History Visits
The Exeter Book and The Anglo Saxons
Suitable for: KS3, KS4
Duration: Options for two hours or four hours
Cost per Pupil: £3 Half Day (two hours)
or £7 Full Day (four hours)
The Exeter Book is a unique anthology of Anglo Saxon poetry written around 970AD. The oldest of only four books of Anglo Saxon poetry which survive anywhere in the world, it gives a fascinating insight into the literary culture of Anglo Saxon England.
It contains over 100 poems of different types from long sombre elegies to short humorous riddles. It explores diverse themes including the life of Christ, feelings about the soul, migration, loss, the sea and the natural world, it even has hidden drawings doodled in the margins!
- For a broader look at Anglo Saxon life and culture, there are also Anglo Saxon coins and charters to be discovered in the Archives.
- Through facsimiles and creative workshops to link with the sessions themes, come and explore Anglo Saxon culture!
- Make a link to creative writing with riddle formations or an illuminating letter writing session.
Links: History, Geography, PSHE, Psychology, Sociology, Science, STEM – we are happy to make sure your relevant theme requirements are covered, just let us know what they are.
Historical Science and Medicine
Suitable for: KS3, KS4
Duration: Options for two hours or four hours
Cost per Pupil: £3 Half Day (two hours)
or £7 Full Day (four hours)
Exeter Cathedral Library contains nearly 3,000 historical medical and scientific books from medieval medical miscellanies containing charms and recipes, through to Victorian anatomical atlases, via herbals, chemistry, natural philosophy and astronomy.
- Explore with us some of the key figures in the history of science and medicine with the Library’s copies of books by Galen, Andreas Vesalius, Thomas Sydenham, William Harvey, Edward Jenner, Robert Boyle, Elizabeth Blackwell and more.
- Take the floor tour to discover relevant medical monuments, memorials and important local characters who had a hand in medical matters large and small.
Links: History, Geography, PSHE, Psychology, Sociology, Science – we are happy to make sure your relevant theme requirements are covered, just let us know what they are.
Building a Cathedral – Fabric Account Rolls
Suitable for: KS2, KS3, KS4
Duration: Options for two hours or four hours
Cost per Pupil: £3 Half Day (two hours)
or £7 Full Day (four hours)
Have you ever wondered what it took to build a medieval cathedral? Exeter Cathedral’s unique set of fabric account rolls contain detailed information about building, repairing and maintaining the Cathedral between the 13th and 16th centuries. They tell us where the wood, stone, metals and other materials came from, how much they cost, how long it took, and even the names of some of the craftspeople who carried out the work and their wages.
- On your visit to the Cathedral you will find out about some of the characters who shaped the Cathedral
- See how the written accounts document the construction of the Cathedral and learn more about medieval construction techniques.
- We have bespoke mini-models to demonstrate building methods to study, too.
Links: History, Geography, PSHE, Psychology, Sociology, Science, STEM – we are happy to make sure your relevant theme requirements are covered, just let us know what they are.
The Glorious Revolution (including the Bill of Rights)
Suitable for: KS3 & KS5 (A-Level / Sixth Form)
Duration: Flexible but typically 70/75 minutes
Cost per Pupil: £3
This tour is linked to the development of Church, state, and society in Britain 1509-1745 on the Key Stage 3 History National Curriculum, as well as A Level History Unit 1: Britain 1625-1701 and the Early Modern History (1485-1799) A-Level.
Exeter and the Cathedral played a huge part in the last invasion of this county by a foreign power; William of Orange, during the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Learn about the future King’s visit to Exeter, and how this set the scene for a fundamental shift in power and bought about the Bill of Rights, which remains a crucial statute in English constitutional law.
Local History Tour
Suitable for: KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4
Duration: Options for two hours or four hours
Cost per Pupil: £3 Half Day (two hours)
or £7 Full Day (four hours)
Let our guides take you on a journey spanning years of history, helping your students to understand how the Cathedral played its part for the people, the community and the wider world in years gone by. We will bring this story of local history back to the relevance in our lives today, be that historically, religiously, economically, culturally or artistically.
- This includes a study of an aspect or site in local history dating from a period before 1066, including Romans, the Anglo Saxons or the Vikings, Renaissance and Reformation and more modern day alterations.
- Important people who had bearing on the history of the cathedral, its build or its wider stories.
Links: History, Geography – we are happy to make sure your relevant theme requirements are covered, just let us know what they are.
Domesday and The Normans
Suitable for: KS2 KS3, KS4
Duration: Options for two hours or four hours
Cost per Pupil: £3 Half Day (two hours)
or £7 Full Day (four hours)
The Exon Domesday is the oldest surviving draft of the famous Domesday Survey commissioned by William I (William the Conqueror) in 1085.
It is a survey of the taxable values of the land in Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire in 1066 and 1086 and it provides invaluable information not just about the people and land use at the time, but also about social structures in England in the years after the Norman Conquest.
- Who was Baldwin the Sheriff?
- How much land did Queen Matilda own?
- How many people did it take to complete the Domesday Survey?
- Were there more wild mares or pigs in Glastonbury?
All these questions and more can be explored.
On your visit to the Cathedral you will also see what remains of the Norman Cathedral, find out about how Exeter’s first bishop survived the Norman Conquest and have a chance to explore parts of the Exon Domesday, with an activity to compliment the session.
Links: History – we are happy to make sure your relevant theme requirements are covered, just let us know what they are.
The Reformation (16th Century changes to the life and fabric of Exeter Cathedral)
Suitable for: KS3 & KS4
Duration: Flexible but typically 60 minutes
Cost per Pupil: £3
This tour is linked to the development of Church, state, and society in Britain 1509-1745 on the Key Stage 3 History National Curriculum.
The 16th century Reformation caused the greatest ever upheaval in the life and fabric of Exeter Cathedral. Begun under the reign of King Henry VIII, the break with Rome led to a complete rethinking of the way people related to God, the Bible, and the Church itself. Take a closer look at some of the damage inflicted at that time and learn how the lives of the Cathedral, and its inhabitants, were changed forever.
Links: History, Art, PSHE, RE/RSE/SMSC – we are happy to make sure your relevant theme requirements are covered, just let us know what they are.
WWII (Baedeker raids and the Cathedral)
Suitable for: KS2, KS3 & KS4
Duration: Flexible but typically 60 minutes
Cost per Pupil: £3
This tour is linked to the Key Stage 3 History National Curriculum: Challenges for Britain, Europe, and the wider world 1901 to the present day.
During the early hours of 4th May 1942, a bomb fell on the Chapel of St James in the South Choir Aisle of the Cathedral, causing considerable damage to the late 13th century fabric. Learn all about the impact this had and about the context of the Baedeker raids as well an opportunity to see the tail fin of the original bomb that fell through the Cathedral that fateful night.
Library & Archives Visit/Workshop
– Alongside a Cathedral Tour
Suitable for: Upper KS2 (Year 5 & 6), KS3, KS4 & KS5 (A-Level / Sixth Form)
Duration: Flexible but typically 60 minutes
Cost per Pupil: £7, includes a full day package with a guided tour of the Cathedral.
Upper KS2 and KS3 timeline activities, including an opportunity to see an artifact from the collection, or a more in-depth talk suited towards KS4 GCSE pupils or KS5 A-Level students.
A rare opportunity to combine your tour of the Cathedral with a talk or workshop by either our experienced Cathedral Archivist or Librarian, or both.
The Cathedral Library & Archives houses some fascinating historic literature and artifacts, including:
• The Exeter Book – A 10th-century anthology of poetry in Old English and the oldest book of English literature in the world
• Exon Domesday – which contains unique information about politics, society, and the landscape of South-West Britain a thousand years ago
• The Foundation Charter – which is the original charter recording the foundation of the Cathedral in 1050
• Medieval Wax ‘Votive Offerings’ – which were rediscovered during repair work to the Cathedral following the bomb damage in 1942
• Shakespeare’s Second Folio – the First Folio was published in 1623 ‘according to the true original copies’, and the Second, incorporating nearly 2,000 alterations, appeared in 1632.
Talks or workshops can be arranged around these or other themes.
Roof and Tower Tours
Suitable for: KS2, KS3, KS4 & KS5 (A Level/Sixth Form)
Duration: Options for half day or full day
Cost per Pupil: £6 Half Day (just the Roof Tour)
or £9 Full Day (Roof Tour plus Guided Floor Tour or Workshop [subject to availability] and a lunch space)
Your visit to Exeter Cathedral isn’t limited to the ground floor!
Our guides can take you on a true behind-the-scenes tour of the upper levels of the Cathedral. Climb high above the Nave, walking the length of the famous ceiling. Visit the bell ringing chamber and North tower before emerging onto the roof with its stunning views over the city. Suitable for ages 8 and over, booking essential.
Maximum group size is 12, height restrictions and clothing rules apply.
