From mermaids to flying boats: Exeter’s strangest stories unearthed

Exeter has built its reputation on solid history, but woven through the city’s documented past are centuries of odd sightings, violent weather episodes and remarkable creatures. 

Some were recorded in newspapers of their time; others slipped into oral tradition and endured as local folklore. 

Together they form an alternative chronicle of the city; one where boats levitate, mermaids run along riverbanks and unexplained footprints stretch across rooftops.

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The day a whirlwind tossed boats around the Exe:

One of the most dramatic incidents occurred in 1850, when a calm afternoon at the Port Royal was abruptly interrupted by what witnesses described as a whirlwind. 

George Webber, who kept the riverside inn, said a tight column of spinning dust and stones rose suddenly from the footpath and lifted a moored punt high into the air, spinning it violently. 

A larger 30-foot gig followed, its stern reportedly raised around 15 feet before the phenomenon collapsed into the river with a crash “like a ton weight.”

River monsters: sturgeon, swordfish and something stranger: 

The River Exe has produced other shocks. In 1669, fishermen near Topsham netted a sturgeon more than nine feet long. Nearly two centuries later, an eight-foot swordfish washed onto the mud at Topsham. 

But the strangest account dates to 1737, when fishermen claimed to have caught a creature with a human-shaped upper body, webbed feet and a salmon-like tail. 

According to reports, it escaped the net, ran along the shore making human-like groans and died shortly afterwards, becoming a brief public curiosity in Exeter.

Larks that appeared during the siege: 

Nature appeared benevolent during the 1646 siege of Exeter, when residents reported “incredible numbers” of larks descending on the city’s open fields. They were so abundant that they sold for pennies a dozen and were described at the time as a providential source of food.

When bees took over South Street: 

A different kind of swarm arrived in 1892, when thousands of bees settled thickly on the corner of an auctioneer’s premises in South Street. A beekeeper from Paris Street coaxed them into a temporary hive, drawing a sizeable crowd and resolving what newspapers called an “inconvenient occupation” of the building.

A fiery ball falls on Trinity Church: 

Weather events have long startled the city. In 1736, a thunderstorm brought with it a luminous ball “the bigness of a gallon bottle” that struck Trinity Church, burst with force, knocked people off their feet and left a sulphurous smell. 

The Topsham watersprout that uprooted trees and threw boots: 

In 1694, a waterspout at Topsham tore roofs from houses, plucked a healthy apple tree from the ground “as exactly as any saw,” and hurled heavy planks and boats into the air — one mast weighing close to a ton was said to have been tossed some distance. No injuries were reported.

The Shilhay “hurricane”: 

Memories of a violent spinning storm at Shilhay lingered well into the 20th century. Residents described a deafening roar and falling sheets of corrugated iron “like confetti,” with roofs torn from workshops and timber sheds before the brief blast passed as suddenly as it arrived.

Mermaids of the River Exe: 

Some of the city’s oddest stories blend natural explanation with superstition. Early 19th-century accounts claimed mermaids had been seen near the city walls, one said to have both legs and a tail and to have run along the shoreline before being killed. 

A witch, a black cat and the Jack of Hearts: 

In 1837, a dispute between two teenage girls at the Guildhall spiralled into allegations of witchcraft. One girl insisted the other transformed into a black cat, ran through her home and then appeared as the Jack of Hearts. 

She drew protective chalk circles, consulted a conjurer and attempted counter-spells using hot needles before magistrates dismissed the case.

The Devil’s footprints across Devon: 

Perhaps the most famous mystery connected to Exeter unfolded in 1855, after a heavy snowfall. 

Residents from the city to Teignmouth woke to find a line of hoof-like prints stretching for miles across fields, walls, courtyards and rooftops. 

The tracks appeared to pass straight over obstacles without interruption. Explanations ranged from escaped kangaroos to birds, but none satisfied the public, and many believed the “Devil’s Footprints” had been left by something supernatural.

The earthquake of 1727:

Exeter has also felt the earth move. In 1727, a pre-dawn earthquake shook the city for more than half a minute, rattling windows and sending residents into the streets in alarm. 

Contemporary accounts recorded beds shaking “like a bolting-sieve” and widespread fear that the event was an omen.