Quay Words presents Ian Mortimer: The road to Exeter – from the Middle Ages to the nineteenth century
Custom House, The Quay, Exeter, Devon, EX2 4AN
We take it for granted that we can drive here or there when we want; we tend to forget that there was a time when people stayed put for most of their lives. Before the fourteenth century, most people were villeins, tied to the land, and legally not able to leave their place of birth without the permission of their lord. So, when did people start to move about and how did they do so? How fast could they go and why did it matter in the grand sweep of history? When did the inns they relied on start to appear? How good were the roads in the southwest and how did people travel along them before stagecoaches? And what difference did the railways make when they appeared in the nineteenth century?
Ian will draw on his latest book Medieval Horizons, a fascinating account of how people’s horizons – their knowledge, experience and understanding of the world – expanded dramatically during the Middle Ages.
Dr Ian Mortimer is best known as the Sunday Times-bestselling author of the four Time Traveller’s Guides – to Medieval England, Elizabethan England, Restoration Britain and Regency Britain – as well as four critically acclaimed medieval biographies, a prize-winning novel and several other titles. His most recent novel, The Outcasts of Time, won the 2018 Winston Graham Prize for Historical Fiction. In total, his books have sold more than 1.4 million copies and been translated into sixteen languages.
Timings & Tours
- Wednesday 11 September:
- Doors open at 6pm, starts at 6.30pm
Location & directions
Custom House, The Quay, Exeter, Devon, EX2 4AN
- Contact on day:
- Matt Farley
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking preferred
- Booking conditions:
- Please book here: https://quaywords.org.uk/events/road-to-exeter/
- Booking website:
- https://quaywords.org.uk/events/road-to-exeter/
- Alternative booking website:
- https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/literature-works/t-krxoxxv
- Booking opens:
- 01 Jun 2024 12:00 AM
- Booking closes:
- 12 Sep 2024 05:00 PM
Accessibility details
Access to the event is via a lift to the first floor.
Additional information
- Max no of people per tour:
- 40
- Est. tour duration:
- 1 hour(s)
