Topsham Estuary Players | What's On in Topsham | Live Drama in Devon | Theatre Companies in Exeter

I first came across the Exeter Ship Canal when I came to work for Exeter City Council in 2000. Here was a major waterway, nearly 450 years old, which had been built and paid for by the same City Council. Conceived and constructed to ensure Exeter’s survival as a port, it was innovative – the first use of locks in Great Britain - ambitious, and still in remarkably good condition. At a time when local councils of every kind were gradually losing their financial and social powers, here was a reminder that once upon a time the borough that had a charter and income from port dues was as independent and powerful as Scotland or Northern Ireland are today. They built the canal because although they had just won their 250 year legal battle with the Earls of Devon, and had the weir at Countess Wear removed, the river had silted up. In all that time goods on their way to and from Exeter had to be sent through Topsham, and it was remarkable that there was still a port of Exeter at all.
The canal story is fascinating enough in itself, but it also dramatically illustrates the course of two rivalries - between Exeter and Topsham and between Exeter and the Earls of Devon. They shaped trade on the Exe for centuries, and while the Earls may have passed on any latent rancour to the County Council a couple of centuries ago, Exeter and Topsham, although in theory one single community now, still have their differences.
Our story begins in 1292 with Isabella, Countess of Devon, and her decision to build the original weir – Countess Wear - and ends 706 years later with the final sailing of the Sludge Boat in 1998. In between there are many characters and events. In the fine tradition of Horrible Histories and Upstart Crow I have not shrunk from embroidery, exaggeration and anachronism, but I hope that you will go away thinking what an incredible project the Exeter Ship Canal was, and appreciating its continued existence a little more.

If you are inspired by The First Cut, why not join the Friends of Exeter Ship Canal? You can find them at www.friendsofexetershipcanal.co.uk