Bury Meadow

This little park is situated on the road to St David's Station and North Devon. According to Alexander Jenkins, the name derives from 'Berry Mead' which probably itself, comes from burh or earthwork as the Danes Castle siege earthworks are close by. Sir Edward Seaward, Mayor in 1691, was a principal benefactor of Berry (Bury) Meadow by donating four-fifths of the land, and Margery Gould providing the remainder to the City Chamber.

The cholera plot

A plot 92 ft by 109 ft was excavated as a burying ground for victims of the 1832 cholera outbreak. It was 440 ft from St Davids Church and was adjacent to Barrack Road (now Howell Road). The map shows the position of the burial ground. It also shows how Bury Meadow stretched from St David's Church to Barrack Road (now Howell Road). Heles School, Heles Road, New North Road, Elmfield Road and Richmond Road have not yet been built.

The Commissioners of Improvement agreed in April 1845 to lease about four acres of Little Bury Meadow as a Public Promenade and Play Ground for the citizens, which along with Northernhay, formed the first of Exeter's many green spaces. It was named Victoria Park on the 1850 map by Warren, and a later 1881 map, but by 1888 it was back to Bury Meadow. In a true Victorian way, a tree was planted in the park to commemorate the marriage of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh KGL on 23 January 1874. Thus, what were important events at the time are lost in the memory of later generations.

The Coronation of Edward VII in 1901 saw Bury Meadow host sports for the Citizens' Treat day on 24th June. The schools attending were the Episcopal, St David's, Hoopern Street Girls, St Mary Arches Street Girls, St Sidwells, St James and St John's Hospital School. The Post Office Band was also in attendance to entertain the children. To round off the event, a Daylight Firework display was given.

The blitz

In the days after the blitz of 4th May 1942, Bury Meadow was used for a field kitchen to feed women and children. Now, it is a pleasant green space in the city and has a small, well equipped children's playground. It is well used by students from Exeter College, and is even used as an area to teach surveying. The Meadow is still occasionally used for large gatherings and was the venue for a rally against the Poll Tax in 1990.

A stone plaque in the park reads:

Sources: History, Gazetteer and directory of Devonshire by WIlliam White, Flying Post and Express & Echo.