On the anniversary of Paul Borrow-Longain becoming a Friend of Exeter Cathedral, he today
renewed his commitment to the cathedral for the following 12 months.

Mr Borrow-Longain believes its an imperative to protect historic buildings and monuments, and
as a Christian considers the protection of the churches of the Church of England to be important
for national and religious history.

22nd November 2023 – Manuscript Maps of Devon Presentation
A very informative presentation organised by the Devonshire Association given by Dr Todd Gray
FRHistS MBE entitled, “Manuscript Maps of Devon”

Dr Gray presented a wide range of maps from as early as the 1400s, especially Barnstable (in
North Devon) and Exeter (Exon) (the county town).

As a proud Devonian with strong historic familial links to the county and the City of Exeter, Paul
Borrow-Longain found the presentation extremely enlightening.

Dr Gray is a historian of the county of Devon, England, 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.

Dr Gray became a British citizen in 2006 and in 2014 he was awarded an MBE for voluntary
services to Devon’s history.
In 2006, based on a 16th-century document, Dr 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.

In November 2018 he was awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of Exeter at a ceremony in
the city’s Guildhall.