Page updated 6 October 2008
This little park is situated on
the road to St
David's Station and North Devon. The name derives from 'Berry Mead'
which probably itself, comes from burh
or earthwork as the Danes Castle
siege earthworks are close by.
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.
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.
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:
A GOOD LIFE IS A GARDEN WHICH YIELDS ITS CHOICEST COLOURS AT NOON AND ITS CHOICEST FRAGRANCE IN THE EVENING - FROM OLD ST PAULS EXON

Bury Meadow from New North Road.

Bury Meadow in the snow - 1970s. Courtesy
Alan H Mazonowicz
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