Eyes of Isca.

Mary the Exeter Pigeon

During the Second World War, Mary the Pigeon was a member of the Special Pigeon Service, whose task was to secretly share information between Britain and mainland Europe. After being wounded three times, Mary was retired, only to be bombed out of her loft during the raid of May 1942. She survived to be awarded the Dickin Medal for animal bravery.

Matthew the Miller Clock

St. Mary Steps Church is another of Exeter’s surviving medieval churches and features the rather splendid sixteenth-century clock called the Matthew the Miller clock. This was fondly named after a local miller whose habits were so routine that residents kept time by them.

House That Moved

A motif of the infamous House that Moved – playfully featuring roller skates underneath.

Artful Thomas / Chicken Suit

In the 1920s, Artful Thomas was a local character known for his charity fundraising. He worked as an attendant at the Franklin Cinema, and also took on publicity stunts. So when the cinema was showing Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Gold Rush’, Artful dressed up as a giant chicken and walked the streets, occasionally laying a golden egg in reference to a scene from the film.

Cloth Ears

A playful nod to Exeter’s historic cloth trade and the phrase ‘cloth ears’, which references machine operators going deaf.

Roller Skates

Retro fun reference to The House That Moved on wheels.

Historic Lamp Post

An historic lamp post design, still found on Exeter’s Quayside.

The Custom House

The Custom House in Exeter is a historic, Grade I listed building on Exeter Quay. Built in 1680 during the height of the local cloth trade, it is believed to be the oldest surviving brick building in the city and the first purpose-built custom house in England.

Exeter Cathedral

Exeter Cathedral is one of the city’s most iconic landmarks, representing the city’s rich history and architectural heritage.

Ottons Store

Ottons & Sons’ was located in what’s now known as the McCoy’s Arcade. It was one of Exeter’s best-know stores, famous for selling almost everything imaginable, from half a dozen screws to Aga cookers. The store’s interior was a labyrinth of small rooms and it became well-known for shoplifting, even becoming nicknamed the city’s biggest ‘Help yourself’ store.

Roman Centurion

A Centurion references Exeter’s Roman origins as the fortress of Isca Dumnoniorum, a major Roman legionary fortress established around AD 55. The fortress served as the base for the Second Augustan Legion (Legio II Augusta), a force of over 5,000 heavy infantry troops.

Naval Ship

Naval fleets historically protected the city on the River Exe from pirates and water-based (???) attacks.

Pirate

While pirates could no longer sail directly into the heart of Exeter, during the 17th century, they heavily targeted Exeter’s wealthy merchant fleets in the Exe Estuary and nearby Devon coastline.

Ricky

In the early 1970s, a local called ‘Ricky’ decided to break into Otton. He climbed out across the roof, but at some point he fell through the asbestos roofing and landed in the vehicle bay. He’d chosen a Bank Holiday Saturday for this venture and lay with a broken back and other fractures until Tuesday morning. Some residents commented that it served him right, whilst others remarked that from his wheelchair he’d find it difficult to commit further burglaries.

Chess piece; Horse

Trade would have been carried through Fore Street by horses, moving between the city centre and the Quay.