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Civil War

Alphington Church, St Michael and All Angels dominates the village of Alphington on the outskirts of Exeter.

Parliamentary troops used the church as a stable in 1644 during the Civil War and in 1645, sensing the strategic importance of Alphington, after defeating the Royalists at Powderham,  General Fairfax made his headquarters here whilst he put the final touches to his plans for the Parliamentary victory in 1646.

I have also read that Parliamentary troops occupied the Admiral Vernon Inn. However the Inn was then possibly known as the Church House (Inn) and stood on the corner of Ide Lane where the Old School now stands.

The building which became Admiral (Vernon) Inn now occupies was then a private residence known as Burgoynes after the owner, William Burgoyne (first registered in 1704). This building now inncorporates private residences owned by the Exeter Housing Society.

Many of the buildings and houses in Alphington are named after their original owners. The Church House will have been built just prior to the church in the late C15th (some say 1480) to house the builders and craftsmen working on the Church, and later to house visiting preachers.

The Admiral Inn (formerly the Admiral Vernon Inn and Bell Inn) was a busy pub that incorporated a restaurant. There were bottled beers and a real ale available. The food was very good especially if you liked steaks. Thursday nights featured a Steak Stampede where you could eat for very reasonable prices. Before 1999, it was a Thai restaurant (from the mid 1990's) and prior to that a pub with a lounge and public bar.

Unfortunately the pub closed in May 2006 after a buyer for the business failed to materialise.

The business had been in trouble for years trying to find a niche for itself within the village but despite the very hard work and late nights put in by Mike, the business eventually failed. Basically it could not decide whether it was restaurant or pub and tried to be both.

Admiral Vernon died in 1757, the pub will no doubt have been named in his memory or his exploits. There were once many pubs bearing his name but these were later altered to Frederick the Great or Wellington. The 'pop up' gives details of the major Spanish conflicts he was in involved in. He was also the man responsible for Grog.

From 1682 to the latter part of the C19th, Alphington was famous for its Cattle and Horse Fairs and as a rendezvous to get transport to Haldon Races. The Horse Fair was the biggest in Devon and drew people from miles around. A great number of gypsies attended, most of them equine experts so while they practised horsey stuff, their wives told people of their fortune. The fair lasted two days and because of this 23 public or 'bush' houses were set up to cater for the crowds of people.

The fairs took place on the first Wednedsay after 20th June and also on the Wednesday after Michaelmasday. The 'bush' houses were so called, because when the beer and or cider was ready, a bush was hung outside the establishment. This practice it seems was not limited to Alphington, blackthorn bushes were hung outside many of the ale houses in Exeter in the early C14th and very possibly before.

Briefly though, Lamp Cottage, the Bell Inn and the cottage next door were at some stage interconnected buildings, possibly that of a poor house. This poor house may possibly have been built on a second strip of land given to the St Michaels and All Angels in 1512.

A more likely scenario though was the Bell Inn's expansion into neighbouring properties during the height of the coaching days in the C18th followed by regression to a single building with the demise of the coaching trade. Lamp cottage (now demolished) also at one-time had a turret which was used by the Bell Inn to look-out for coaches in order that fresh horses were ready upon the arrival of the coach before the ascent over Haldon. Next stop would have been Chudliegh.

Original beams can be seen in the roof.

Just next to the New Inn is the old Schoolmaster's house and the old school used nowadays for local functions, pre-school and tots playtime. The site of the schoolhouse used to be that of the Church House which incorporated the Red Lion and also the original Admiral Vernon Inn.

In 1499, the Church was given a piece of land, another strip of land was given in 1512. The Church House was built on these pieces of land. This house was leased in May 1784 for 99 years for a 'fine' of £100, and a yearly rental of £5. A stipulation of the lease was that the 'fine' should go to the repair of the Church, with the rent plus £5 interest was to be distributed to the poor in the form of bread.

A fire on 15th September 1871 starting at 4 am destroyed the Admiral Vernon Inn, 2 adjoining houses and a butchers shop. The Red Lion had presumably already closed. The landlady discovered the fire and both herself and her husband managed to escape with their 4 children. The family were known as the Feoffees, a lease of 1860 shows their property to have included stables, a brewhouse, cellars, gardens and curtilage (an enclosed area such as a courtyard). The house fontage was typically tudor as can be seen in the 'pop up' below. To see an old plan of the pub, Click here.

The Admiral Vernon later relocated to the Bell Inn further up Chudliegh Road.

A C17th court was held at the Admiral Vernon (then the first Church House (Inn)) where criminal cases were heard (at the Court Leet) and also parish affairs were discussed under the auspices of the Court Baron.