Jeel Scholarship Fund
Building a Better Future
Exeter Cathedral July 2025
Our pilgrimage to Exeter Cathedral coincided with plenty of sunshine as can be seen by the condition of the Cathedral green. Exeter does not allow dogs, so we toured the Cathedral separately and compared notes afterwards. The dogs were well behaved and kept us good company while we sat outside – this can be viewed in the picture. We were given a discount on the entrance fee as there were renovation works going on which meant part of the Cathedral – particularly the Quire was closed. The renovations are nothing unusual – most of the Cathedrals we have visited have had some works in place. These at Exeter were to put in underfloor heating and a new lighting and sound system to reduce the carbon footprint. New toilet and changing facilities were also being put in place. The building was started in 1050 in the Norman or Romanesque style when the first Bishop of Exeter was enthroned. Major rebuilding took place in 1270 to 1350 when the building was enlarged to incorporate the Norman towers.
The West front dates from the mid fourteenth century and is imposing. Its Great West window has complex and elaborate tracery. Inside the eye is drawn to the dramatic Tiercon stone vaulting overhead which is considering by some to be the finest example of this type in Europe. It is the longest at 315 feet in length. It is adorned with over four hundred bosses carved with Gothic images that include plants, animals, heads, and coats of arms. These function as keystones. The most important is the Becket boss depicting the murder of St Thomas a Becket in Canterbury in 1170. The nave has unpolished Purbeck marble pillars with moulded arches. Each bay has a single window giving on overall impression of light. The nave is overlooked by a Minstrels Gallery with fourteen carved angels most playing medieval musical instruments. Exeter has a blue medieval Astronomical Clock which has a hole in the bottom of the door to allow Bishop’s cat to enter and deter mice and rats. Apparently this is the origin of the Hickory, Dockory Dock rhyme.
George Gilbert Scott renovated the Quire between 1870 and 1877 so that a Great Screen divides the Nave from the Quire. The Lady chapel is flanked by two smaller chapels dedicated to St Gabriel and St Saviour. My favourite is St Gabriel with a ceiling of cerulean blue and gold. The chapel of St Edmund hosts the Devonshire regiment.
The central monument in the South Transept is of Hugh Courtenay, second Earl of Devon and his wife Margaret. The extension off the South Transept houses the refectory and the new shop – well laid out and large – with English and local goods. Interestingly dogs are allowed in both these places. The extension includes leftover oak from Notre Dame and is thought to be a feature unique in England. The A Rocha Silver Eco Church award is on display in the toilet block. A picture of a flower arrangement is included as they look convincingly live – they are not.
We attended a service not in the main building but in the nearby St Pancras church which was a small chapel. We met Bishop Moira, by chance, who is newly installed and still on her induction. It turned out she is a colleague of Bishop Anna. The dogs were permitted to join us and we all felt nurtured by the Holy Communion.
