Historical trio inspire deep dive into the heritage of Barnstaple Pannier Market

Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe, fascist Oswald Mosely and the author of the Beggar’s Opera will form the inspiration to explore the heritage of Barnstaple Pannier Market.

Studio KIND, the gallery based in the market, has been awarded £19,134 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to create a new project called Back to the Market, which will explore the heritage of Barnstaple and the market in particular.

The project will offer a wide variety of free workshops and events for all ages, including launching three artist commissions that will investigate key events from Barnstaple’s rich past.

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Three very different characters will form the basis of the work, including Oswald Mosley, who founded and led the British Union of Fascists – he made two speeches in Barnstaple Pannier Market in the 1930s and his Blackshirts joined in with local tithe protests.

The late Jeremy Thorpe remains a divisive figure – he was North Devon MP from 1959 to 1979 and leader of the Liberal Party, accused of allegedly conspiring to murder his alleged male lover on Exmoor but was put on trial and acquitted.

As part of his wedding in 1968, there was a very large and public celebration in the Pannier Market that had a political as well as a private function.

The third historical figure is John Gay, who was born in 1685 close to the site of Barnstaple Pannier Market and went to school in St Anne’s Chapel.

He wrote The Beggar's Opera in 1728, which used existing tunes and plots to concoct something wholly new, which could be said to be an early forerunner of today’s sampling and collage techniques.

These three topics will be used to investigate a range of issues including attitudes towards immigration, LGBTQIA+ identities in North Devon and experimental artistic devices.

The commissions will culminate in an exhibition in Studio KIND, which is at the Corn Store in the market, as well a variety of research presentations both in the market and online.

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Laura Porter, managing director and curator of Studio Kind said: “As an arts organisation that has been based in the market since the beginning of 2024, we love the hustle and bustle of the market and know what an important community asset we have here.

“In a time of online shopping and struggling high streets, we want to celebrate the market as the beating heart of the town and we’re really looking forward to deep diving into its history through artistic expression and creative researching.

“We would like to thank Barnstaple Museum, Barnstaple Pannier Market, Sunrise Diversity and most importantly the Heritage Fund for making this project possible. We can't wait to share more with you soon.”