Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
museum, but a £24-million pound revamp has brought the exhibits bang up to date. Inter-
active displays focus on Exeter's heritage from prehistory to the present, and on global ex-
ploration and the concept of collecting. You get to see Exeter's Roman-era artefacts and
Tudor carvings, plus striking ethnographic displays; highlights include African masks,
samurai armour and the mummy of Shep en-Mut. The
Museum Cafe
(Queen St;
10am-4.30pm
Tue-Sun)
overflows with Devon-made pies, cakes and bread.
St Nicholas Priory
MAP
HISTORIC BUILDING
GOOGLE MAP
( 01392-265858;
www.exeter.gov.uk/priory
;
Mint Lane; adult/child £3.50/1.50; 10am-5pm Sat, plus Mon-Fri
school holidays)
For a vivid insight into life inside a late-Elizabethan town house head to this
former Benedictine monastery. Built out of russet stone 900 years ago, its striking interi-
ors now sparkle with the kind of trappings that would have surrounded the wealthy Hurst
family when they lived here in 1602. Expect brightly coloured furnishings, elaborate
plaster ceilings and intricate oak panelling.
Guildhall
MAP
HISTORIC BUILDING
GOOGLE MAP
( 01392-265524;
www.exeter.gov.uk/guildhall
;
High St)
The earliest parts of Exeter's Guild-
hall date from 1330, making it the oldest municipal building still in use in the country. An
ornate barrel roof arches above wooden benches and crests of dignitaries. The mayor still
sits in the huge throne-like chair at the end. It's often open on weekdays, depending on
civic functions; call or check the website.
Exeter Quay
(The Quay; )
On fine sunny days the people of Exeter head to the quay. Here cobbled
paths lead between former warehouses that have been converted into antique shops,
quirky stores, craft workshops, restaurants and pubs (popular spots for al fresco drinks and
people watching).
The quay features evidence of the city's woollen processing and export business which,
by the 18th century, had made Exeter the country's third most important trade centre.
Look out for the stately 17th-century, red-brick
Customs House
WATERFRONT
GOOGLE MAP
(complete
MAP
with cannons) and the gabled 18th-century
Wharfinger's House
GOOGLE MAP
,
home to the
MAP
man who collected the wharfing fees.
