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Exeter Guildhall

The Exeter Guildhall has served as a seat of local government in Exeter for over eight hundred years. The local council meets here, and the building is still sometimes used as a magistrates court. It was as a court that the building played an important role in the build up to the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when Parliament finally took away the power of the monarchy. In February 1685 Charles the Second had died, and had been controversially succeeded by his catholic brother James the Second. In that same year Charles the Second's illegitimate son, James Duke of Monmouth staged an attempted rebellion. Monmouth, a protestant, gambled on exploiting suspicions regarding the King's deeply unpopular catholic faith. Monmouth, however, was defeated at the Battle of Sedgemoor near Bridgewater in Somerset. Captured rebels were then tried by Judge Jeffreys at the Guildhall in Exeter.

James the Second's victory was short lived. He was finally deposed in 1688, and replaced by Parliament with the protestant William of Orange. The age of kingship was over, and one of the last acts of that age had been played out at the Exeter Guildhall.

The Guildhall can be visited free of charge, but being a working building access cannot always be guaranteed. Ring ahead for opening times, and to book guided tours.

Directions: The Guildhall is in Exeter's High Street, near the junction with North Street/South Street. Click here for an interactive map centred on the Exeter Guildhall.

Access: visitors in wheelchairs will only be able to see the ground floor. Adapted toilet facilities are available.

Contact:

phone: 01392 665500