Exeter Cathedral is delighted to celebrate the unveiling of a striking new artwork at Exeter Airport, which highlights the region’s extraordinary literary heritage and shines a spotlight on one of the Cathedral’s greatest treasures: The Exeter Book.
Installed in the UK arrivals gate, the large-scale mural created by local artist Rosetta Westbrook introduces arriving passengers to the writers, stories, and sacred heritage that have shaped Devon’s identity. The installation celebrates Exeter’s proud status as one of just 63 UNESCO Cities of Literature worldwide – a designation rooted in the history preserved within the Cathedral walls.
Central to Exeter’s rich literary story is The Exeter Book, an internationally renowned 10th-century manuscript cared for by Exeter Cathedral for nearly a thousand years. Recognised as one of the world’s most significant surviving collections of Old English poetry, it features prominently as a focal point of the Cathedral’s popular Treasures Exhibition. The new mural celebrates The Exeter Book alongside iconic regional sites and celebrated authors with connections to Devon, including Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, Charles Dickens, Michael Morpurgo and Sarah Pearse.
Exeter Cathedral is thrilled to see the region’s literary heritage showcased so prominently to visitors arriving in the South West. Having served for nearly a millennium as the proud custodian of The Exeter Book, the Cathedral team hopes this magnificent new artwork inspires passengers arriving at the airport to visit the Cathedral, explore the Treasures Exhibition, and see this priceless piece of global history in person.
The mural builds on the success of the Literary Map of Exeter and Devon (also designed by Westbrook), which has distributed over 30,000 copies across the region. Its arrival comes during a period of strong growth for Exeter Airport, which welcomed over 582,000 passengers between March 2025 and March 2026.
With expanding domestic and international routes – including direct flights connecting Exeter to fellow UNESCO Cities of Literature like Edinburgh and Dublin, as well as daily connections via Amsterdam – the airport provides an ideal gateway for global cultural tourists. As part of Exeter UNESCO City of Literature’s broader vision to make literature visible across public spaces, the installation invites travellers to step off the plane and immerse themselves in the region’s living history – starting right in the heart of the city at Exeter Cathedral.