Custom House to reopen as visitor centre

Exeter's famous Custom House is set to become the centre of attention once again as a visitor and interpretation centre celebrating the history of the Quay and Canal.

The landmark building, which for centuries was used to collect taxes on goods entering the city, has in recent times been not been used to its full potential or underoccupied. Exeter City Council, the owner of the building, has for some years been exploring various options for its long-term sustainable use.

Now the City Council can reveal its plans.

The Quay House Visitor Centre is to relocate from its...

The Secret of Willoughby Hall

Event Date: 
19/02/2015 - 7:30pm to 21/02/2015 - 7:30pm
Venue: 
Silverton Millennium Hall, Silverton EX4 4JZ

Silverton’s drama troupe, the Silverton Luvvies, is gearing up for its next production, a murder mystery play set over six decades – “The Secret of Willoughby Hall”.

This follows the group’s sell-out production in 2014, which honoured the lives of Silverton’s WW1 soldiers, “Trenches and Wenches”. The play, as with all of the Silverton Luvvie’s productions, is an original work written by director Portia Smith and Iain Gonoude (in cahoots with the Luvvies themselves).

The three-act play, set in the fictional Willoughby Hall, starts in the 1950s and takes the audiences on a...

Call for fairer deal for private renters

Greater transparency and fairness for private renters has been called for by a group of Exeter charities.

The Advice Exeter partnership has today published its report into the Exeter lettings market.

The findings from the report will be used to lobby government and other organisations to get a better deal for private tenants.

Iain Large, partnership development officer for Advice Exeter, said: "We carried this research out in June and July last year. We have now processed it and are ready to use the information we have gathered to campaign for change in the market...

Fancy a 'Beak Burger' ?

An English student at the University of Exeter has been announced as the winner of Urban Burger’s ‘What’s Your Beef’ competition.

Lucy Harrison has won £250 in Urban Burger vouchers and will see her ‘Ducking & Dive-in’ burger included on the menu at the gourmet burger restaurant on Queen Street, Exeter.

The competition saw contestants create and submit a variety of recipes, with the best four selected for the grand final by Urban Burger owners Melissa and Garth Pearse.

The ‘X-Factor’ style final was held at the restaurant on Thursday January 29 with the judging...

Super Sunday at Exeter Racecourse

All roads lead to Haldon Hill on February 8 when Exeter Racecourse stages its prestigious Super Sunday race fixture.

Racegoers can pre-book two Grandstand and Paddock tickets for just £15, and with children aged 17 and under racing free, the meeting offers a terrific opportunity to enjoy a superb day of sporting action on Haldon Hill.

With prize money is in excess of £100,000 the meeting is widely regarded as one of the best Sundays in jump racing. The card includes a Pertemps qualifier, a listed novices’ hurdle and a three mile graduation chase, each worth £20,000....

Roman baths project details revealed

Exeter Cathedral has today published detailed drawings of its plans to excavate and reveal the remains of the city’s Roman Bath House.

The Dean of the Cathedral, the Very Revd Jonathan Draper, said the scheme had been under wraps while plans were talked through with English Heritage and a bid prepared for Heritage Lottery funding, but now the details of the proposed centre could be shown for the first time.

“We will not know until Mid-May if the project has been successful in gaining funding, but we want to ensure the people of Exeter - and all those interested in the city’...

Learn about next steps for Devon beavers

Authored by News Desk
Posted: Tue, 02/03/2015 - 3:08pm

Everyone is welcome to attend a public drop-in session in Ottery St Mary to hear what the next steps will be for the town’s local wild beavers.

The drop-in event is being held on Friday 6 February between 3pm and 7.30pm, at The Institute in Ottery St Mary.

A small population of beavers is living on the River Otter close to the East Devon town of Ottery St Mary.

The animals recently made national news headlines when Natural England decided to grant Devon Wildlife Trust with a licence which would allow the animals to live on the river while the charity monitored their...

Dragons' Den whizz-kid aquires Bargain Parking

A young whizz kid – who persuaded two of the Dragons from the popular TV show to part with £60,000 – has now acquired a parking business from an Exeter-born entrepreneur.

The success story first began for Harrison Woods when he appeared on the hit show in 2012. The 24 year old survived the dreaded Dragons’ Den to secure the investment for his first parking space rental company from Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones.

Harrison has now gone into partnership with another success story, Bargain Parking, run by another young businessman from Exeter, Damian Rooney.

Mr Rooney...

Historic Custom House set to reopen as visitor centre

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Tue, 02/03/2015 - 12:18pm

Exeter's famous Custom House is set to become the centre of attention once again as a visitor and interpretation centre celebrating the history of the Quay and Canal.

The landmark building, which for centuries was used to collect taxes on goods entering the city, has in recent times been not been used to its full potential or underoccupied. Exeter City Council, the owner of the building, has for some years been exploring various options for its long-term sustainable use.

Now the City Council can reveal its plans.

The Quay House Visitor Centre is to relocate from its...

Lugets of Exeter to close

Authored by Mary Youlden
Posted: Tue, 02/03/2015 - 11:54am

Lugets of Exeter, the city’s oldest gentlemen’s outfitters and tailors, has decided to close its doors for the final time next month. The store, located on Cathedral Yard, has confirmed that its last day of business will be Saturday 21st March 2015. Whilst the news of the shop closing will be disappointing to many, the proprietor, Mark Simpson, has confirmed that they are thinking of ways to carry on the Lugets name which has amassed an exceptional reputation over its 200 years of trading, for providing its customers with a combination of fine craftsmanship and excellent service. Mark...

Pages