Exeter College
Exeter College Arms
(11) Exeter College, stands on the E. side of Turl
Street. The walls are of local rubble with ashlar and
dressings of the same material; the roofs are slate-covered. The college was founded by Walter de
Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter in 1314; he subsequently
acquired St. Stephen's Hall as part of the present site.
Originally called Stapledon Hall, it became Exeter
Hall and eventually Exeter College. A chapel, on the
first floor of a two-storey building, was consecrated
in 1326; a new library was built in 1383. In 1432 a
range with an entrance gate called Palmer's Tower
was built on the N. side of the site; the tower and part
of the range to the E. still survive; they were the work
of William Palmer, Rector, from 1432 to 1435. A
range of buildings towards Turl Street seems to have
been first erected c. 1540 and restored and heightened
after a fire in 1595; two years later a storey was added
to the library. In 1605 a gatehouse was built on Turl
Street and in 1606 buildings were erected to the N. of
the site, the former Somnore Lane being closed and the
site extended over part of the city-wall. The existing
Hall was built in 1618 by Sir John Acland; the adjoining
Range to the E. was built in the same year by John
Peryam and a new chapel was built by George Hakewill
in 1624. In 1671, in the rectorship of Arthur Bury,
the existing Range, N. of the Turl Street gatehouse, was
built; the adjoining range on the N. was re-built in
1682 and the Gatehouse and the S.W. angle up to the hall,
were re-built by Narcissus Marsh, Archbishop of Dublin
and later of Armagh, between 1701 and 1703; in 1708,
Armagh Building was erected on the E. side of the court-yard, on the site of the library. A new library was built to
the E. of this range in 1778. The new buildings fronting Broad Street were erected in 1833–4 and at the same
time the Turl Street front was entirely refaced, together
with the return on Brasenose Lane. Between 1854
and 1860, the 17th-century chapel was destroyed and
a new building, from the designs of Gilbert Scott,
erected on the site and on that of the former Rector's
house; at the same time the Library was re-built and a
new Rector's House added to the N.E. of Palmer's
Tower.
Architectural Description—The Quadrangle is entered by a Gatehouse and tower in Turl Street which
form the central feature of the W. Front of the college.
The front generally is of three storeys and was entirely
refaced in 1833–4, when the gatehouse also was redesigned and raised by one storey; the S. face of the
range facing Brasenose Lane was refaced at the same
time and is of similar character to the W. front. The
Gatehouse of 1701–3 was treated on both W. and E.
faces with a Palladian design with an Ionic main order;
this was entirely removed on both faces in 1833–4.
The E. and N. fronts, towards the Quadrangle, of the
ranges S.W. of the Quadrangle are largely of the date
of the building, 1701–3, with some repairs to the stonework and the rebuilding of the parapets. The fronts
are of three storeys with cellars and attics and have
three-light windows of Tudor character, with moulded
labels and string-courses; the windows have elliptical-headed lights and there is an original doorway with a
four-centred arch in a square head, with blank shields
in the spandrels and an entablature. The E. face of
the range N. of the gatehouse, dating from 1671, is
generally similar to that S. of the gatehouse for which
it no doubt formed the model; the windows, however,
have four-centred heads to the lights; over the N. doorway is a cartouche-of-arms of Bury. The Gatehouse
itself has a stone vault (Plate 4) of 1701–3, in two bays;
it springs from pilasters with acanthus-capitals and has
panelled cross and wall-arches; each bay has a saucer-dome on flattened pendentives; the domes have
flower and foliage bands, intersecting ribs and central
pendants elaborately carved with foliage, scrolls and
cartouches-of-arms; the pendentives are panelled and
both here and elsewhere on the vault are further cartouches-of-arms. The arms are those of benefactors
to the work and include besides Archbishop Marsh,
those of Stanwell, Drake, Squire, Scawen, Snell,
Richards, Morice, Paynter, Vivian, Conybeare, Levett,
Wauchop, Specot, Parker, and four others. The
room above the gateway is lined with bolection-moulded panelling and the fireplace has a coved shelf
carved with acanthus-foliage; the panelled overmantel
has enriched mouldings. The ranges S. of the Gatehouse are devoted to rooms, except the ground floor
of the S. range. There are three staircases of 1701–3
with turned balusters, close strings and square newels;
many of the rooms are fitted with panelling and doors
of the same period and the fireplaces, where original,
have bolection-moulded surrounds. The buttery, in
the ground floor of the S. range, is lined with re-set
panelling of c. 1600 with some enriched frieze-panels.
The range N. of the Gatehouse has two late 17th-century staircases, with turned balusters, close strings
and square newels with moulded pendants. The rooms
retain some original panelling and cornices; one room
on the first floor has a refixed earlier 17th-century
overmantel of two bays with moulded panels, flanked
and divided by strapwork ornament and a dentilled
frieze.
Exeter College
The Chapel was entirely re-built in 1855 but contains a
number of fittings from the earlier building. Brasses:
(1) to Mathias, infant son of John Prideaux, Rector,
1624–5, inscription only; (2) to Robert, brother of (1),
1627, inscription only; (3) to John, twin brother of
(1), 1636, inscription only. Chests: In ante-chapel,
(1) panelled with enriched top rail and strapwork
panels to front; (2) similar but with moulded and
enriched cornice; both made up with 17th-century
material. Floor-slabs: In choir—(1) to [Nathaniel] Norrington, 1630–1, and others, 18th-century; (2) to
George Saffin, 1707, with shield-of-arms, also to George
Beard, S.T.B., 1638, Daniel Osborne, S.T.B., 1710,
Dig[gory] Wheare, M.A., 1647 and John Boughton,
B.A., 1734–5; (3) to Thomas Lethbridge, 1695, and
others, 18th-century; (4) to John Lacy, 1719,
with shield-of-arms; (5) to John Symes, 1687,
with shield-of-arms. Lectern: (Plate 25) of brass with
eagle standing on ball, moulded stem and base on four
modern lions, on ball, shields-of-arms of (a) Stapleton
impaling Petre and (b) Vivian, between them the
inscription "Mr. Johannes Vivian S.T.B. et hujus
Coll. nuper socius dedit 1637". Poor-box: square post
with carved foliage on front and sides, lid with three
hinges and staples and slot, 17th-century. Pulpit
Cloth: In ante-chapel—of purple velvet with fringes
and tassels, embroidered with two knots with the
initials I. H., the date 1611 and the arms of the college.
Seating: Behind altar—bench with shaped arms, turned
posts and arcaded front rail, 17th-century.
The Hall (75½ ft. by 27½ ft.) (Plate 111) was built in 1618
by Sir John Acland and stands upon an undercroft. It
was restored in 1820 when the existing porch was built,
the louvre removed, the two fireplaces added, the
embattled parapet re-built and some of the stonework
restored. The walls have a moulded plinth and the
windows and roof are of Gothic character. The E.
bay on the N. has a three-sided oriel with a main
window of four cinque-foiled and double transomed
lights in a square head; in each return is a similar
single-light window; the next four bays have each a
window of three cinque-foiled and transomed lights
with vertical tracery in a four-centred head with a label;
there is a similar window, without transom, in the W.
bay above the porch. The S. face of the hall has six
windows similar to those just described but without
transoms. Inside the building the oriel has a frieze
of quatrefoils and shields above the window and a flat
ceiling with hexagonal panels, of doubtful antiquity;
below the square rear-arch of the opening is a wooden
bracketing consisting of three four-centred arches with
side and intermediate pendants, key-blocks and cusped
spandrels. The roof is of six bays and of braced collar-beam type; each truss has curved and moulded braces
springing from corbels and forming high-pitched four-centred arches under the collars with a carved pendant
at the apex; the braces stand well away from the
principals, the interval being filled with uprights forming open trefoil-headed lights; above the collars and
below the secondary collars are two bays of tracery
with main lines of ogee form; the roof-corbels are
carved with bishops', kings' and men's heads; from
them, in each bay, springs a wall-arch with a carved
central pendant; the plates and purlins are moulded
and the wind-braces form four-centred arches. The
Screen (Plate 114), probably by John Bolton, is
of oak and of five bays, divided by enriched Corinthian columns supporting a continuous entablature; the frieze is carved with conventional ornament,
monsters and men; over each column is a shield of the
arms of Acland; two bays of the screen are occupied
by modern doorways, the others have close panelling
with a range of arcaded panels at the base and grouped
panels at the top; above the entablature is a modern
attic, on which a series of strapwork-crestings, obelisks
and allegorical female figures have been re-set; in the
middle is an achievement of the arms of Acland; at
the back of the screen is a modern wall supporting the
modern vaulted ceiling of the screens-passage. The
walls of the hall are partly lined with 17th-century
panelling, re-set and heightened on the S. side. The
undercroft of the hall is of six bays, the middle bay
having a central pier and barrel-vaults no doubt to
support the former central hearth; the other bays have
octagonal piers and semi-octagonal responds along
the axis, and supporting brick vaulting with stone
groins. In the N. wall is a doorway with moulded
jambs and four-centred arch in a square head; the
windows in the same wall are or were each of two
four-centred lights in a square head. The undercroft
is now cut up by partitions.
The Range on the E. side of the quadrangle consists of
Peryam's Building of 1618 towards the S. and Armagh
Building of 1708 towards the N. The building is of
three storeys with cellars and attics; the W. face to the
Quadrangle has been refaced and now corresponds to
the buildings on the W. side of the Quadrangle. On
the E. face the stone work has been much restored.
Peryam's Building has two three-sided bay-windows
carried up to three storeys; the other windows are of
two lights and all are of similar detail to Archbishop
Marsh's work on the W. side of the Quadrangle. Inside Peryam's Building the staircase has some late
17th-century balusters at the top. The early 18th-century staircases in Armagh Building have turned
balusters, close strings and square newels. The
Senior Common Room is lined with early to mid 17th-century panelling with an entablature; the overmantel is of two bays divided and flanked by pilasters
supporting the main entablature; the bays have shaped
panels; the panelling on the S. wall is modern; in
the corners of the room are cartouches-of-arms of
(a) Edmund Stafford, Bishop of Exeter, (b) Peryam,
(c) Petre, and (d) Exeter College. In the adjoining
hall is some 17th-century panelling and elsewhere in
the range are portions of re-used panelling of the same
period. There are also some early 18th-century panelling and fireplaces with bolection-moulded surrounds.
Palmer's Tower, built in 1432, is of three stages with
a restored embattled parapet. The ground-storey
formed a gatehouse and has archways in the N. and S.
walls; the N. archway, now opening into the Rector's
House, has moulded jambs and four-centred arch with
a moulded label; the restored or modern shield-stops bear the arms of the See of Exeter and the keys
of St. Peter; the S. archway was of similar character
but has been blocked and is largely covered externally
by the adjoining Armagh Building. The gateway
itself has a stone vault in two bays with hollow-chamfered ridge and diagonal ribs springing from
corbels carved with angels, two holding plain shields;
at the intersections are bosses carved with foliage and a
bishop and an angel holding a shield. The walls have
a dado of re-set early 17th-century panelling, partly
enriched; there are also some benches similar to that
in the chapel. The second storey has an original
moulded ceiling-beam; the windows of this and the
top storey have been restored. Adjoining the tower
on the E. is the surviving portion of a range of the
same age, formerly called Chapel Row. It is of three
storeys; the windows are of Tudor character and have
been almost completely renewed. A room on the
first floor has moulded ceiling-beams and some early
17th-century panelling.
In the modern Rector's House are re-set a number of
features from the early 17th-century chapel; these
include several portions of enriched panelling with
arcading, two large fluted pilasters and some benches
similar to those in Palmer's Tower. In the windows
of the hall are re-set painted glass panels or shields—
(a) two round panels both with the head of a bishop,
(b) a lozenge with the arms of the College, (c) achievement with the quartered arms of Chamberlayne and the
date 1577, (d) damaged achievement of the same arms
with a quartered impalement and the date 1577.
Set against the N. end of the W. range of the college,
in Turl Street, is a re-erected timber-framed structure
incorporating parts of a house called Prideaux Building;
this house stood on the line of the city wall; the lease
of the site was acquired by the college in 1606 and the
house was built by John Prideaux, Rector. The building is of three storeys with an attic; on the E. front
is a three-storey bay-window; each storey has three
transomed lights on the front and one on each return;
the window in the attic is also old. On the W. side
is a similar bay-window, partly restored. The W.
room on the ground-floor has re-set early 17th-century
panelling.
Condition—Good.