St Michael’s Church and the buildings of Mount Dinham only date back to the 1860s. However, the history of this prominent site just outside the ancient settlement of Exeter Isca Dumnoniorum can be traced back in its archaeology to Roman times.

Likewise, the long and varied history of Christianity in the Near East and in these British Isles also goes back to provinces of the Roman Empire.

While Archbishop Usher’s date of 4004BC for Creation must give way to our knowledge of cosmology, palaeontology and evolution, it is clear that homo sapiens has always had religion and music at the heart of its communal life, as we do here today.

The story of the development of sacred and community music is certainly ancient, and its threads woven from many and varied origins create the beautiful tapestry we hear today at St Michael’s. In the next phase of development of this timeline, significant dates in the history of music will be added to augment the picture of the story of St Michael’s. Please contact us to suggest your favourite key moments in music history.

This timeline is a selective view of history through the lens of St Michael’s, with significant contributions from Professor Oliver Nicholson, Historian of the Late Classical Period and Tenor in the choir of St Michael’s.

“The lot has fallen unto me in a fair ground:
yea I have a goodly heritage”
Psalm. 16