The Catacombs & Lower Cemetery, Exeter, Devon

Taken from the top, looking over the Lower Cemetery.

The Catacombs and Lower Cemetery were opened in 1837, five years after the cholera epidemic of 1832. That event and the growth of Exeter had stretched the city's burial resources, and it was decided to use the steep slopes of the Longbrook Valley below the then existing St Bartholemew's Yard (Upper) Cemetery.

 

Designed by Thomas Whitaker, they were the first to be funded by public money. The catacombs, built to look like Ancient Egyptian tombs, were reserved for the wealthy. However, at a charge of 20 guineas, this proved to be too high and, despite lowering the price, only 16 interments occurred during the first year.

The cemetery was eventually closed in 1949 and is now disused. The stepped and meandering paths are beautifully maintained, its natural look and the abundance of mature trees making it a delightful walk.

It's such a tranquil place. It was a soft, moist spring day in May 2009 day when I took these photos, and the misty greens are a total delight.

 

Taken from the lower end, above, the Egyptian theme continues with an obelisk shaped tombstone.

Below can be seen some of the gravestones; these particular ones have been taken out and ranged against the lower boundary wall.

 
There isn't any access into the catacombs themselves, but they are opened on certain tours by the city tour guides...notably during a night walk on Halloween!

Such a magical place, and I hope you enjoyed the tour. :)

Lime Kilns, Budleigh Salterton, Devon

As can be seen on the sign, there were many lime kilns all along the Devon & Dorset coast at one time. Very few remain, but these ones in Budleigh Salterton have been preserved to remind us that they were used to produce lime as fertiliser for farms. 

There were also other industries that relied upon the use of kilns, such as the production of cement and brickmaking. One such kiln can be seen in Charmouth, West Dorset, at the rear of what used to be the brick factory (now used as the heritage centre).

Kilns at Sidmouth, further along the coast towards the east in Devon, were made into a boat house with a pulley system to haul boats up the cliff. Now a cafe, the metal hooks from the pulley can still be seen at the top of a truly impressive building in the side of the cliff. Sadly, a cement factory at Axmouth Harbour (further east) has gone, along with part of the harbour mole where ships unloaded for the warehouses that were once situated there.

There doesn't appear to have been any building connected to the Budleigh lime kilns, although if there was it has also gone. It's good to see that the kilns have been preserved, though. Another lovely reminder of the past.

 

Buddle Bridge, Lyme Regis, Dorset

This delightful Grade I Listed bridge was built in the 14th century and carries Bridge Street over the river Lym as it flows out into the sea. Of local stone rubble dressed with the same material, the segmental-pointed arch has a span of 18 ft. The soffit, or underarch, originally comprised four chamfered ribs but two have been removed, and the road was widened on both sides in 1913. The stone parapet includes a delightful quatrefoil design.

To the east is another stone arch; two-centred with a span of 8 ft and faced with rough ashlar, the exposed face has a simple zig-zag cutting on the outside. Formerly a bridge, it is now the cellar to Nos 2 & 3 Bridge Street and has been dated as being possibly early 13th century.

The photo above is pretty much the same as the top one, but I wanted to get a slightly closer view of the ducks dabbling in the water. :)

These two photos were taken some 10 odd years before the first two. There isn't a great deal of difference, apart from the shop sign that can be seen above the right side of the bridge, but they do give a slightly varied view of the bridge and surrounding buildings.

Besides, I've only got these four photos so far, so it's a good way of padding out a rather short article! ;) I keep meaning to go back and take some more photos, especially close-ups of the stonework on the bridge itself. But with an ever growing list of things to do, plus health problems making travelling difficult, I just haven't got round to it so far. Maybe one day! :)

 

Board School, Exmouth, Devon

I came across this rather lovely building whilst having a wander around Exmouth in 2009. At the time there was very little information to be found about either the building or Board Schools in general, and I was rather confused by the wording on the date stone. However, on re-writing the article for my now defunct website in 2015, I found a lot more information and was able to add to its history. And even more so for my blog. :)

Board schools were introduced by the Elementary Education Act in 1870, which enabled locally elected school boards to provide education for five to ten year olds within their area.They were allowed to charge fees, but were also allowed to raise funds from government rate and were eligible for grants. This meant that provision could be made for the children of the poorest families.  

Erected in 1877, this delightful building is an intriguing mix of the Victorian Italianate style of the 1850s & 1860s and the Victorian Gothic style of the late 19th century; the rather pretty bell tower possibly used to summon the children to school.  School Boards were eventually abolished with the introduction of the 1902 Education Act, in which they were replaced by Local Education Authorities. The building now houses the town library.

The school was built on what was once the site of a manor house. Not to be confused with The Old Manor House in North Street; an hotel which, although of early 18th century origin, wasn't given the name until the 19th century. The former manor house on this site is mentioned in two blue plaques on the wall of the board school / library, which commemorate two residents of the former building. The wording on the blue plaques is as follows...

 

"Sir John Colleton. This site was formerly the Manor House of Rill or Hill, a sub-Manor of Marpool, occupied in the early 18th Century by Sir John Colleton, retired administrator of S Carolina. He brought the first Magnolias with him which he developed by mutation to produce the 'Magnolia Grandiflora Exmouthiensis' variety which is incorporated into Exmouth's Coat of Arms."

 "Conrad Martens. This landscape artist, born in London in 1801, moved to Exmouth in 1822 where he lived in Elm Cottage, former manor house, on this site. From 1833 to 1834, he was the ship's artist on the Beagle and corresponded with Charles Darwin for many years. He is regarded as an important Australian water colour artist and died in Sydney in 1878."

 

Such a lovely building and I wish I had taken more photographs during the short time I had here. Hopefully I'll be able to visit again in the not too distant future when I'll be able to have a more leisurely mooch and add more photos. :)

Blue Waters & Warners Holiday Camps, Seaton, Devon

Long before the arrival of Butlins or Pontins holiday camps, Captain Harry Warner opened his first holiday camp in 1931 on Hayling Island. Warners in Seaton was opened in 1935 and continued under that name until it was taken over by Haven Holidays in the 1980's. Apart from the war years during WW2, the camp site remained in use until its closure and subsequent demolition in 2009. During the war it became an internment camp for German nationals already in the country, as well as POWs and some captured Nazis. Later it was used for the build up of troops as 'D' Day approached (including the Free Czechs & Free Polish Forces, the Free Spanish Army and some from the USA).

Blue Waters next door was owned by Ladbrooks until it too was bought out by Haven. The two camps were subsequently merged together and became Lyme Bay Holiday Village. Sold to Holly Bush Hotels, the Blue Waters part was later closed down and remained derelict for some years until it was demolished in 2008. All the photos are of the Blue Waters site, which I explored and photographed in 2006 & 2007, as the 'Warners side' was still in use right up until it too was demolished in 2009.
  

The former Blue Waters site comprised a main building, a row of chalets and a swimming pool near to the road entrance. To the left, and slightly isolated, was a circle of chalets where the staff lived, and the rest of its extensive site was pretty much empty apart from the hard-standings for caravans, along with the odd fire hoses, utility points and two funky little huts...all of which can still be seen on Google Earth. Having made a tentative foray into the chalet circle in December 2006, I made another visit in January 2007 to venture further. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and the first half of the photos are from that visit.

My son accompanied me, as it was one of my first explores on a large site and I was a little trepidatious. He wore his hair in very long dreadlocks at the time and sported an old and beaten up leather jacket, so I hoped that no-one would try and mess with us while he was there, lol, even though he's actually one of the most gentle of blokes. 

 
I didn't know about the swimming pool until on our way around the main building I noticed something blue between the slats of a fence. I was delighted to see the pool when I peeped through, and further along the fence had come down and we were able to see it properly.

We were thinking of scaling a small wall surrounding the swimming pool, as we could see that the back door of the club house was open, but then we heard the sound of breaking glass and decided against it.

The chalets on the main site, above and below.

I made another visit a few months later in 2007, when I explored on my own, as there was so much to see on that first visit that I hadn't taken many photos of the main building.

The Haven Holidays Fizzer Fun Club, above. And a rather scary looking blind below. 

The remains of a fence that was originally surrounding the pool area, with La Baguette (presumably a snack bar) in the background. 

Seagull at 11 o' clock!

I managed to take quite a few extra photos of and around the club house and swimming pool, then I ventured towards the bottom of the grounds, where there was a laundry room. Unfortunately, I was spotted from the other campsite, and before I knew it a car roared up with two very angry men inside. One of them jumped out and started shouting at me and threatened to call the police. As it happens, trespassing is a civil offence in Britain, not a criminal one, therefore I just apologised and offered to leave straight away. His bark must have been much worse than his bite, as the shouty man quickly calmed down and allowed me to take more photos on the way out if I wanted.

Another shot of the swimming pool, and to finish up, some photos of the chalet circle below.

And on the way out, after being 'escorted off the premises', I took this last photo. Oops!

Oh, and a self portrait taken in a window of the main building.