Inside Tiddy House, Exeter: 16th Century Gem
Tiddy House is one of the last of the old buildings to survive in Tudor Street, on Exe Island in Exeter, Devon.
English Heritage date the Grade 2 listed structure to the late 16th century, without giving any evidence.
However, researcher Jacqueline Warren says the house was constructed in the 1630s.
The ancient property was previously put on to the market in 2011 and sold for £750,000, the photos in this article were provided by the estate agents that sold it.
The original deeds of the house state that it was built by “Isaac Burche the Elder,” a maltster, who died in 1683.
The house passed on to the Gubbs family in the 1670’s, before Burche died.
John Gubbs married Elizabeth Leach in September 1670, which accounts for the Leach coat of arms on the right side of the house.
The centre coat of arms relates to the Gubbs family.
The left-hand coat of arms may be those of the Northmore family, owners in the 18th century.
The property eventually came into ownership of Robert Trewman, owner of the Exeter Flying Post, a local weekly newspaper.
In 1964, the building was being used by Tudor Electrical Co., as an electrical repair shop.
It was in a very bad condition – Bill Lovell purchased it for £700, and spent the next eleven years, and a further £60,000, restoring the building.
In an interview, Lovell explained some details of the restoration.
He thought some of original timbers were of oak taken from ships which were being scrapped.
Similar timbers in other old buildings which were being demolished were acquired and used to replace the damaged timbers.
A Whiteways cider vat was found locally, in a yard – the oak timbers was just the right shape to replace some of the timbers that had decayed beyond redemption.
Modern nails would have corroded due to the acidity of the wood, so Lovell went to the builders merchant, Walter Otton who still had in stock suitable nails that were 100 years old.
Old glazing was provided by a local glazier who had salvaged glass from some historic houses that were being demolished.
Peg slates for the re-roofing were urgently needed – 100 years earlier Delabole Quarries slates had set aside some slates, for a buyer, that never collected them.
They were exactly what was needed, and hastily acquired from the quarry.
The House
A delight for anyone interested in architecture and history, this large four storey house is around 4.500 square feet and built using timber-framed construction methods and materials.
The house has six reception rooms, six bedrooms and five bathrooms.
The ground floor consists of stone, with local red brick used for the side walls.
According to Pevsner, an architectural authority on sites with historical importance, this is the earliest use of brick in an Exeter building on a ‘significant scale.’
The top floor has two gabled half-dormers. All the windows have leaded lattice casements.
The 17th century cut slate hanging of the first floor is a prominent feature of the building, with three heraldic coats of arms enclosed in wreaths, attached to the first-floor façade.
Up until 1820 the whole of the front was covered in slate.
There is a single newel post that rises through the four floors. It is said that when it was restored, a musket-ball was found embedded on one of the beams!
Prior to its conversion back to a dwelling, the building was “The Tudor House Restaurant”, and previous to this was an electrical wholesale shop.
It was put on to the market in 2011, and sold for £750,000.
The building was Grade II* listed on the 29 January 1953.
If you’d like to see the exterior of this house, the address is: Old Tudor House (Tiddy House). Tudor St, Exeter EX4 3BR.
Please be respectful when visiting, as this is now a private home and not open to the public.
Survivor of the Exeter Blitz
Fortunately, this historic house survived the devastating Blitz.
Exeter was bombed in April and May 1942, in which targets were chosen for their cultural and historical, rather than their strategic or military, value.
On the night of 23/24 April 1942, seven bombs fell in Exeter around 200 houses were damaged and five people were killed, with eight injured.
The following night, two waves of 20 bombers, most flying two sorties during the night, attacked again.
In good visibility, and at low level in the absence of any AA defence, they hit the city, particularly the Pennsylvania area, killing 73 and injuring 54.
Four raiders were shot down, three by night fighters and one over Portland by AA fire.
In all 1,500 of the city's 20,000 houses were obliterated and 2,700 badly damaged.
Also 400 shops, almost 150 offices, 50 warehouses and 36 pubs were also destroyed.
After this the Luftwaffe switched its attention elsewhere, attacking Bath, York and Norwich, before returning to Exeter in early May.
A large part of the city centre had been devastated, and it was some 20 years before repairs were fully completed, resulting in a completely new infrastructure.
Tiddy House, however, found on Exe Island, if a fine survivor.
If you enjoyed this blog post, please follow Exploring GB on Facebook for daily travel content and inspiration.
Don’t forget to check out our latest blog posts below!
Thank you for visiting Exploring GB.
