Speaker announced for Foundation Christmas Lunch
University of Exeter’s historian Dr Todd Gray MBE will be the speaker at this year’s Exeter Chiefs Foundation Christmas Lunch.
Devon’s most prominent and prolific historian, renowned for his extensive, source-driven research into the history of England’s South West, Dr Gray is an engaging and humorous storyteller who advised the club on its rebrand.
He also caused much consternation when he claimed a 16th century document revealed the Cornish pasty was invented in Devon on 1460.
Dr Gray will entertain the Foundation’s lunch guests along with Christmas carols from the Exeter College Student Choir, with the entire event overseen and led by former England prop and sports pundit David Flatman.
Guests will also enjoy a delicious four-course lunch prepared by award-winning chef Craig Beacham.
Originally from New England, Dr Gray moved to Britain for his undergraduate studies and has since gone on to examine every local authority archive in England and Wales, publishing more widely on Devon than any other academic.
Dr Gray’s work, frequently highlighted by national and regional media, ranges from institutional collaborations with English Heritage and local councils and societies to pioneering research into highly challenging topics
A contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary and the TV show Mastermind, Dr Gray's immense contributions to regional heritage earned him an MBE in 2014 and the Freedom of Exeter in 2018.
Exeter Chiefs Foundation’s chairman Tony Rowe CBE said: “Dr Gray is a valued friend of the club but also a world-renowned historian who is obviously very well informed but also very entertaining. He will bring his own brand of compelling story-telling to share with our guests as we kick-off the festive season and raise vital finds for good causes in and around the city.”
The Exeter Chiefs Foundation Christmas Lunch will continue into the early evening. Carriages are recommended for 8pm.
Tickets are £100 per person or £950 for a table of 10. Tickets are available here.