14.     Benjamin Donn                                                                                     1765

A Devonian, Benjamin Donn was born in Bideford in 1729. He was a well-known mathematician, writing several articles and letters for the Gentleman´s Magazine, as well as completing his Mathematical Essays between 1756 and 1758. He was a surveyor and teacher of mathematics in Bideford before moving to Bristol. Also interested in tidal flows he published sets of figures for the S W of England. His large-scale map of Devonshire with its inset plan of Exeter is an important map for anyone interested in Devon topography in the eighteenth century (B&B 44). In 1759, the same year he married Mary Anne Wilcocks, the Royal Society of Arts (then known as the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) offered an annual award of £100 for the best original 1 inch to 1 mile county survey. Donn and Isaac Taylors (Dorset) submitted entries but Donn was the first successful applicant with a twelve sheet map of Devonshire, engraved by Thomas Jefferys and published in 1765. The map of Devon was printed on 12 sheets and usually issued in book form.

Donn continued his interest in mapping (despite his experiences in getting his money from the Royal Society) and produced a map of the area 11 miles round Bristol (1769) and a map of Bath (1790). Together with his son, Donn published A Map of the Western Circuit of England. 

Title: A PLAN of the CITY and SUBURBS of EXETER (inset on Donn’s 1” map:  A Map of the County of Devon)

Size: 405 x 470 mm with Scale of Poles (50 = 51mm or 1 Mile = 328 mm).

Imprint on complete map: London: Printed for the Author and Sold by the Booksellers of Devon, by Mr Johnston in Ludgate Street: Mr Baldwin in Paternoster Row; and the print-sellers of London MDCCLXV. 

The City is shown on sheet 4 with north at the top, a scale bar and a key to certain buildings below. The area covered is from St. Thomas to St. Agnes and St. Davis to the Workhouse, with the city divided into the four wards. There are many similarities, both in style and information, with Rocque’s large plan, printed some 21 years earlier, and especially with the reduced Rocque drawn to the same scale.

The plan is in block form with the principal buildings, churches, inns, alms houses etc. darkened. But, unlike Rocque, Donn makes no effort to show gardens, or countryside, only the serge racks. This does make the plan easier to read. Another striking difference is Donn’s lack of detail and his depiction of secondary roads. But the reference to inns and the variant treatment of the Exe Bridge is noteworthy. Fore Street for the first time is named as part of the High Street. The new alms houses (1763) are shown. The Blew Boys School is called St. John’s Hospital or High School. Note, too, the ruined alms houses, late Bonville’s, in Rock Lane; and the Water Engine is clearly depicted on the river banks. The plan also shows the end of the Haven or New Cut, and the King’s Arms Sluice. Development is still limited within the walls and to those main roads out from the four gates. Though there are faults to be found in Donn’s survey of the County, the City plan is, like Rocque’s, both fairly accurate and informative. The Synagogue is shown twice (number 12 in reference key): it is given as located outside the North gate but also behind St. Mary Arches. The latter building was only constructed in 1764 so Donn may not have known exactly when it was to be completed. Nevertheless, the map makes an excellent comparison with Tozer’s survey of 1792 (see next entry).

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 15.     Charles Tozer                                                                                   1792

 

Richard Cowl, a prominent Devon surveyor had already published a survey of Plymouth in 1778 and was proceeding with a map of Exeter and a county map when he died in 1789. His assistant, Charles Tozer, continued with the survey and although he did not finish the county map he did complete that of the City in 1792.

Tozer was employed as a surveyor and drew plans of estates for the Palk and Kennaway families besides producing a plan and a map of Tiverton for Martin Dunsford´s Historical Memoirs of the Town and Parish of Tiverton. 

Title: Plan of the City & Suburbs of EXETER 

Size:  269 x 335 mm with A Scale of Poles each 16 ½ Feet - 80 Poles or One Furlong (80 = 68 mm or 1 Mile = 272 mm).

Signatures: Surveyed by C. Tozer and Engraved by Thos. Yeakell. Imprint: Publish’d by C.Tozer April 20th 1792.

There is a dedication in a plain ellipse: To the Right Worshipful THE MAYOR, Receiver, Sheriff, Aldermen & Commonalty of the CITY of EXETER, This plan is humbly dedicated by their most obedient humble Servt. Chas. Tozer.

 

The title is on a rock pointed to by a goddess with a shield bearing the City Arms. This is a plain block plan, similar to Donn, but with gardens and fields in the style of Rocque. The principal buildings are dark and titled. Churches are also dark and lettered with the key Names of Churches &c under the Bishop’s Arms (note that U & V are exchanged). There is little development in the suburbs apart from the New Road or Howells Lane, house and gardens along Longbrook Street, the New Gaol for Devon County, the bowling green off Southernhay is now a Racket Court, and the City Bridewell is in Paris Street. The Bridewell in Cowick Street is named for Devon as is the Sheriff’s ward opposite.

More serge racks can be seen: west of the river in Barn Field and behind the Devon Bridewell at St. Thomas; and on the city side of the river extensive areas such as those at Cullver Park (3 fields), at Bull Mead, and Fryers Hay (3 fields), at Bonhay and Shilhay (2). But the old city is no more and the feel of the City has changed: the New Bridge, opened in 1778, leads directly to Fore Street with a new opening through the walls and the resulting demolition of All Hallows on the Walls. Both North Gate and East Gate have gone. The Russell family, after acquiring a convent on the site in 1538, finally decided to demolish the house and lease the land to a local builders company who began to develop it and Bedford Circus is now half completed, with a road through the walls. The old theatre in Waterbeer Street remains but there is now a New Theatre (opened October 1787) in Bedford Street. The close New Cut breaks through the wall as does Maddox across the City and the Barings have built Mount Radford. The New Road (Howells Lane) now winds round the New Goal for the County of Devon (commenced in 1790 but not ready until 1794) but there are no signs of the new cavalry barracks to be built there (completed in 1792).

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Illustrations Reproduced by kind permission of Devon Archives & Local Studies - OM B/EXE/1793/TOZ.

 22.     Wills / Hackett                                                                    1830

 

Title: PLAN OF The City of Exeter shewing the Lines of Road Proposed by Messrs. Coldridge & Vicars.

Size: 355 x 245 mm but no scale.

Imprints: W. Wills, Exeter and Hackett, Lithog. Exeter 

The plan shows two alternative routes proposed: Vicar’s line cut through the walls almost mid-way between North-gate and the Castle, joining the High Street south of the Guildhall; and Coldridge’s line came south of St. David's Hill and South-gate ending mid-way along North Street. Coldridge also had a branch outside the city to the London Inn (formerly the Oxford) just outside East-gate. This branch followed the line of the ‘west’ new road, first shown in Hayman’s plan of 1805. The end result was a compromise: Vicar’s road with modifications at the City entrance and the branch line to a junction with St. David’s Hill was adopted. Intriguingly, the plan predicts the building of the new basin and shows Exe Island as Horse Fair and Shilhay as Coal and Timber Yards.

Vicars and Coldridge had already worked together on a road between Wiveliscombe and South Molton circa 1824 (there is a copy at the National Archives).

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