In a special edition of our usual Wednesday tours, Kitty Vega, Isca Photographic Collection Project Officer from the South West Heritage Trust, will be on hand to discuss the exhibition ‘The Isca Photographic Collection: Exeter Through the Lens’, and the work that has gone into preserving and promoting this fantastic photographic collection.

About the Isca Photographic Project

The Isca Photographic Collection is one of the most significant visual archives of Exeter’s history, spanning the late 19th to mid-20th centuries. It preserves thousands of glass plate negatives and prints created by local photographers, most notably Henry Wykes (1874–1964), whose work documented the city’s transformation through urban development, social life, and wartime devastation.

This archive offers an unparalleled window into Exeter’s cultural heritage, capturing both extraordinary events and everyday moments. 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 is run by the South West Heritage Trust and builds on the foundational work of historian and photographer Peter Thomas who created the Isca collection. It is supported by both the Friends of Devon’s Archives and The Exeter Canal & Quay Trust.

Drop in anytime between 1-3pm. Free and open to everyone.