By Kitty Vega, Project Officer
Over four and a half winter weeks at Exeter Custom House, two exhibitions brought the city’s past vividly to life. Together, they welcomed 802 visitors and opened up the remarkable Isca Photographic Collection – an archive once at risk, now being carefully conserved and shared.
Two Exhibitions, One City’s Story
Downstairs – The Living Archive of Exeter’s Waterfront
This exhibition explored the lifeblood of the city: its bridges, Quayside industries, canal trade, and the dramatic moments that shaped local memory, including the 1917 Exe Bridge tram disaster.
Upstairs – Exeter Through the Lens
Here, visitors traced a century of change, from elegant studio portraits and family snapshots to the devastation of the Baedeker Raids in 1942. Together, these images reveal how people, place and community shaped the Exeter we know today. Much of this story was captured through the lens of prolific riverside photographer Henry Wykes, whose work forms a cornerstone of the collection.
Hands‑On History
To help visitors explore more deeply, we paired large‑scale graphics with an interactive touchscreen gallery and a newly‑produced 20‑minute project film. The touchscreen also hosted a quick visitor survey, complemented by a paper visitor book and a QR‑code option to make feedback easy and accessible.
What You Told Us
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
From those who used the touchscreen survey:
- 74% rated the exhibition “Excellent”
- 13% rated it “Good”
- 84% found it easy or very easy to engage
- 80% said a particular image or story sparked a memory
Across all methods, we gathered 51 feedback responses – and your words meant the most:
“Very moved by the photo of Exeter High Street after the Blitz.”
“Excellent. Superb film. THANK YOU.”
“A wonderful collection of moments lost in time.”
Why It Matters
These exhibitions were created to open access to a fragile and previously endangered photographic archive, and to share the conservation and digitisation work safeguarding it for the future. Your responses show how strongly these stories resonate – and how important it is to keep them alive.
Explore More
A smaller follow‑on display will run at the The Devon & Exeter Institution for seven weeks from 7 April 2026, bringing the collection to new audiences.
Watch the project film: The Isca Collection: Exeter Through the Lens
Acknowledgments
Thanks to National Lottery players
The Isca Photographic Collection project is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to preserve an irreplaceable record of twentieth-century Exeter.
The project builds on the foundational work of historian and photographer Peter Thomas who created the Isca collection. It is supported by the Friends of Devon’s Archives.