St George's Church, c1850, Exeter

Watercolour of St George's Church, c1850, Exeter, George Townsend

The church of St George the Martyr was one of 33 medieval churches within the City Walls of Exeter. It was situated on South Street since Saxon times. This view from South Street painted by George Townsend around 1850 shows the east end of the building. There is more than one version of this view. The doorway leads into the south aisle and the gable beside it is over the chancel. The church was partly demolished in 1843 and the remaining walls incorporated into new buildings. In 1942 most of the rest of the building fell victim to a German bombing raid. Elements of the Saxon building, which contained recycled Roman tiles and stones, were revealed and these remains were later removed to the other side of South Street to be re-built near the ruins of the Vicar’s Choral refectory. They can still be seen in that location. In 1850 Townsend painted this church again but from the west end. This area of Exeter suffered extensive damage in the Second World War. At the end of St George’s Lane running beside the church can be seen the neo-classical arches of the Lower Market designed by Charles Fowler which was also destroyed in the Blitz. The tower at the west end of the church can be identified. The painting is watercolour on paper, and very typical of the work of George Townsend. It is an important record of lost buildings of Exeter.

This watercolour was likely a preparatory study for George Townsend's depictions of "Bygone Exeter," published in the Exeter Flying Post and later as a separate booklet in 1908 (listed in the DEI Collections AD/EXE 01.2 TOW).

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George Townsend

Prints and Drawings