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Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life is one of the most important visitor attractions in Devon, with national reach. We aspire to share the stories of people and place - past and present of Tiverton and Devon’s Heartland. We are a centre of learning and experience...
A Field Report from the Office, by Lars (7-month-old Dachshund, Junior Staff Member) It has now been nearly 3 months. I have therefore conducted a thorough review of my role, my routines, and my contributions to this institution. The findings are, on balance,...
In 2025, we put out an appeal to help us purchase a 17th-century gold and enamel posy ring, found by a detectorist near Wembworthy and offered for sale under the Treasure Act 1996. Posy rings were popular between the 15th and 17th centuries as tokens of love and...
A Professional Assessment - A Field Report from the Office, by Lars (6-month-old Dachshund, Junior Staff Member) Regular readers will recall that I closed my last report with a note that Pippa, the Director, was due to return from leave. I said I was not concerned. I...
Ambrose BREWIN was one of the lace makers who left Loughborough with John HEATHCOAT in 1817 following the Luddite attack on the mill in the town. There are several indications that the two families knew each other very well, even before Ambrose married John’s...
A Field Report from the Office, by Lars (5-month-old Dachshund, Junior Staff Member). I should begin with some context. Before me, this museum had Blue. Blue was a rescue of distinguished but unverified heritage who served here for several years and, by all accounts,...
Mr E M Moyle, proprietor of the Angel Inn, Tiverton, received correspondence from a prisoner in Spain with regards to ‘buried treasure’. The treasure was said to buried along the road leading from Loxbeare to Tiverton and consisted of a wooden chest containing a mix...
The tradition of giving gifts at this time of year dates back to pre-history. There is evidence of Mid-Winter festivals from the Neolithic period at Stonehenge. The Druids gave sprigs of mistletoe at New Year as good luck tokens for the year ahead. The Roman festival...
After Christmas, advertisements, in the Gazette turned to the New Year. There were also descriptions of Christmas celebrations at both Tiverton Hospital and the Poor Law Institution (Belmont Hospital, now part of Perryman Square). At the Hospital it was ‘bright and...
As Christmas approaches the Gazette is full of adverts for suitable presents for all the family. The town always attracted many visitors with its annual ‘Grand Christmas Shopping Festival'. But there were also other seasonal attractions coming up in the town, these...
Tiverton Museum of Mid Devon Life is delighted to announce that it is reducing its carbon footprint with the installation of solar photovoltaic panels. The museum worked closely with Cannings Energy who installed fifty-six solar panels and two batteries. These are...
The Gazette reported, at the end of November 1925, that more than 1.5 million vehicles were now using the roads. It was predicted than this number would double in the ‘a few years’. The article concentrated on the effect this was having on small urban and rural...