Exeter Guildhall

Exeter Guildhall - Over 800 Years of History on the High Street

Exeter Guildhall on the High Street in Exeter in Devon is said to be the "oldest municipal building in England still in use."

The Victorian interior is lavish with wooden panelling, large classical paintings and chandeliers. A Grade I Listed building, the Guildhall is still in use as a civic office for meetings and official receptions.

It can also be hired out for weddings, civil partnerships and other events. Private tours for groups of 50 or more people are also available conducted by a Mace Sergeant in full regalia. Visitors can see the Great Hall, Jury Room, Mayor's Parlour, and the many paintings including portraits of past Mayors hung on the walls of the ornate interior.

Guildhall History

Exeter Guildhall has been witness to a number of historical events over its long history. It has served variously as a court, prison, police station, market building and town hall.

The building itself dates from the late 15th century with a portico added in the late-16th century. It was under the granite and Beer stone portico that Exeter's stocks were also once placed. The lovely oak door was first installed way back in 1593.

Here too Judge Jeffreys held one of his infamous Bloody Assizes in 1685 after the failed Monmouth Rebellion of the same year. Men would be sentenced to death, prison or transportation.

Later in 1801 Admiral Nelson received the freedom of the city in the Guildhall before a celebratory dinner in the nearby Clarence.

Beneath the council chamber is a cellar that was once a prison known as the "pytt of the Guyldhall". A later 16th century prison, for women, was constructed at the back of the building on the ground floor. It was in use until as late as 1887!

The last sentence for murder in the city was handed out at the Guildhall in 1952. Though this was later reprieved.

Portico, Exeter Guildhall, Devon, UK. — The city's stocks once stood under the portico

Goods From Japan delivered to your home or business. — Goods From Japan delivered to your home or business

The oak door, Exeter Guildhall, Devon, UK. — The oak door leading into the Guildhall on Exeter's High Street

Address & Information

203 High Street
Exeter EX4 3EB
Tel: 01392 665500
www: exeter.gov.uk

Under normal circumstances the Guildhall is open from 10.30 am until 4 pm, Monday to Saturday. Please check the official web page above for the latest details.

The building is a short walk from Exeter Cathedral and is next door to the Turks Head pub. Rougemont Castle and Gardens and the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (RAMM) are both just a short walk away.

Gandy Street, UK. — The trendy shops and bars of Gandy Street are a stone's throw from Exeter Guildhall

Exeter Hotels

Exeter's hotels are mostly congregated around Exeter Cathedral and Cathedral Close.

Choose from a range of hotels and guest houses in Exeter including the four star Mercure Exeter Southgate Hotel, the four star Southernhay House Hotel, and Jurys Inn Exeter, also a four star hotel.

See here for a complete list of accommodation in Exeter.

Exeter Access - Getting To Exeter

Exeter is located at the end of the M5 motorway coming south from Bristol.

Exeter's main railway station is Exeter St David's Station with rail links to Bristol, Birmingham and London Paddington Station as well as on to Plymouth. Local trains run south from Exeter St David's to the Victorian seaside resort of Exmouth.

Exeter International Airport, just 5 miles to the east of Exeter city near Clyst Honiton off the A30 has regular domestic flights to Aberdeen, Alicante, Belfast, Edinburgh, Faro, Geneva, Guernsey/Jersey, the Isles of Scilly, Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Newcastle. International destinations include Amsterdam, Dubrovnik, Dublin, Funchal, Hannover, Larnaca, Nice, Palma, Paris, Malaga and Salzburg.

Local Buses

There are bus services from the new bus station at St Sidwell's Point leisure centre to Monkerton and Duryard Hall at Exeter University, Sowton (H1), Exeter High Street (H2) and (M), Barnstaple (155) & (315), Bude (6) & (6A), Chulmleigh (5), Clyst Honiton (4), Crediton (5), Great Torrington (51), Cowleymoor (55 & 55A), Tiverton (155), (55B) & (55C), Exmouth and Exeter Airport (56) & (56A), Colaton Raleigh (57C), Morchard Bishop (369), Salcombe (X64), Witheridge (678), Wonford (X38).

The 510 Western bus runs from Exeter Bus Station and Exeter St David's Station via Okehampton, Wadebridge, and Camelford to Launceston and Newquay in Cornwall in about 3 hours and 15 minutes, a distance of around 83 miles (134 km).