Our full programme of Events April – September 2025
Join in with our NEW programme of events and workshops for all ages
Download our current event leaflet here: What’s on April – Sept 2025
For bookable events please go to our membership and booking platform Webcollect/dei
Webcollect will ask you to create a ‘member profile’ for the booking and you can pay via card or bank transfer – this doesn’t mean that you need to become a ‘member’ of the DEI to book events. We know this isn’t ideal and we are exploring other booking platforms for our autumn / winter season.
Other ways to book:
Via email: [email protected]
In person -at the front desk, 7 Cathedral Close, EX1 1EZ.
For member interest groups please email: [email protected]
April 2025 |
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| Day | Date | Times | Event | Additional Info |
| Tuesday | 1st | 10am-5pm | NEW: Book display – ‘Whispers of the West: tracing the folklore of the South West’. On display until Wednesday 30th April. | Drop in |
| Wednesday | 2nd | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 3rd | 11am-2pm | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Volunteers drop in session | Open to new members |
| Tuesday | 8th | 2.30pm | Members’ Reading Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Wednesday | 9th | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 17th | 11am-2pm | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Volunteers drop in session | Open to new members |
| Thursday | 17th | Doors 6pm Lecture 6.30pm – 7.30pm | Turning the Page lecture series – Dr Fiona Schroeder, Fictions of the Fin du Globe: Late Victorian Page-Turners and the Fantasy of the Unknown | Tickets £10 / Booking essential |
| Saturday | 19th | 10.30am-12 noon | Bookworms Junior Members’ Club | For children aged 5-8 years / Booking essential / Taster session free |
| Wednesday | 23rd | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 24th | 2.30pm – 4pm | West Quarter Research Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Friday | 25th | 11am-4pm | NEW: Bookbinding Workshop- The Secret Belgian Binding with Celadine Books | Booking information www.celadinebooks.co.uk |
| Wednesday | 30th | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
May |
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| Day | Date | Times | Event | Additional Info |
| Thursday | 1st | 10am-5pm | NEW: Book display – ‘Green Shoots: horticultural treasures from our natural history collection, unearthed by our gardeners’. On display until Saturday 7th June. | Drop in |
| Thursday | 1st | 11am-2pm | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Volunteers drop in session | Open to new members |
| Wednesday | 7th | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Saturday | 10th | 10apm-1pm | NEW: Letterpress workshop with Jeremy Speck – Use type to creative beautiful, graphic prints to take home | Tickets £25 / Booking essential |
| Tuesday | 13th | 2.30pm | Members’ Reading Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Wednesday | 14th | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Saturday | 17th | 10.30am-12 noon | Bookworms Junior Members’ Club | For children aged 5-8 years / Booking essential / Taster session free |
| Wednesday | 21st | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 24th | 2.30pm – 4pm | West Quarter Research Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Wednesday | 28th | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
June |
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| Day | Date | Event | Additional Info | |
| Join us for a host of artistic and literary events during the city-wide June Boom! | ||||
| Summer lunches return to the Courtenay Room and Garden | ||||
| Wednesday | 4th | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 5th | 11am-2pm | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Volunteers drop in session | Open to new members |
| Sunday | 8th | 11am – 4pm | City of Literature Bookmarket on Cathedral Green. Second-hand Book Sale and drop in events at the Institution. Free tours – new members welcome. | Drop in |
| Tuesday | 10th | 2.30pm | Members’ Reading Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Tuesday | 10th | 10am-5pm | NEW: ‘The first word is Hope’
An exhibition of letterpress prints and posters by Jeremy Speck. This collection of work is inspired by the work of Davina Quinlivan produced during her time as Writer-in-Residence for Quay Words and the Devon & Exeter Institution. On show until 5th July |
Drop in |
| Tuesday | 10th | 11am-4pm | NEW: Join us for Art Week Exeter. Crab and Bees Matter of Britian, Co-curated display featuring paintings by Helen Billinghurst. On show until 21st June. | Drop in |
| Wednesday | 11th | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Saturday | 14th | 10am – 3pm | NEW: One-Day Choir – join choirmaster Emma Watson to learn and perform ‘I can’t help falling in love with you’ in a day, in our stunning Blue Room | Tickets £25 / Booking essential |
| Saturday | 14th | 2pm – 3pm | NEW: Performance reading from ‘Crab & Bee’s Matter of Britain’, a collection of folk stories overheard in pubs, found on village noticeboards, and whispered through the landscape itself, gathered from Helen and Phil Smith’s travels across the UK. On show until 21st July. | Drop in |
| Wednesday | 18th | 1pm – 4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 19th | 11am-2pm | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Volunteers drop in session | Open to new members |
| Thursday | 19th | 2.30pm – 4pm | West Quarter Research Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Saturday | 21st | 10.30am-12 noon | Bookworms Junior Members’ Club | For children aged 5-8 years / Booking essential / Taster session free |
| Tuesday | 24th | 10am-5pm | NEW: Book display – ‘Collection highlights: sharing the start items from our Collections Review’. On display until Friday 29th August. | Drop in |
| Wednesday | 25th | 1pm -4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
July |
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| Day | Date | Event | Additional Info | |
| NEW: Schools’ Enrichment Week 14th -18th July – What can historic newspapers tell us about fake news, trolling and clickbait?
Free Workshops for KS3/4 throughout the week. Contact [email protected] to book |
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| Thursday | 3rd | 11am-2pm | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Volunteers drop in session | Open to new members |
| Thursday | 3rd | 3pm | Volunteers Thank You tea party | DEI Volunteers |
| Tuesday | 8th | 11am-12 noon | Librarian’s Tour | Free / Booking essential |
| Tuesday | 8th | 2.30pm | Members’ Reading Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Wednesday
Thursday |
9th
10th |
1pm-4pm
6pm -8pm |
Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections
NEW: Supper Club in the Courtenay Room |
Drop in
£30/ Booking essential
|
| Saturday | 19th | 10.30am-12 noon | Bookworms Junior Members’ Club | For children aged 5-8 years / Booking essential / Taster session free |
| Wednesday | 23rd | 1pm -4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 24th | 2.30pm – 4pm | West Quarter Research Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Wednesday | 30th | 1pm -4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
August |
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| Day | Date | Event | Additional Info | |
| Wednesday | 6th | 1pm-4pm | NEW: Family tour of the Institution – tour led by our Junior Members, suitable for children and their adults | Free, drop in |
| Thursday | 7th | 11am-2pm | NEW: Green Shoots Gardening Group – family make and take | Free, drop in |
| Tuesday | 12th | 2.30pm | Members’ Reading Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Wednesday | 13th | 1pm-4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Saturday | 16th | 10.30am-12 noon | Bookworms Junior Members’ Club | For children aged 5-8 years / Booking essential / Taster session free |
| Wednesday | 20th | 1pm – 4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 21st | 11am-2pm | NEW: Green Shoots Gardening Group – family make and take | Free, drop in |
| Wednesday | 27th | 1pm – 4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Saturday | 30th | 11am-3pm | Second-hand Book Sale | Drop in |
September |
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| Day | Date | Event | Additional Info | |
| Heritage Open Days -join us for free Librarian’s Tours, special display, workshop and promenade performances of ‘Frederick Douglass in Exeter’ | ||||
| Tuesday | 2nd | 10-5pm | NEW: Book display: ‘Frederick Douglass in Exeter’. On display until Saturday 4th October. | Drop in |
| Wednesday | 3rd | 1pm – 4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 4th | 11am-2pm | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Volunteers drop in session | Open to new members |
| Tuesday | 9th | 2.30pm | Members’ Reading Group | Joining information via [email protected] |
| Wednesday | 10th | 1pm – 4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Tuesday | 16th | 11am | Librarian’s Tour – Heritage Open Days | Free / Booking essential |
| Wednesday | 17th | 3pm | NEW: Workshop – ‘Frederick Douglass in Exeter’ | Free / Booking essential |
| Wednesday | 17th | 1pm -4pm | Free tours of the Institution for Heritage Open Days – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |
| Thursday | 18th | 2pm – 3pm | Librarian’s Tour – Heritage Open Days | Free / Booking essential |
| Friday | 19th | 2pm and 4pm (Performance lasts 45 minutes) | NEW: Promenade performance – ‘Frederick Douglass in Exeter’ by Riversmeet | Free / Booking essential 2pm / 4pm |
| Friday | 19th | 3pm – 3.45pm | NEW: Book display talk ‘Frederick Douglass in Exeter’- meet the Curator | Free, drop in |
| Saturday | 20th | 2pm and 4pm (Performance lasts 45 minutes) | NEW: Promenade performance – ‘Frederick Douglass in Exeter’ by Riversmeet | Free / Booking essential 2pm / 4pm |
| Saturday | 20th | 3pm – 3.45pm | NEW: Book display talk ‘Frederick Douglass in Exeter’- meet the Curator | Free, drop in |
| Thursday | 21st | 10am-2pm | Green Shoots Gardening Group – Volunteers drop in | Open to new members |
| Wednesday | 27th | 1pm – 4pm | Free tours of the Institution – find out about our beautifully restored heritage building and collections | Drop in |