2023 Church Visits
September trip
On a day plagued by frequent showers just 8 people assembled by the Devon War Memorial on Exeter Cathedral Green to do a conducted tour of the city exploring the impact of the Blitz of 4th May, 1942. Our guide was Lesley, someone I know fairly well. She is originally from the States & has a very pronounced Boston accent (which is a little grating for many people). Wandering around the inner city she gave an account of the Baedeker raid of 4th May, 1942, the damage it caused & its consequences for the people of Exeter. From time-to-time we were plagued by very heavy showers, but this didn’t spoil the morning.
One hundred and fifty-six civilians were killed in the raids and 563 badly injured. Around 1,500 buildings were obliterated and 2,700 badly damaged. Many historic or architectural gems were lost forever. Before the subsequent rebuilding, many buildings that could have been restored were demolished to leave a ‘blank canvas’ for the restoration of the city.
July trip
14 of us met at the war memorial on the cathedral close for the Markets, Merchants & Mariners tour of Exeter under the leadership of our guide. He was excellent in his evocation of old Exeter and some of the fascinating characters that lived there.
After some introductory remarks (mostly about the close and early commercial activity, he led us through Northgate, across the High Street past the Guildhall to Gandy Street where he showed us the Grade 1 listed C14th HQ of the Exeter Freemasons. He told us that Gandy Street was the focus of the early leather industry. Urine was very important in the treatment of leather (as it was in the treatment of cloth), so the whole area must have stunk to high heaven!
Dodging a shower we went into the Royal Albert Museum to inspect a model of the city made in the early C19th but showing the city in incredible detail as it was before the massive demolition of the last years of the C18th From here we crossed Queen Street and passed Exeter Synagogue, focus for a mass of commercial activity in the late C17th, C18th & C19th. We made our way down Fore Street, past Tuckers’ Hall, HQ of Exeter’s very important woollen cloth making industry.
We finished the tour in front of the C17th Customs House on Exeter Quay. By this time (around 1pm) the weather had greatly improved. Some of us had a good look around the Customs House, where there are many well-presented displays of features of some of Exeter’s early trading activities.
June Trip
Sixteen people assembled on the cathedral green on a warm, humid day and our guide, Jenny gave an introduction and began by talking about the move of Devon’s cathedral by Bishop Leofric of in 1050 from Crediton to Exeter.
He talked about the first Exeter cathedral in St Mary Major church a little west of the present cathedral’s west front. He went on to talk about the history & development of the second & third Exeter cathedrals.
The tour moved out of the close and into the High Street where we looked at the Guildhall and eventually into Fore Street, passing Tuckers Hall, the headquarters of Exeter’s weaving trades.
We made our way down the length of Fore Street, reaching Exe Bridges, from where we made our way to the Quay. It was altogether a very interesting introduction to Exeter’s medieval past.
April trip
Report on visit to Tyntesfield House on 14th April 2023 by the Churches & Historic Buildings visiting group.
MD Coaches (Mid-Devon Coaches) very efficiently collected 33 of us and took us on the morning of a particularly nasty day 70 odd miles along the M5 to Tyntesfield.
We were met by an NT welcomer who gave us a brief history of the place before letting us get through the Welcome bloc and to walk the path to the house.
The usual NT welcome was given at the entrance, with a brief history of the house & the Gibbs family. Sue & I had been here twice before but had not visited for 10 years. Things were far better organised & the gardens had been developed beautifully. The tulip display was quite outstanding. Most of the time we were there the weather was dry.
I have never seen such a rich collection of artefacts as there is at Tyntesfield outside a museum. We bought the guidebook which is beautifully written description of the history of the house with some exceptional photos.
Because of the weather we left early and were back in Crediton by around 6pm
Feb Trip
Bicton Park
Report of a visit to Bicton Gardens by the Churches & Historic Buildings visiting group 10th February, 2023
Nineteen members of the group assembled in front of the entrance on a cloudy but dry morning. We went our separate ways after gaining admission and found that the gardens provided a great deal for both the horticultural and historical eye,
Spring bulbs were blossoming everywhere, snowdrops in profusion and daffodils galore. Buds and catkins were on all the trees. The weather improved as the day went on, by early afternoon it was wall-to-wall sunshine.
Most of the glasshouses at Bicton date from before Kew’s. The palm house dates from c1820-1840 and the orangery is from 1806. We ate at lunchtime in the later.
We all spent some time in the Museum of English Rural Life in which a fascinating display of items from country living over the past few hundred years had been gathered.
Chris & Geoff Mangan & I (and I know several others) went to East Budleigh after lunch. This is the village where Sir Walter Raleigh was born and we had an external view of his birthplace, Hayes Barton. After this went to have a look at the church, All Saints most
Famous for its incredible collection of bench ends.
Report of a visit by Churches & Historic Buildings visiting group 11 January, 2023
Ten of us gathered in very pleasant sunshine in front of St Mary’s church Uffcombe. Though the light was a little limited (apart from the chancel) we could make out most things. The rood screen is very early (from around 1430). At 77feet it is the longest in Devon. There is some lovely C17th woodwork in the reredos of the Walrond Chapel and in the door to the tower screen. The pulpit, from the C18th has a beautifully carved Ascension panel. It had begun to rain before 12pm & there were now some very heavy showers
We had a look at the next church, St Mary, Sampford Peverell before tackling lunch. A small church. It was mostly constructed in the C14th.
We had an excellent lunch at the Globe, Sampford Peverell and made our way to nearby Halberton from the pub at around 2pm.
The church of St Andrew at Halberton also has an early rood screen (from around 1430). It is quite beautifully carved. The usual Victorian restoration of both this church & that at Uffcombe was undertaken by John Hayward, who also restored Holy Cross Crediton in the 1850’s & 60’s.
The rain was getting worse as we made our way home. I took this photo of the water level at Bickleigh Bridge. By the next morning the water was almost at the top of the arches and the road was impassable