Todd Gray (historian)

Last updated

Todd Gray FRHistS, MBE (born 1958) [1] is a historian of the county of Devon, England.

Gray was born and raised in New England, USA and first visited Devon on a school trip in 1973. He undertook a degree in London and then started studying for a PhD at the University of Exeter in 1984. He completed his doctorate in 1988 and has since then been a research fellow at the university. In 1992 he became a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. [2]

Gray became a British citizen in 2006 and in 2014 he was awarded an MBE for voluntary services to Devon's history. [2] He has been involved on the committees of many local organisations including Devon & Cornwall Notes & Queries (committee), the Devonshire Association (chairman and president), Devon History Society (committee), The Devon and Cornwall Record Society (chairman), Devon Gardens Trust, Devon Family History Society (president), the Centre for South-Western Historical Studies and the Friends of Devon's Archives (chairman). [1] [2]

In 2006, based on a 16th-century document, Gray claimed that the Cornish pasty was in fact invented in Devon as early as 1460 which not only caused consternation in Cornwall, but was remarked upon as far away as China. [3] [4]

As of 2018 Gray had published 48 books, 14 of which are about Exeter. [2] Many of the books have been published through his own company, Mint Press. [5] In November 2018 he was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of Exeter at a ceremony in the city's Guildhall. [2]

Related Research Articles

Cornwall County of England

Cornwall is a ceremonial county in South West England, bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by Devon, the River Tamar forming the border between them. Cornwall is the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The southwesternmost point is Land's End and the southernmost Lizard Point. Cornwall has a population of 568,210 and an area of 3,563 km2 (1,376 sq mi). The county has been administered since 2009 by the unitary authority, Cornwall Council. The ceremonial county of Cornwall also includes the Isles of Scilly, which are administered separately. The administrative centre of Cornwall is Truro, its only city.

Devon County of England

Devon, also known as Devonshire, is a county of England, reaching from the Bristol Channel in the north to the English Channel in the south. It is part of South West England, bounded by Cornwall to the west, Somerset to the north east, and Dorset to the east. The city of Exeter is the county town. The county includes the districts of East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, and West Devon. Plymouth and Torbay are each geographically part of Devon, but are administered as unitary authorities. Combined as a ceremonial county, Devon's area is 6,707 km2 and its population is about 1.1 million.

Pasty baked pastry filled with meat or vegetables

A pasty is a baked pastry, a traditional variety of which is particularly associated with Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is made by placing an uncooked filling, typically meat and vegetables, on one half of a flat shortcrust pastry circle, folding the pastry in half to wrap the filling in a semicircle and crimping the curved edge to form a seal before baking.

Cornish wrestling

Cornish wrestling is a form of wrestling which has been established in Cornwall for several centuries. It is similar to the Breton Gouren wrestling style. The referee is known as a 'stickler', and it is claimed that the popular meaning of the word as a 'pedant' originates from this usage. It is colloquially known as "wrasslin" in the Cornish dialect.

Alfred Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin was best known as a historian with a particular interest in Cornish mining, publishing The Cornish Miner, now a classic, in 1927.

Courtenay Arthur Ralegh Radford was an English archaeologist and historian who pioneered the exploration of the Dark Ages of Britain and popularised his findings in many official guides and surveys for the Office of Works. His scholarly work appeared in articles in the major British journals, such as Medieval Archaeology or the Proceedings of the British Academy and in the various Transactions of archaeological societies.

Richard Polwhele was a Cornish clergyman, poet and historian of Cornwall and Devon.

Antony Charles Thomas, was a British historian and archaeologist who was Professor of Cornish Studies at Exeter University, and the first Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies, from 1971 until his retirement in 1991. He was recognised as a Bard of the Cornish Gorseth with the name Gwas Godhyan in 1953.

Oliver James Padel is an English medievalist and toponymist specializing in Welsh and Cornish studies. He is currently Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic in the University of Cambridge. and Visiting Professor of Celtic at the University of the West of England

Robin Bush British historian

Robin James Edwin Bush was the resident historian for the first nine series of Channel 4's archaeology series Time Team, appearing in 39 episodes between 1994 and 2003. He also presented eight episodes of Time Team Extra in 1998.

Cornish Americans are Americans who describe themselves as having Cornish ancestry, an ethnic group of Brittonic Celts native to Cornwall and the Scilly Isles in the United Kingdom.

The South West Rugby League (SWRL) also known as the South West Men's League is a rugby league competition for teams in the South West of England. It was formerly part of the Rugby League Conference.

Cuisine of Devon

The cuisine of Devon in England has influenced, and been influenced, by other British cuisine.

John Swete clergyman, artist, antiquary, historian, and topographer

Rev. John Swete of Oxton House, Kenton in Devon, was a clergyman, landowner, artist, antiquary, historian and topographer and author of the Picturesque Sketches of Devon consisting of twenty illustrated journals of Devonshire scenery. He was a connoisseur of landscape gardening, and much of his Travel Journals consist of his commentary of the success or otherwise of the landscaping ventures of his gentry friends, neighbours and acquaintances in Devon. He himself undertook major building and landscaping works at Oxton.

Jeremiah Milles Dean of Exeter and antiquarian

Rev. Jeremiah Milles (1714–1784) was President of the Society of Antiquaries and Dean of Exeter between 1762 and 1784. He carried out much internal renovation in Exeter Cathedral. As part of his antiquarian research into the history of the parishes of Devon he pioneered the use of the research questionnaire, which resulted in the "Dean Milles' Questionnaire", which survives as a valuable source of historical information.

Exeter War Memorial war memorial in Exeter, Devon, England

Exeter War Memorial, also known as The Northernhay War Memorial is a war memorial in Northernhay Gardens in the city of Exeter, Devon. Designed by John Angel, it was erected by public subscription in 1923 and cost over £6,000.

Mark J. Stoyle is a Tudor and Stuart British historian who specializes in the English Civil War, the nature of magic and witchcraft and the identity of key areas such as Cornwall and Wales during the early modern period. He is Professor at the University of Southampton, and also does much work on the history and landscape of Exeter where he previously lived and taught.

The Cornish-Mexican Cultural Society is a society that tries to advance awareness of the historical and modern links between Cornwall and Mexico’s “Little Cornwall”, the area of Pachuca and Real del Monte in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico.

The World Pasty Championships are an annual event held in Cornwall to celebrate the Cornish Pasty and its variants, with entrants from around the world including Australia and the Americas. Awards are given to amateurs, professionals, juniors and companies. Entries in the Cornish pasty category must be made in Cornwall with traditional ingredients and techniques, but far more freedom is allowed in the "open savoury" category.

Emma Louisa (Radford), Lady Radford, FSA, FRHistS, JP was an English antiquarian and public servant. A noted local historian and a contributor to the Dictionary of National Biography, she was the first woman to be elected President of the Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature and the Arts, and was also among the first women to be appointed a magistrate for the Exeter Bench.

References

  1. 1 2 "Recent Presidents". The Devonshire Association . Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Dr Todd Gray given Freedom of the City". News. Exeter City Council. 30 November 2018. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  3. ↑ "Devon Radio Presenter Judi Spiers interviews Exeter's Famous Historian Dr Todd Gray". Celebrity Interviews. DevonLife. 14 January 2010. Retrieved 2019-09-27.
  4. ↑ McKie, Robin (12 November 2006). "Cornish? No, pasties are from Devon". The Guardian . Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  5. ↑ "Stevens Books". Stevensbooks.co.uk. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.