The Guildhall - High Street

Exeter's Guildhall is the country's oldest, still serving, civic building which has witnessed, along with the Cathedral, more historic events than any other building in the city. It is the civic centre of Exeter, and historically, the counterbalance to the ecclesiastical power emanating from the Cathedral. It has functioned as a prison, a court house, a police station, a place for civic functions and celebrations, a city archive store, a woollen market hall, and as the meeting place for the City Chamber and Council. The ancient office of Recorder of Exeter was performed at the Guildhall from 1352 at a cost of £3 per year. It also contains the Mayors chambers, where Mayors, ancient and modern, have entertained guests of the city.

The Guildhall is also where much of the city's historic collection of silver is displayed, along with the treasured long sword and cap of maintenance presented to the city by Henry VII.

Parts of the Guildhall can be traced back to 1160, although in common with many ancient buildings, it has undergone 'makeovers' through the ages, creating a patchwork of styles and additions. John Hooker noted that in 1330 "..that this year the Guildhall of the city of Exeter was builded". He was referring to a major reconstruction of the structure.

The Guildhall continues to appear in Hooker's history from time to time, either for some event or because of repairs. Of 1466 he wrote "Memorandum this year order was taken for new building of the Guildhall which was then very ruinous and in great decay and forthwith all things necessary for the same was provided and the house builded."

The Frontage

Richard Crossing wrote that in 1591 "The front of the Guildhall pulled down & begun to be built". Then Richard Izacke wrote that in 1592 "The fore part of the Guildhall was new built. Our citizens paid their wages for this service in Parliament at 4s per diem". Thus, even the Elizabethans had to cough up for the City Council's building schemes! This building work resulted in the magnificent stone pillared and arched entry that obtrudes into the High Street.

It is thought that before the present arched entrance was constructed, that the Guildhall had a more modest covered way over the street, with stone posts and a lead roof. The present structure has four granite columns dating from 1593, which, along with the columns at each end of the front wall, cost £19 19s - the granite came from Blackingstone on Dartmoor. Forty loads in total, of Beerstone was purchased for the corbels and upper structure. It is thought that the front was once richly coloured and traces of blue, cream, red and gold have been found on the stonework. In earlier times stocks were placed beneath the central arch of the entrance - handy for hecklers. The High Street was the venue for the weekly market before it was moved to the Higher and Lower Markets in the 19th century and the front of the Guildhall was the focal point for the market, and there is a hook in the ceiling that was used to hang the scales for weighing meat.

The huge, oak carved door to the interior dates from 1593 and was made by Nicholas Baggett. Inside will be found a large hall, the result of the Victorian passion for restoration. The walls are constructed of Heavitree stone from Exminster, although they are plastered over. The walls and windows on each side date from about 1460, while the main window at the end of the hall is Victorian. The main hall has been used for many trials, and it was here that John 'Babbacombe' Lee was sentenced to hang in 1884.

The roof timbers consist of moulded arch-braces that rest on stone corbels carved into the heads of rampant beasts, and dates from 1467/9. The panelling around the main chamber dates from Tudor times, although it was heavily restored in 1887 by our Victorian friends.

Over the entrance is the former Council Chamber, and from 1903, the Mayor's Parlour - it is now used for smaller receptions and civic occasions.

There is a cellar beneath the building which dates from the 14th-century. It was used as a prison and referred to as the 'pytt of the Guyldhall'. The back of the Guildhall in Waterbeer Street is equally interesting with the windows for the female cells on the ground floor. Built in the 16th-century, the cells were last used in 1887.

Over the cells there was built the city water tank, a large, lead container that was filled by the water engine, constructed in 1694 just below Head Weir, close to the Mill on the Exe. Elm log pipes, 18 inches in diameter transported the water to the tank, from where, water-bearers would fill their buckets in Waterbeer Street, to supply those rich enough to pay for such a service. When Celia Fiennes visited Exeter, a few years after the tank was completed, she wrote that it could contain 600 hogshead (31,500 gallons) of water. The tank was removed in 1838, to the relief of the prisoners below who had to suffer from drips and constant dampness, when the water supply for Exeter was moved to Pynes after the cholera outbreak of 1832. A muniments or records room replaced the tank, which is now used as a Committee Room. The oak panelling in this room was taken from Polsloe Priory and is 17th century. See Underground Passages for the water supply other than the water engine.

The 20th century

The police station moved to Waterbeer Street in the 19th century, was opposite the rear entrance, only to close in 1971, - the corner stone is preserved in the flower bed.

The Guildhall survived the bombing of the Second War and one Exonian wrote at the time to her son in the RAF:

" The Guildhall has been bricked up, It is like going through a tunnel on the pavement under the arches."

Three portraits of past Mayors hang in the Council Chamber at the rear of the Guildhall, in the space once occupied by the water tank, while a portrait of Princess Henrietta Anne, born in Exeter during 1644 hangs in the main hall.

The Guildhall has been used for bestowing the freedom of the city to many, and to honouring the deeds of the great, the noble and maybe, not so good. Nelson was given the freedom of Exeter in 1801, at the Guildhall, and the officers and men of HMS Exeter, marched with fixed bayonets along the High Street to the Guildhall, where Captain Bell was presented with a silver bottle, in the shape of the Guildhall for their action against the German pocket battleship, Graf Spee in 1940. They were described as "citizens of Exeter, afloat" by the Mayor, which was filmed by Pathe News. See HMS Exeter's Freedom of the City

The sandbags and bricks have long been removed and we are left with the oldest civic building in the country. Many locals have never been inside the Guildhall, which is a shame, as so much of Exeter's history and story revolves around this ancient centre of civic pride.

Source - Including, Two Thousand Years in Exeter by W G Hoskins, extract from letter supplied by James Bell, Exeter City Guide 1951, Exeter Architecture by Hugh Meller, Chronicles of Exeter by Todd Gray for the extracts from Hooker. Richard Izacke.