A Century of Exeter - Contents Page

Exeter, the capital of Devon, occupies an unsurpassed location overlooking the River Exe. Situated in lush countryside, the city is recognised as having a particularly high quality of life. Those who live here know the advantages, and each year thousands of visitors use Exeter as their gateway to the west. Most people are genuinely captivated by the city’s charms.

Traditionally Exeter has continued its way of life within its stone walls, changing only slowly over the centuries; however, this was to alter in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Exeter was to change in some respects beyond recognition.

In this book we shall be looking at some aspects of what has happened to Exeter over the last 100 years. It has been a time of great physical change. From the very beginning of the twentieth century Exeter was to grasp new opportunities and ideas. As it did so, many Exeter residents began to see enormous changes to the environment in which they had grown up. The century falls naturally into the periods from 1900 to approximately 1939; the Second World War from 1939; the postwar development to around 1970; and the last thirty years. Today further changes are under way as the city continues to expand rapidly. Exeter has always been a busy market town and this continues today, generating income for the city, but now well out of the city centre. In Victorian times the streets were cleared and purpose-built markets were created. Cattle, however, were sold at the Cattle Market beside Exe Bridge in Bonhay Road. A move was then made to Marsh Barton, and in the late twentieth century to Matford.

Exeter can never lay claim to being an industrial city, but there were some heavy industries. Now long gone, they played an important role in the economy of the city.

In the first half of the twentieth century the city still retained numerous old buildings and an atmosphere of times gone by. At the turn of the century a new bridge was to be constructed over the River Exe, and with it the introduction of an electric tram system. Extending from the bridge, buildings were removed and new riverside walkways created. The era of public transport had begun. Social life was to broaden with the opening of Dellers Café in the Cathedral Close in 1906, followed by the opening of their prestigious premises on the corner of High Street and Bedford Street in 1916.

In 1907 restoration of one of the city’s most prestigious buildings, 226 High Street, took place. In 1911 Rougemont House and grounds were purchased by the City Council, and the grounds were opened to the public in 1912. St Nicholas Priory was also purchased at this time by the Council and opened as a museum.

In the 1920s many people left the Goldsmith Street area, and there was a period of demolition. A major loss was 229 High Street (now Topshop), whose Jacobean interior was ripped out by the Saxone Shoe Company and exported to America. It can now be seen in the Kansas City Museum. The building as it stands today is a sad contrivance of architectural remains saved from other buildings. St Stephen’s Church in High Street was also threatened with demolition. In High Street almost opposite St Petrock’s Church was the double-fronted shop of Garton and King, ironmongers. Their premises extended back to Waterbeer Street, and their foundry was on the other side of the street. They left the site in 1932.

Much of Exeter’s social life revolved around the London Inn Square, whose focal point up to 1936 was the New London Hotel. The old coaching inn was removed to allow the building of the Savoy Cinema. Other losses in this period were St Paul’s Church in Paul Street and St John’s Church in Fore Street.

In the 1930s a slum clearance scheme moved citizens out to the suburbs and demolished dwellings. This policy created the Burnthouse Lane Housing Estate. Despite the fact that this happened more than sixty years ago people still talk of their times in the West Quarter. Our most famous street, Stepcote Hill, was to lose over 50 per cent of its buildings. The modern replacements failed to complement those remaining. Two sixteenth-century buildings at the bottom of the Hill were saved after a public outcry. They now form part of one of Exeter’s loveliest settings. The city, however, fails to recognise fully the potential of this area. Unfortunately Exeter suffered badly as a result of bombing between 1939 and 1942. It sustained seventeen air raids and a third of the city centre was destroyed. All remaining standing buildings were demolished by the City Council. The clearance of the central area of Exeter opened up new opportunities to redevelop the city, and this was undertaken from the 1950s to approximately 197 . The rebuilding has been much criticised, as it is said a monolithic style inappropriate for the city was adopted. The individuality of varying architectural styles was lost. For example, the building of C & A on the corner of High Street and Queen Street was to prove highly controversial, with the intrusion of an ugly structure right in the middle of High Street. The previous elegant façade could have been recreated on such a sensitive site. It stands for all to see and is one of Exeter’s greatest errors.

In the 1970s further development took place – the Golden Heart Project. It involved the demolition of the whole area from Queen Street to North Street, and from Paul Street to High Street. Goldsmith Street, one of Exeter’s oldest thoroughfares, was utterly destroyed. The Higher Market was also affected by the scheme, with the loss of its rear steps.

Featureless shops were built into its lofty interior, and nearly all of its character was lost. Paul Street was swept away and the ugliest service road in Exeter created. The scheme also devastated a fine building in North Street, dating from the fifteenth century but with seventeenthcentury additions. This was 38 North Street, which was totally demolished. Today North Street is a sad introduction to Exeter.

In latter years great attempts have been made to soften some of these early developments with the planting of thousands of trees, the creation of gardens, the addition of street furniture and so on.

The compactness of the city centre makes shopping easy and it boasts a huge number of stores. The Cathedral Close continues to ooze oldworld charm, and is one of the city’s most pleasant environments.

A Century of Exeter, with its wide range of images, reflects the most important period in the city’s past. It will also help us to focus on the future of one of England’s most ancient cities.