new display, Whiteway's Cyder in the 1920s, at the Heritage Centre. We are very grateful to the Festival organisers for their help with the funding of the display. Further details about the festival can be found at www.devontwentiesfestival.co.uk.

Working Towards Net Zero & Environment Monitoring

We are very pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant of £20,011 from East Devon District Council’s Carbon Action Fund to pay for the installation of solar panels, LED lighting, and energy efficient smart heating, all of which is projected to reduce the Heritage Centre’s energy consumption carbon footprint by 78%.

In addition, we have been awarded another small grant from East Devon District Council’s Cultural Programme to pay for ten temperature and humidity dataloggers plus associated network hubs and a water leak sensor, which will enable us to maintain optimal conditions for the preservation of the artefacts in our care.

The Carbon Action Fund and Cultural Programme are both funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, and we are very grateful to East Devon District Council for all their support with these projects.

Talks Booking Secretary Required

The Whimple History Society organises a programme of, typically, five talks per year on subjects of local and more general historical interest. Hitherto this task has fallen to the Heritage Centre curator, but as the size of our collection of artefacts and documents has grown, so the curator's job has become busier, so we feel that it is time for us to appoint a dedicated Talks Booking Secretary. Could this be the job for you?

Our curator will take full responsibility for talks up to the end of February 2026, so we are looking for someone who can organise talks for September 2026 onwards. The talks need to be planned in advance, so we would hope to have someone in place by September 2025 to do this.

The role entails:
 

• Identifying and booking speakers

• Reporting to the History Society committee on the talks booked and arrangements for the event - this can be done in person, either as a committee member or a guest of the committee, or in writing if you prefer

• Arranging the booking of the venue (usually the village hall)

• Designing and printing posters, and putting them up around the village and anywhere else considered appropriate for the particular talk

• Passing the posters to our website manager for advertising on our website

• Advertising on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages (we can assist with this if you are not confident with social media)

• Making sure that people are available on the night to deal with greeting the speaker, taking money on the door, refreshments, the raffle, and tech

• Being available to introduce and thank the speaker on the night
   

We will give you some pointers on how to find speakers, and can also provide training in how to design posters if that is needed.

If you are interested then please use the Contact Us form below to discuss this further.

The History of Whimple Congregational

Church Booklet

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We are very pleased to announce the publication of a short book by our curator, Tina Kelly, about the history of Whimple's Congregational Church, which was operational for nearly 100 years between 1862-1973. Read about its origins in the religious turmoil of the Reformation, its involvement with missionary work in the South Pacific, and the tragic life of its most popular Minister, Rev. Thomas Redler. Copies can be purchased from our shop during normal opening hours, or through our online shop hosted by the Devon Museums website HERE.

One Magazine

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We are thrilled that the September 2024 issue of One Magazine contains an article featuring a Whimple Orchard Walk terminating at the Heritage Centre and taking in lots of Whimple's cider making history along the way. The magazine is delivered free to addresses around Exeter and East Devon, but if you did not get one then it can be viewed by following the link Advertise your business in Exeter - ONE Magazine (one-mag.co.uk) and scrolling down.

Exe Ale Magazine

In March 2024 we hosted a group from the Exeter and East Devon branch of CAMRA at the Heritage Centre. We are very pleased to say that they enjoyed their visit, and you can read more about it in a review by one of their members in the centenary 'Summer' edition of their quarterly magazine, ExeAle, available here Exe Ale Magazine - latest - Exeter & East Devon CAMRA.