A fifth walk along the walls (Larkbeare circular)

 

The summer walk ended at Holloway Street and this time we’ll do a circular stroll starting there ---- but obviously you can join it anywhere. 

Start at the gates of Larkbeare, formerly the Judges’ Lodgings when judges came on circuit.  The grounds of Larkbeare form one of the largest areas of green cover in St Leonard’s; at one time, the house and garden were classed as a detached part of Devon, rather than being in the city of Exeter.  The walls on both sides of Larkbeare Road are quite high, due to the slope to the river.  There is a change of material in Larkbeare’s boundary; it looks as if the section by the entrance was of a higher quality, so that visitors would be impressed --- and never inspect further down the road!  Opposite, a section of the wall has an overhang at the west end of the church.  St Leonard’s church was built in the 1870s, but the road is older.  Presumably the overhang allowed access to the end of the church during construction and for maintenance.  (When St Leonard’s Church Centre was being built in the 1990s, there was a Portaloo for worshippers by this end of the church, and one of the visiting judges sent a note complaining that his evening meal was disturbed by the sight of users of the facility!)

Walk down between the Heavitree stone wall and the limestone wall on the right, topped with tiles.  Part of the way down, watch out for one brown rock which is fitted in --- as it is smoothed by water it may have come from the river bank.  The wall is built on a foundation of Heavitree stone, and the garden door has uprights of this material on each side.  Beyond this doorway, the sandstone is mixed with limestone and other rocks.

The wall of Larkbeare by the riverside path is a geologist’s delight.  Name any type of building stone that is used in Exeter, and the chances are that there will be an example of it here.  There are several rough pieces of a white stone which looks like marble; it isn’t, it’s a polished form of limestone.  (It’s rather like Portland stone, or the “Napoleon Marble” used for cladding Boots in the High Street.)  And this wall is a good illustration of how different stones weather over a century or so.

Up Colleton Hill, where the stone wall is topped with hand-made bricks.  Cross into Colleton Crescent, noticing the disused letterbox in the wall; the insignia shows that this box was installed during the reign of our late Queen, it had replaced a Victorian wallbox.  Some of Colleton Crescent’s railings were lost during the Second World War, but much of the historic ironwork is still there, with fittings for early forms of street lighting.  Walking along the pavement you will be above the coal cellars, and there are still some remaining “coalhole covers”.  The missing railings have been replaced in some parts of the street; modern railings are not set into the granite walls, simply bolted in sections. 

At the far end of Colleton Crescent is the area known as Friars’ Green; Friars Gate and Friars Walk maintain the name, but Watergate was formerly Friars Hill.  The Franciscan Priory stood a little way east of the Salvation Army temple.  Looking along Watergate, you’ll see a variety of walling.  Turn into Lucky Lane, running along the rears of Friars Walk and Colleton Crescent; it is lined with old walls, not built for appearance.  They have been much modified over the decades, but the older sections show a good variety of types of stone, including a few pieces of volcanic trap.  There are walls between the plots of handmade bricks.  As a nice touch, some of the garages have been faced with Pocombe stone. 

Turn into Melbourne Place (named for Queen Victoria’s first Prime Minister) and look at the decorated façade of the Kingdom Hall of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.  This was formerly a school; the name is over the archway, and this, like the upper storeys, has a mix of machine-made bricks and plaster mouldings.  A variety of different coloured bricks were used for the façade. 

Now walk back to where we started; at the foot of the valley is number 38 Holloway Street, a building which is listed grade II, dating from the early 16th century.  The Heavitree stone is weathered, but shows how sturdy this material can be.  Beneath your feet as you pass the building is the medieval bridge and part of a late medieval conduit, also listed.  As you return up the hill to opposite Larkbeare, the high wall on the left marked the boundary of Mount Radford House; even the grandest local houses were happy to use Heavitree sandstone!