Collins & Flower, Cathedral Close, c1930, Exeter

Drawing of Collins & Flower, Cathedral Close, c1930, Exeter

Numbers 2, 3 and 4 Cathedral Close occupy part of the site of the College of the Annuellars. This institution had a very short life, being founded in the 1520s and being dissolved around 1547. All three houses date from the late 16th century and all were timber framed. The rusticated stucco facade of Number 4, the building featured in this anonymous drawing, is believed to have been added in about 1700. These buildings survived both the blitz and the huge fire which destroyed the nearby Royal Clarence Hotel.

The drawing of Number 4 Cathedral Close was made in about 1930 and at that time it was occupied Collins and Flower, a firm of milliners. They continued to occupy the premises until 1942, when the shop was taken over by Wilson Ltd. of Bournemouth, a company dealing in ladies' fashions. In recent years, Number 4 has been home to a branch of Orvis, the outdoor clothing chain, but this outlet did not survive the pandemic. It has now reopened as a cosmetic shop trading under the name Apothespa. Number 3, the building to the left of Collins and Flower, is now occupied by Elizabeth Anne, a shoe shop, and Number 5, the building to the right, is now the appropriately named No. 5 Restaurant.

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