The Peopling of North Devon

Set right at the edge of England, North Devon’s rich and varied history has been shaped by many peoples and cultures. Are we Celts, like the Cornish, or Saxons? And are there traces of later migrants in our population? The arrival of Vikings, Normans, Africans and Native Americans are all recorded in our history, but have they left genetic traces behind?

In modern times, North Devon has welcomed workers from Ireland, Wales, the Commonwealth and Eastern Europe. We have been a refuge, including in the 18^th century for Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in France, in the 19^th and 20^th centuries Jews from central Europe, and, most recently, a place of safety for Ukrainian families.

The exhibition ‘The Peopling of North Devon’ is inspired by research undertaken by the Francis Crick Institute, a London-based biomedical research centre, which has analysed some of the Saxon skeletons discovered on the site of the former Barnstaple Castle as part of its 1000 Ancient Genomes Project. It will showcase objects from the Museum’s collections, which evidence North Devon’s ancient and recent migrations and which tell the stories of some of our local families.