Take an exclusive look inside amazing historic house next door to Exeter Cathedral
Sep 4, 2017Or have you lived in the city for your entire life and think you know every pathway, nook and cranny like the back of your hand?You may well be able to answer yes to all of the above, but there is a house right in the heart of the city that has a secret. A little known secret that could surprise even the most avid Exonian.And this amazing house is not only steeped in fascinating history, it is also one of the only properties in Exeter that allows you to call a piece of the city's Roman wall your own.Read MoreNestled behind Exeter Cathedral, Palace Gate has been home to some of Exeter's most prominent medieval churchmen. From c1200 the Bishop, the Precentor, the Archdeacon of Exeter and the Dean all had large residences in the area. It is even rumoured that Sir Walter Raleigh's parents lived in a house adjoining the Palace gate in the late 16th century.One of the seven gates around Cathedral Yard, the Bishops Palace had its own 14th Century stone inner gatehouse which is today called Palace Gate House. Following the dispersion of religious orders in France at the end of the 19th century, the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary looked to England as a safety net for the Congregation.At the invitation of the Basilian Fathers, they came to Exeter and in 1896 established the first permanent foundation at Palace Gate where they opened their school.Until 1929 Sisters from France, Canada and the USA staffed the school which catered for girls aged five to 14 and boys from five to seven.London evacuees arrived at the school in 1940 and in May 1942 the school was closed for three months following damage from a fire bomb raid. The school thrived and grew throughout its hundred year history. Starting with just five it had at one stage more than 300 pupils before closing in 1996.In 1999 the convent and school became a gated development of just five houses. Formally the Archdeacon's coach house, No.26 Palace Gate is today a unique Grade-I listed four bedroom property known as The Coach House.The Coach House... (Devon Live)
