Parks and Pleisure Grounds of Exeter - some histories

Belmont Park

This park is situated between Blackboy Road and Belmont Road. It was one of the first of the late Victorian parks in Exeter to be opened. The Public Health Act of 1875 gave local authorities the power to make by-laws for the provision of public pleasure grounds. Exeter opened the 5 acre Belmont Park in 1886. The next year, the park was the centre for a pageant of Olde Englishe Sportes to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.

The 1897 Kelly's Directory, noted that John Lock was the keeper and also remarked 'The neighbouring streams afford abundance of amusement to the angler'. I bet there are no fish now! In 1902, the Coronation Celebrations for Edward VII saw Belmont Pleasure Grounds used as a venue for various sports including the egg and spoon race, sack race and wheelbarrow race. The programme stated that spurs were 'not to be used' in the donkey race!

Before the First World War, the park was a highly regarded botanical garden, and the guidebooks recommended that tourists visit the park to appreciate its varied plants and trees.

In 1939, the first garden in England designed for the blind was planted. Known as the Belmont Scent Garden, it is situated in the east of the park and contains many of the best fragrant plants that will grow in the country. During the Second War, temporary wooden huts were installed on the gravelled areas for the Army Pay Corps - the huts were used by the technical college after the war. They are now used as the Community Centre and Playtraining Resource Centre.

There is a children's play area in the park, a basketball court, and a bowling green on the Blackboy Road side, opposite the pub called, the Bowling Green!

Bull Meadow

This park situated between Holloway Street and Magdalen Street is the last open remnant of the Chutebrook (aka Sutebrook and Shytebrook) Valley. The Chutebrook rose in Chute Street and flowed past the bottom of Paris Street, was crossed by Magdalen Street and flowed into the Exe at the bottom of Colleton Hill. The name is a corruption of the Saxon 'shyte' because it was used as a conduit for human sewage. The whole watercourse was buried in a conduit, after the 1832 cholera outbreak, and now carries only storm water.

The park was named after the Bull Inn, which was first mentioned in 1487 and which was situated on Magdalen Street. In the 16th and 17th Century, Bull Meadow, along with most of Friernhay was used for the racks on which were hung serges for drying. The park was designated, a few years after it opened, as a Recreation and Pleasure Ground in 1889. It was originally surrounded by iron railings and gates, which were removed during the Second World War for scrap. On one side at the top of the recreation ground are two burial grounds, one dissenters and one Jewish.

When St Leonards along Wonford Road was being developed, Messrs Hooper, a local builder, built a viaduct across the Chutebrook above Bull Meadow to raise Magdalen Street and flatten the approach to South Street. There was a substantial amount of earth used to cross the culvert - a retaining wall of Pocombe stone was built on each side, capped with Dartmoor granite. An arch was constructed at one end, just before Bull Hill, for the Chutebrook to flow through. The Bull Meadow carpark on the corner of the inner by-pass and Magdalen Road is also at the level of the bottom of the valley, as is Bull Meadow itself. When the inner bypass was being planned, one design routed the road in the form of an overpass across Bull Meadow to meet Holloway Street near Melbourne Street. The actual bypass necessitated the removal of the retaining wall on one side as the road was raised above the valley floor.

The City Council have created a small meadow of long grasses to boost insects for the local bat population, and installed nesting boxes to encourage the birds. Now the park contains a play area for children with a five-a-side pitch for children. There is also seating suitable for people to picnic.

Bury Meadow

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.

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:

Heavitree Pleasure Ground - includes Centenary update

In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, many local councils were creating new parks for people to spend their leisure time. Heavitree Urban District Council opened the Pleasure Ground in 1906, "to clear rowdy youths" from Fore Street in the evenings.

The Council purchased the land at the end of 1905, for £3,100 and, the first phase, a children's playground was opened on 1st May 1906 by Colonel Vaughan in front of 800 children, and as was common for the time, God Save the King was sung. In 1907, the bowling green and tennis courts were completed.

The area was enlarged in 1908, when the remaining hedges were removed and a field reserved for the Football Club. The Exeter nursery, Veitch's landscaped the grounds, and a ground-keeper employed for 24 shillings (£1.20) per week to maintain 11 acres of park.

By 1939, the Pleasure Ground had been extended to 19 acres, with three hard tennis courts and a 'children's nursery ground'.

On 5th May 2006, Cllr Morrish and the Lord Mayor of Exeter, Cllr Peter Wadham attended a celebration for the centenary of the opening of Heavitree Pleasure Park. Local children, dressed in Edwardian clothes, sang period songs and danced around a Maypole. They then followed an accordian player down to the entrance of the park to attend the unveiling of an obelisk remembering the event. The Lord Mayor then unveiled the obelisk and after, the children attended a tea party in the park.

Hoopern Valley

This name was first recorded in 1225 and probably derived from 'the place where barrels are made'. Curiously, the street is purely residential and is probably named after the Hoopern Valley, which lies at the top end. The valley stretches from Taddiford up to Pennsylvania and forms one side of the University grounds. There are still cows grazing, within the city boundary, and the valley forms an important country park in the north of Exeter.   

A view of the Hoopern Valley from Prince of Wales Road - the University is behind the photographer. Hoopern Street, Danes Road and the fire station are on the opposite side of the valley.

Northbrook Golf Course

Not a full size course but an approach golf course, this facility is run by Exeter City Council. Many a happy hour can be passed trying to avoid the North Brook that runs through the centre of the course.

During the drought of 1976 the ground was so hard that play became impossible on the sloping parts of the course as the ball would instantly run down hill.

Part of the original Northbrook Park has been taken over by Exeter's Crematorium, situated at the top of a rise surrounded by lovely lawns.

The Northbrook, which is four miles long rises as the Mincinglake Brook or Whipton Brook, and was locally known as 'The Panny'. The lower length has been variously known as the Wonford Brook and Northbrook. It flowed under Heavitree Bridge on its way to the Exe.

Northernhay Park and Rougemont Gardens

Northernhay meaning northern enclosure, is believed to be the oldest public park in the country, dating back as far as 1612. A map of 1617 by John Norden the Elder for Sir James Fullerton who was the Surveyor of the Lands and Land Revenues of Prince Charles, shows the area below the castle walls in use as a bowling green. The fledgeling park was largely destroyed during the Civil War when defensive ditches were dug outside the city wall, and it was only upon the return of the Monarchy that, in 1664, 200 young elm saplings were planted and gravel paths laid to celebrate.

The area was quarried by the Romans for the volcanic stone that was used to build the city wall. The wall runs the length of the park on its southern side, and contains Roman and medieval work, as well as the only length of Saxon town wall to be found in England.

In the early 19th century, the view the park gave over the County prison, meant that the park was packed with spectators on those days on which there was a public execution on the roof of the prison. In 1860, the park was redesigned with new paths, shrubs, a rockery and small waterfall. This was the same year that the London and South Western Railway reached Exeter - they built the terminus just below the park. The paths on the lower slopes that run parallel with the railway were really a product of Victorian train spotting mania.

The park was very popular a century ago and locals would flock to listen to music from the bandstand. The park has become a centre of public art such as the Deer Stalker, the Volunteer Force Monument and statues to past worthies. In 1921 the Exeter War memorial was erected to the dead of the First War.

In the mid 1900's, the elms that were planted in 1664 succumbed to disease and were felled. They have been replaced to give all round colour and foliage. There are plans to improve the park in the future, with a Lottery Fund grant.

The City Council continue to plant new in the park and have added some new Dogwood to the 50 odd varieties already present.

Rougemont Gardens

Rougemont Gardens are situated on the opposite side of the city wall and take up part of the old moat around the castle. The gardens of Rougemont House were planted by Thomas Patch, after 1769. They were purchased by the city in 1912 and joined on to the original moat area, making Rougemont Gardens. During the Exeter Festival, the Northcott Theatre use the natural bowl of the gardens to perform 'Shakespeare in the Park' on an open air stage.

St Thomas Pleasure Ground

The St Thomas Leisure Ground was opened on 30th March 1891, for Queen Victorias Jubilee, at the instigation of the Local Board of Health for the people of an expanding St Thomas. Music for the ceremony was provided by the Post Office Band followed by a speech from the chairman of the Local Board of Health, beseeching the people to not damage the shrubs.

This pleasant little 4 acre park off Cowick Street, opposite St Thomas church, cost £3,600 to create. The central 3 acres were originally reserved as a children's playground. The food shortages of the First War caused by the German U-boat blockade led to 32 allotments being dug in part of the park.

The park now has play facilities for children from 2 to 12, including a paddling pool. In February 2005, vandals caused £5,000 worth of damage to a children's playtrain in the park. The City Council offered £500 reward for information leading to the vandals being caught. In March 2005, Wessex Trains offered to replace the burnt-out equipment.

There have been two Dawn Redwoods or Metasequoias planted in the park which will, when mature, reach 35 meters in height, thus continuing the tradition of planting by the Veitch's in the nineteenth-century for the city.