Two Thousand Years In Exeter

Exeter is one of the oldest cities in Britain: people have lived here without a break for more than two thousand years. The High Street has been in continuous use as a thoroughfare throughout that long period. For centuries Exeter was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the kingdom and has always been the mother city of the South West. In this book, first published in 1960 and acclaimed as a 'small masterpiece', the author traces the essential historic development and character of a leading provincial centre. He describes its adventure from a Roman camp to a modern city, with particular reference to its social history, to the lives and surroundings of ordinary people, to the buildings and landscapes of the past. Above all, he is concerned with the recent past and devotes three thorough chapters to the 19th and 20th centuries. W. G. Hoskins died in 1992. The task of bringing the work up to date and preparing text and illustrations for this new edition of a classic work has been undertaken by Hazel Harvey, a distinguished local historian of Exeter. Much of Exeter has been destroyed, but much of the historic past of this entrancing city still remains. Hoskins' incomparable text is supported by a new selection of illustrations and maps, with an appendix on the street names of the city and place names in the neighbourhood. This book will be as valuable to the visitor as to the citizen of Exeter, for it tells where to look for the memorials of the past and for the history that lies behind them.

Exeter is one of the oldest cities in Britain. It was an inhabited place some two hundred years before the Romans came, and people have lived here without a break for more than two thousand years. The High Street has been in continuous use as a thoroughfare throughout that long period. For centuries Exeter was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the kingdom, and has always been the Mother-City of the south-west. Hazel Harvey is one of the city’s best-known local historians, and in The Story of Exeter she traces the city’s history from earliest times to the present, concluding with comments on the issues, challenges and opportunities that the 21st century will present. Neither does she neglect the city’s architectural development and heritage. The book has been written for a readership with a general rather than academic interest in history and is written in an accessible style. This popular history provides new insights and brings the story of the city up to date.Hazel Harvey is one of Exeter’s leading local historians – a familiar figure in the city and a prominent member of the influential Exeter Civic Society. She has written many booklets for that organisation, and has also published with Phillimore. Her Exeter Past (1996), long out of print, is the basis of this new book, and she has also prepared a fully updated new edition of W.G. Hoskins’ classic Two Thousand Years in Exeter – which was first published in 1960 and is still in print.

Explore the secret history of Exeter through a fascinating selection of stories, facts and photographs.

In 1792, 400,000 people put their signature to petitions calling for the abolition of the slaves trade. This work explains how this remarkable expression of support for black people was organized and orchestrated, and how it contributed to the growth of popular politics in Britain.

Exeter is one of the oldest cities in Britain. It was an inhabited place some two hundred years before the Romans came, and people have lived here without a break for more than two thousand years. The High Street has been in continuous use as a thoroughfare throughout that long period. For centuries Exeter was one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the kingdom, and has always been the Mother-City of the south-west. Hazel Harvey is one of the city’s best-known local historians, and in The Story of Exeter she traces the city’s history from earliest times to the present, concluding with comments on the issues, challenges and opportunities that the 21st century will present. Neither does she neglect the city’s architectural development and heritage. The book has been written for a readership with a general rather than academic interest in history and is written in an accessible style. This popular history provides new insights and brings the story of the city up to date.Hazel Harvey is one of Exeter’s leading local historians – a familiar figure in the city and a prominent member of the influential Exeter Civic Society. She has written many booklets for that organisation, and has also published with Phillimore. Her Exeter Past (1996), long out of print, is the basis of this new book, and she has also prepared a fully updated new edition of W.G. Hoskins’ classic Two Thousand Years in Exeter – which was first published in 1960 and is still in print.