I came across this building completely by chance, whilst having a wander around the city one Sunday in June 2009. It's situated alongside a long, ecclesiastical looking bulding behind St Michael's & All Angels Church on Dinham Hill, and I wondered if it once was the vicarage. Despite several searches, I couldn't find anything about it. However, I eventually posed the question on the forum of the 'Exeter Memories' website and was kindly given some information by the site owner, David Cornforth.
The long building, which appeared to be undergoing restoration work, was the former Episcopal School, built in 1861 along with two houses for the school teachers. David told me that this house mirrors another building at the other end, and that these may have been the accommodation for the teachers. Interestingly, the two teachers consisted of a male teacher for the boys and a female one for the girls - and as this was the Victorian age, then I suspect that not only was the arrangement of buildings an aesthetically symmetrical one, but that the teachers' houses were also kept well apart in order to maintain propriety! ;)
Built in the Victorian Gothic style, with delightfully gothic doors, Tudor style windows and higgledy-piggledy rooftops with gables; the dark red brick contrasting pleasantly with stone quoins.
Robowatch! ;)
Having discovered it from the rear lane, it seemed quite derelict with rubble, broken windows and herras fencing surrounding the rear and sides. It wasn't until I walked around to the front that I could see how delightful it actually is. I thought that it might be in line for restoration, along with the Episcopal School, so I needed to go back and see what happened to it...
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