Telling Our Stories, Finding Our Roots
Ilfracombe Museum
When: 20 November 2024 to 01 July 2025
Where: Ilfracombe Museum
Time: 10:00 - 17:00
Cost: £5.00
Suitable for: Any age
An exhibition in Ilfracombe Museum will shortly be launching, exploring the untold stories of the seaside town of Ilfracombe.
Telling Our Stories, Finding Our Roots is a community heritage and oral history project.The project's aim is to find, share and celebrate the hidden histories and little known accounts of Devon’s diverse communities, in both the past and present.
Ilfracombe has a long history, tied inexorably to its harbour that brought in trade, tourists, visitors and future residents from all over the world. Entertainers and performers, artists, workers, sailors, soldiers, tradesmen and business owners - all these and more have arrived in Ilfracombe throughout the last few hundreds of years from all over the world, and some even chose to stay.
The exhibition highlights a number of these stories - with the remainder being made accessible via the Museum's archive - detailing Ilfracombe's history as a safe harbour, a site of grandeur and performance, the location of terrible tragedy and more. Throughout the exhibition Ilfracombe's community is defined in these tales by their welcoming spirit and bravery in the face of danger, and we are thrilled to present these once overlooked accounts.
'By embracing storytelling, we bring these diverse narratives to life, fostering self-expression, empathy, and healing. We believe this will pave the way for a better world.'
- Hilda Kalap - Telling Our Stories, Finding Our Roots Project Co-ordinator.
Exhibitions & Projects
-
William Cobbing: Dumb mud, I love you
The Burton at Bideford
11 October 2025 to 15 February 2026
-
National Trust A Living Landscape: New Beginnings at Kipscombe
The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon
24 January 2026 to 14 March 2026
-
Hubert Coop and Friends: A Legacy of Art and Influence
The Burton at Bideford
17 January 2026 to 15 March 2026
-
The Annual Schools Exhibition
The Burton at Bideford
30 January 2026 to 15 March 2026
-
Artists North Devon: A Vibrant Community
The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon
07 February 2026 to 28 March 2026
-
This is me Call for entries: Documentary Photography Open 2026
The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon
01 December 2025 to 11 April 2026
-
Call for entries Young Digital Documentary Photography Open
The Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon
01 December 2025 to 11 April 2026
-
Land of the Pharaohs: Egypt on Screen
Bill Douglas Centre
29 January 2026 to 15 May 2026
-
Beryl Cook: Pride and Joy
The Box, Plymouth
24 January 2026 to 31 May 2026
-
Journeys with Mai
The Box, Plymouth
14 February 2026 to 14 June 2026



