Naome Glanville, the University's Arts und Culture Coordinator, will kindly guide us along the Sculpture Trail in the grounds of the University of Exeter. Even if you have done this walk before, as many of us will have, I am sure we will get new insights. In order to manage numbers, can you please email Gert if you are interested to come along (gertvonhoff@btinternet.com). The University grounds are hilly, so please bring appropriate footwear. We will start off at 2pm with a short introduction by Emma Molony of 'Double Elephant Print', who will give us a short presentation about the 'Print and Paper' project - which recently had an exhibition in Sidwell Street and documents the history of paper-making in Exeter and surroundings. It is part of a project between the Double Elephant Print Workshop and one of our academics in Geography. You can find a link to information about the exhibition in the side column.

Do join us (again) for a leisurely walk around the ‘wrong side of the river’ as St Thomas has been traditionally known to the locals. Find out some of the reasons why it may have been true and why those who live here don’t agree! We won’t have time to cover the whole area but will include several varying sites of interest. Wendy Rakestrow will lead this walk, which will come in several loops, so if you do not want to do the whole walk you can drop out earlier. We all hope the weather will be kinder to us than in October when only a very few rain hardy members made it to this walk and reported back how very interesting it had been, So thanks, Wendy, for offering it again. Keep the clouds at bay!

For an afternoon of socialising, welcoming and bringing together new and long-standing members, we will meet at the Quaker's Meeting House. We hope the weather will be kind enough for us to use the lovely garden here for a social event, but there will also be a short presentation by our member Chris Dent about the Quaker movement and the Meeting House.

A social event where visitors and guests are welcome and refreshment will be available. Our speaker is Stuart Blaylock who will tell us about Bowhill House on Dunsford Road. The house was built c1500 for Roger Holland, a prominent Exeter citizen, MP and Sheriff of Devon. Stuart’s expert knowledge resulted in his book - Bowhill, Exeter, Devon: The Archaeological Study of a Building Under Repair, 1977-1995.

Gert is offering a walk along the new development alongside Prince Charles Road, which will be the first low car use site in Exeter. The area alongside the railtracks is levelled out, foundations have gone in and two large blocks of what will be built here are already up and close to be finished. We can discuss the architecture and the impact on the local area.

A social event where visitors and guests are welcome and refreshment will be available. With the 'Publication Draft of the Exeter Plan' being published and consulted upon, this will be a good time to inform the Society about our findings and discuss them. If you want to inform you about what we sent as representations on 6 Feb, please read our News about this: https://exetercivicsociety.org.uk/ecs-submitted-representations-to-exeter-publication-plan/ . The final quarter of 2024 and the first few weeks in the near year have been full of consultations and we will update at the meeting upon what has been suggested. Topics include: Water Lane OUTLINE approval; Clarendon House; Energy Plant next to Marsh Barton Train Station; new Mallison Bridge.

A social event where visitors and guests are welcome and refreshment will be available. 'Exeter Heritage Volunteers' have just been awarded 3 years funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund starting from 1st November. They will be spending the next few weeks putting plans in place for the future and introduce them to us at this meeting.

David Solman will lead our November walk, through the scenic Exwick Cemetery - with stories about its history and its very old trees. Come and join us for a walk inside the boundaries of the cemetery, offering stunning views over Exeter. Appropriate footwear please, as we will walk on uneven paths and through grassy areas.

Do join us for a leisurely walk around the ‘wrong side of the river’ as St Thomas has been traditionally known to the locals. Find out some of the reasons why it may have been true and why those who live here don’t agree! We won’t have time to cover the whole area but will include several varying sites of interest. Wendy Rakestrow will lead this walk, which will come in several loops, so if you do not want to do the whole walk you can drop out earlier.

Our blue plaque to Dr Margaret Jackson, a pioneer of fertility treatment and family planning from the 1930s, will be unveiled at 14:00 on Saturday 28 September at the Margaret Jackson Centre, 4 Barnfield Hill, Exeter, EX1 1SR.  The plaque will be unveiled at 14:00, followed by tea and talks from 14:30 at the Barnfield Theatre EX1 1SN. Space is limited, especially at the theatre, so please let Hilary Neville know if you would like to attend – hneville.ecs@btinternet.com. 

A social event where visitors and guests are welcome and refreshment will be available. Stuart Blaylock from the 'Devon Archaeological Society' will speak about 'The History of Rougemont Castle'.

A social event where visitors and guests are welcome and refreshment will be available. Please be aware that the meeting will start a bit earlier at 10:45, with the welcome to our new Exeter MP. Shortly after 11.00 Alan Caig will talk about the 'History of Theatre in Exeter'.