Exmouth's ROLLE
A very successful event was held over the weekend of Saturday/Sunday 23rd/24th May 2015 at the home of local author and historian, Daphne Barnes-Phillips. This was to launch “Exmouth’s ROLLE" a book about the former Rolle College and its predecessor on the site, Southlands School. Over 150 people attended this two day event.
Copies of "Exmouth's ROLLE" are available directly from us - see "Contact us" for details.
Although Rolle College was the largest employer in Exmouth for many of its 62 years, no books have been written detailing the history of such an important location. Similarly its predecessors on the site, Southlands School (and Fairfield College) seems to have "sunk from memory despite being an important feature of Exmouth's life in its day” (according to one of the contributors to "Exmouth's ROLLE" – Elizabeth Maycock – in the introduction to her memories).
As with many institutions, there have been numerous name changes over the years – not only from Fairfield College to Southlands School but also from Exmouth Emergency Training College to Rolle College to the Rolle faculty of the Polytechnic South West to the Rolle School of Education of the University of Plymouth.
"Exmouth's ROLLE" is truly a "local book by local people for local people" as Daphne (author) and Jim (illustrator) can see part of the former Rolle College site from their present home. Daphne trained for teaching at Rolle College, Exmouth in the mid 1960s then maintained links with the town and also with those she had met while studying there for almost half-a-century before she and Jim chose to retire to the town in 2009. However, it was not until she started to amass photographs and memories from former students and staff of Rolle College that she realised the existence of it predecessors. Southlands School magazines and newspaper articles were then consulted, along with census returns, street directories and websites such as FreeBMD to provide as wide a picture as possible of the use of the site from 1870.
This book then has been written for the people of Exmouth and all those from other parts of Great Britain and abroad, particularly India and Kenya, who have benefitted from that marvellous educational facility whatever its name at the time – Southlands School, Rolle College . . . as they see it again flourish as an educational facility following the move of The Exeter Royal Academy for Deaf Education into their newly built premises in September 2020, three years after work started on the site.
With 40 coloured and 110 black & white photographs among its 232 pages, "Exmouth's ROLLE" (ISBN 978 - 1 - 897715 - 13 - 1) was published in May 2015 with a cover price of £14.95 but those who are able to buy direct from Corridor Press and collect from them in Exmouth will be able to purchase copies for £10.00. (If you are not local to Exmouth, we can supply copies for £12.50 including postage & packing).
