IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Magdalen Road, EXETER, EX2 5DT

In 1848, while the new almshouses were being built at Livery Dole, a reward of £10 was offered for the names of those who had vandalised the partly built structure. The next year, the newly completed dwellings were visited by Lord Rolle. The new buildings did not meet with everyone's approval, and a scathing letter in the Flying Post in December 1849 castigated the planners and architects for erecting a "deformity and disgrace".

There are two nineteenth century blocks on the right and a modern addition beyond

St Clare's Chapel is attached to almshouses on the west side of Heavitree. It is still used for weekly services.

Independent School on the eastern edge of Exeter.

This small building at the point of the Livery Dole triangle is a 'peculiar' chapel, independent of the diocese. Livery Dole was a place of execution for Exeter, so a Chantry Chapel was built between 1418 and 1439 that was used to pray for the souls of the executed. The gallows or stake, depending on the method of execution, was in front of the west end of the chapel, in the gardens of the present almshouses. The earliest mention of the chapel was in a document from 1439 stating "the Chapel of St. Clarus without the south gate, in the parish of Hevetre." The chapel is constructed from red Heavitree stone, that was extracted from, a quarry at appropriately, Quarry Lane. The stone is what is known as a breccia conglomerate from the Permian era, laid down by flood waters in a semi arid climate. Many churches in Exeter are constructed from Heavitree stone, which accounts for their poor condition, as the stone readily crumbles through weathering. St Clare's is no exception, and with the addition of heavy traffic on each side, the small building has to have constant maintenance. The interior walls are whitewashed, giving a very clean and simple look, with few memorials. When Heavitree's St Michael's Church was closed for restoration between 1844 and 1846, St Clare's was licensed for marriages. Between 31 July 1844 and 26 July 1846, forty-five marriages were performed within its walls. (Extracts from 'Exeter Memories' - http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/ ).

This is a triangle of land between Heavitree Road, Polsloe Road and Magdalen Road. From the Old English Leofhere who owned the land and dole, meaning a piece of land. An article in the Flying Post in 1848 stated that the first mention of Livery Dole was in a deed of 1 August 1278, and again in an Act of Parliament in 1437. Henry VI was met by clergymen from Exeter, clothed in their copes and vestments, at Livery Dole in 1452. Livery Dole was used as a place of execution for those who committed murder, witchcraft, heresy or treason. In August 1431, Drew Steyner was burnt at the stake at Livery Dole while a hundred years later Thomas Benet, the Protestant Martyr suffered the same fate there. Samuel Holmyard was found guilty of printing forged banknotes and hung there. (Extracts from 'Exeter Memories' - http://www.exetermemories.co.uk/ ). See also Image The Victorian lamp post on the right is inscribed with 'CHARLES GEORGE GORDON 26TH JANUARY 1885'. General Gordon who was killed in the siege of Khartoum in 1885, was a close friend of the Heavitree vicar, Prebendary Barnes, father of Dame Irene Vanbrugh. Barnes was deeply upset at Gordon's death and paid for the memorial. General Gordon had family connections with Exeter and his father is buried in the St Thomas churchyard. See lamp post detail - Image

The crossroads between Magdalen and Barrack Roads, Exeter