Starting in grey rainA walk through whisper of stoneBrings me to wonder…

St. Nicholas PrioryCellar chants and chimesBenedictine to TudorStone, timber, combined

A dormant buildingHistory in walls – peopleWaken its senses

Candlelight flickersShadows cast on oak timbersTime melts like warm wax

Thoughts and silent prayersAre stored inside this buildingSit and play them back

Hands feel cool stone wallsLeaving dust on fingertipsFragments of old times

Look down at oak floorsGaze up at timber beamsExist in between

The Parish Of Central ExeterSt. Pancras ChurchChurch shadowed by shopsCommerce and faith sharing spaceBoth pilgrim places

St. Olave’s ChurchA man of few wordsOlaf asks about your faithHis axe speaks for him

St. Petrock’s ChurchA church split in twoHomeless and housed side by sideBoth need your support

St. Martin’s ChurchChurch preserved in timeTablets and pulpit preachingTo hard wooden pews

St. Stephen’s ChurchOutside it’s noisyInside it’s quiet, peacefulBoth places for God

St. Michael & All AngelsBeautiful beaconSt Michael’s Mount Dinham isBuilt to God’s Glory

Acoustic of lightVoices rise and sculpt the airMystery of music

Peregrine falconsNest in the spire with their youngScreeching like old steel

Exeter’s Underground PassagesHard-hat manoeuvreListen to Health and SafetyPrepare to descend

Life’s necessityPumped through Exeter’s old veinsDeep down underground

Darkness, dampness, dustImagine working down hereOne person wide, cramped

I can taste the smellOf hard work and acrid tearsThe city sleeps on

These stones have seen warBore witness to diseasesYet remain steadfast

RAMM(Royal Albert Memorial Museum)Sense of abundanceRousing curiosityA miscellany

Teapots, urns, jugs, spoonsThe beautiful silverwareExquisitely carved

Roman mosaicsWith terracotta highlightsCraft of symmetry

The fossils and rocksCoral shaped like a sandalWhere do they come from?

Victorian clothesOutstanding fancy detailsChic for him and her

The birds are so coolI love coming to the RAMMEvery time is fun

St. Clement’s Church, PowderhamBells ring, voices singResound in stone and oakStained glass windows glow

This ancient buildingCenturies of faith and hopeSome found, some lost here Civil War battleLone brother against brotherOak door shows the scars

Veitch Floral Art Lamp CollectionExotic travelCollections Exeter-boundSun, food, water, life

On rusty lamppostsVisions from across the worldLight shines on them all

The Devon And Exeter InstitutionWalk through heavy doorsBreath-taking Georgian splendourThe smell of old books

Books give us learningThis heritage libraryHow special to browse

Some two hundred yearsSo many silent books talkYet they speak volumes

Stepping back in timeBooks evoke a certain peaceFeelings of the past

An historic gemWhat an oasis of calmIn the city’s heart

The Bill Douglas Cinema MuseumMagic Lanterns, filmsOptical entertainmentCinematic thrills

All hooves in the airAll hooves in the air againSeasons never change

Moving imagesIllusions before your eyesCuriosity

Exeter CathedralStones of historyTelling their many storiesTo those who listen

Wood, stone, ancient boneRelics from the past entombedStanding, watching time

The Exeter BookWill pose riddles long afterMy short life is solved

The beauty of artEncased in this historyIs unparallelled

Exeter NorthcottAnticipationA silent wave sweeps the crowdThe curtain rises

Unopened programmesRustling worlds of colour andPromise of ice cream

An open folderCurtain drawn, researchers glimpseA play lost to time

SoliloquisingA leading lady plays onHeedless of decades

Exeter Custom HouseDogs barking, sun’s outReflections on the waterDown on the Quayside

Climb on the cannonsPictures taken to recallHappy childhood joy

Swans silently glideThe Quay no longer bustlingPast ghosts still watch us

Lofty sail schoonerOffloading wine, olive oilFat bank balances

Tenter frames and hooksSurveyor balances booksImport, export, took

Conduit for tradeGovernment tax on hard workHistory preserved

Exeter GuildhallDark brown chiselled woodAbsorbs many a sad taleRetained forever

Life on tenterhooksWeavers, tuckers and shearmenWords from the wool trade

Fancy hat, goldenIntriguing swords, beautifulDormant weapons lie

Assizes sat hereJeffreys tries them to dangleGallows, drop and snap

Surveying the sceneVictoria, not amusedLocal politics

Semper FidelisCentral civic governmentForever Faithful

Be still and listenExeter walls speak storiesBreathe them in, live them

Written by members of the public with Sara-Jane ArburySeptember 2019

Sara-Jane Arbury is a writer, performer and practitioner.She was born in Exeter and now lives in Ledbury, Herefordshire.

A partnership between Exeter City Council, Heritage Open Days,the University of Exeter and their Places Of Poetry initiativewww.placesofpoetry.org.uk

Heritage HaikuThe Exeter Renga