Telling Our Stories, Finding Our Roots is a community heritage and oral history project focused on diverse and multicultural histories. It explores the stories, memories and hidden histories of Devon’s towns and cities – past and present.
Through building an archive of oral history interviews, Telling Our Stories aims to preserve, share and celebrate the voices, stories and heritage of the wide range of people who live in Devon today, ensuring that the voices we listen to today and in the future are more diverse and more inclusive than the ones we’ve heard before.
To date, the project has gathered histories and contemporary stories from 3 towns and 1 city: Exeter (2012-13), Bideford (2020), Okehampton (2020) and Tiverton (2020).
The project is community-led and community-powered, supported throughout by teams of local volunteers, and featuring the voices and contributions of many community participants.
Telling Our Stories is a Devon Development Education project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Public-facing activity has been made possible thanks to heritage partners Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life, The Museum of Dartmoor Life, The Burton at Bideford, and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (2012 – 2013).
Telling Our Stories has engaged with 3 towns and 1 city across Mid and North Devon.
We have worked in Exeter (2012 – 2013); Bideford (2019 – 2020), Okehampton (2019 – 2020) and Tiverton (2019 – 2020).
These towns and cities are each very different. Exeter is the county’s capital; Tiverton is a centre of industry / manufacturing; Bideford is a port town; and Okehampton is an agricultural market town on the edge of Dartmoor.
We are sad to announce that due to the current national lockdown, we have closed our Telling Our Stories exhibitions. We hope to be able to share them again in the future. Please read on for an update for each town. Tiverton The exhibition at the Tiverton Museum of...
We're very excited to announce our exhibitions are getting back on their feet after the lockdown. Read below for an update on each town. Tiverton The exhibition at the Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life will be open until Monday 21st December 2020. Okehampton We aim to...
November Lockdown announcement We are sad to announce that due to the impending national lockdown, we will be pausing our plans for the Telling Our Stories exhibitions. Please read on for an update for each town. Tiverton The exhibition at the Tiverton Museum of Mid...
We are sad to announce that due to the current national lockdown, we have closed our Telling Our Stories exhibitions. We hope to be able to share them again in the future. Please read on for an update for each town. Tiverton The exhibition at the Tiverton Museum of...
We're very excited to announce our exhibitions are getting back on their feet after the lockdown. Read below for an update on each town. Tiverton The exhibition at the Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life will be open until Monday 21st December 2020. Okehampton We aim to...
A collection of sketches from the Devon Record Office, made by J Harris in 1823 and 1824 (ref no Z19/2/4) Number 8: 'Mr White A Black Beggar' is of special interest to this project - nothing else is known of him. Photographs by Ghee Bowman, with acknowledgements to...
From Devon Record Office, a collection of 'Portraits of Devonshire Characters' by an artist called Tucker. Dated 1870-1873. Number 3 carries the caption "Miss ______ Daughter of an English Merchant in West Africa sent to England to be educated", with the (probably...
Come on in (Refugees are here to stay) Come on in Come on in Come on in and sit you down Come on in and welcome to my home Come on in and welcome to your story Come on in and share it all with mine Chorus And you know you’re more than welcome And we know you’re here...
A collection of sketches from the Devon Record Office, made by J Harris in 1823 and 1824 (ref no Z19/2/4) Number 8: 'Mr White A Black Beggar' is of special interest to this project - nothing else is known of him. Photographs by Ghee Bowman, with acknowledgements to...
From Devon Record Office, a collection of 'Portraits of Devonshire Characters' by an artist called Tucker. Dated 1870-1873. Number 3 carries the caption "Miss ______ Daughter of an English Merchant in West Africa sent to England to be educated", with the (probably...