tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882578413887103850.post9003677141367051211..comments2024-03-25T22:53:57.841+00:00Comments on Demolition Exeter: The Demolition of No. 38, North StreetUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882578413887103850.post-52534972789059752482012-09-02T16:04:40.223+01:002012-09-02T16:04:40.223+01:00This is a really interesting piece of work - well ...This is a really interesting piece of work - well done. The tragedy of the demolition is almost personal for me as I only fairly recently discovered that my great great grandfather, Charles Samuel Finch, lived at 38 North St for almost twenty years from the 1870s until 1892. In partnership with his brother George he took on the Eagle Brewery, for which there was somehow space at the back of the property, and by the time they sold out to the Heavitree Brewery in 1892 they had a number of pubs in the city and surrounding area (although I don't think this included the Elephant Inn next door). I hadn't appreciated, until I read your blog, that 38 North St had such a fine ceiling. Curiously, where George lived, 144 Fore St Hill, where they ran a wine and spirits business, also boasted a fine moulded ceiling, described by Richard Parker in the Devon Archaeological Society's proceedings for 2001. Completing what I think is an unusual family hatrick, Charles's eldest son, my great grandfather, also Charles Finch, was for several years the licensee at the Half Moon Hotel before its own demolition in 1912 - and I was delighted to see that some of IT'S fine old ceiling plasterwork was also salvaged and is now on display at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum. Charles junior and his brothers and sisters will have spent their formative years at 38 North St, so it's a personal loss that such an important old building was swept away only 40 years ago, by which time you'd have hoped we'd have known better than to sweep away such heritage so casually.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18266775223655918749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882578413887103850.post-14996534029211685642012-07-10T17:24:36.525+01:002012-07-10T17:24:36.525+01:00It might interest you that some of the salvaged pi...It might interest you that some of the salvaged pieces of the 38 North Street ceiling will go on display in RAMM in August. The display will be part of 'A Symphony of Curves' an exhibition looking at the work of the contemporary plasterworker Geoffrey Preston and setting his work in the context of the history of Devon plasterwork. The show runs from 18 August to 14 October.Tom Cadburynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882578413887103850.post-72855930367904746022011-12-15T02:09:32.969+00:002011-12-15T02:09:32.969+00:00I can't understand the mindset either! I'm...I can't understand the mindset either! I'm reminded of a comment by James Crocker that he made in the 1880s about a beautiful Jacobean window being replaced in a house in North Street: "It is, to me, a source of the greatest marvel that any person, however ignorant or indifferent, could persuade themselves to substitute the hideous bow window on the first floor, for what they must have destroyed in order to find a place for their own wretched handiwork." Ignorance and/or indifference. Unfortunately, for whatever, reason Exeter's historical architecture has never been valued. It's not even a recent development. The Georgians happily destroyed all of the medieval gatehouses set into the city wall and the Cathedral Close wall (but at least they gave us the beautiful houses of Bedford Circus and Southernhay in return!). Centuries-old timber-framed houses were pulled down by the dozen for road-widening at the end of the 19th century and in the slum clearances of the 1920s and 1930s. For me the game changer was the Blitz of 1942. The destruction could've either led to a greater appreciation of what remained or it could've hastened its removal. The city council opted for removal (which itself isn't perhaps a surprise considering what had been going on in the pre-war years). With so little left you would've thought that perhaps properties like No. 38 North Street would've been rejuvenated and saved. Instead it seems that they were regarded as weird aberrations, obstacles to improvement and things of no worth whatsoever, especially when compared with a new retail opportunity. Ignorance and indifference have worked hand-in-hand throughout Exeter's 20th century history. I don't think readers of the blog will believe how much of Sidwell Street, for example, survived the bombing of 1942 only to be destroyed afterwards and replaced with some of the most horrific post-war architecture in the city. I'm not convinced that the attitude of the local authority has changed a great deal now we're in the 21st century either. There's no question in my mind that the Rougemont Castle site should've been purchased by the council, but it can willingly throw hundreds of thousands of pounds around to cater for John Lewis. As proven by cities like Bath, York and Salisbury, history can be its own draw for visitors. Unfortunately Exeter has missed the boat on that option. If the council wants to promote Exeter as the Cribbs Causeway of Devon then at least it's an accurate reflection of their attitudes. It does irritate me though when it also tries to promote the city using images of the Cathedral and the Guildhall. The city is no longer a great historic centre and to present it as such borders on dishonesty. I go into Exeter as little as possible as I simply don't enjoy the shopping environment, and the problem with researching Exeter's past is that the more you discover what it was like the more dissatisfied you become with the way it is now. Thanks again for your comments and I hope you continue to enjoy reading the blog!wolfpawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06806875968340034510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882578413887103850.post-17303102535946787742011-12-14T13:25:53.941+00:002011-12-14T13:25:53.941+00:00Working my way back through the blog, I continue t...Working my way back through the blog, I continue to find it equally fascinating and heart-breaking. That this could have happened so recently, relatively speaking, is so sad. <br /><br />Is there any record of any of the decision makers who condemned Exeter's historic buldings to destruction talking about their decisions with hindsight or of them being made to account for them?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com