Devon County Hall is a municipal building in Topsham Road,

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, England. The building, which is the headquarters of

Devon County Council Devon County Council is the county council administering the English county of Devon. Based in the city of Exeter, the council covers the non-metropolitan county area of Devon. Members of the council (councillors) are elected every four years to ...

, is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

History

Following the implementation of the Local Government Act 1888, which established county councils in every county, it became necessary to find a meeting place for

. The administration of justice had been conducted from

Rougemont Castle Rougemont Castle, also known as Exeter Castle, is the historic castle of the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It was built into the northern corner of the Roman city walls starting in or shortly after the year 1068, following Exeter's rebellion ...

and county leaders decided that the administration of the county should also be conducted from new offices established within the castle in 1895 and that meetings of the county council should be held in a courtroom there. This arrangement continued until the mid 20th century when county leaders decided that they needed dedicated facilities: a site was selected in the grounds of Bellair House, a mansion rebuilt around 1700 by the merchant John Vowler, and an adjoining early Victorian house, known as Coaver. The foundation stone for the new building was laid on 16 October 1958. It was designed by Donald McMorran in the

neo-classical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing style ...

and was officially opened on 14 July 1964. The design involved a three-storey main frontage facing a large expanse of parkland with Bellair House forming the left hand wing and a new block forming the right hand wing; the central section of the main frontage featured three segmental archways leading to an inner courtyard. Internally, the principal room was the council chamber, which was located on the north east side of the inner courtyard; a substantial clock tower was erected above it. The Victorian house, Coaver, was also converted into the complex, as a social club for council staff. An annexe to the east of the main building, to meet the ever increasing accommodation needs of the county council, was completed in 1984. A sculpture of a female figure by Barbara Pearson entitled "Loving Care" was erected outside Bellair House to commemorate the centenary of Devon County Council in 1988.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

, accompanied by the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

, attended a reception in the building, as part of a tour of the county to celebrate her

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু ...

, on 1 May 2002. Works of art inside the building include watercolour paintings by Hugh Gurney depicting Odam Bridge and the River Mole near Meethe in Devon.

References

{{reflist Grade II* listed buildings in Devon County halls in England Government buildings completed in 1964