Exeter Arena, formerly known as the Exhibition Fields, is a outdoor sports complex at

Whipton Barton Whipton Barton was an estate farm to the East of Exeter. The ' Barton' suffix is the traditional Devon wording for the manor house, and indicates a demesne in the feudal system. Whilst the house and farm no longer exist, they have given their name ...

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 ...

History

Early agricultural exhibitions

The land was part of the

farm estate, which was itself a tenant farm of the Poltimore Estate, seat of the Bampfylde family, with the Rewe (spelt Rew in some reports) family being tenants of Whipton Barton for over 300 years. Rewe used the 'exhibition fields' in 1850, as the location for the

Royal Show The Royal Show, also known as the Royal Agricultural Show, was an annual agricultural show/fair held by the Royal Agricultural Society of England every year from 1839 to 2009. The event encompassed all aspects of farming, food and rural life - ...

of the

Royal Agricultural Society of England The Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) promotes the scientific development of English agriculture. It was established in 1838 with the motto "Practice with Science" and received its Royal Charter from Queen Victoria in 1840. RASE is bas ...

, where it was described as having "a deep, red loamy surface soil, with gravelly base". Following a change of tenancy, in the early 1900s, the fields to the North of the Barton continued to be used for agricultural shows (possibly the same fields used for the RASE show in the 1850s). One such show was the

Bath and West Show The Royal Bath and West is an agricultural show for the West of England. Held every year at its permanent show ground near Shepton Mallet, Somerset, it is one of a number of County shows in the United Kingdom and is a four-day show. In 2009 and 2 ...

, which used the exhibition fields in 1909. In 1911, the Daily Mail Circuit of Britain air race had a leg held on Whipton Barton land, using the 'exhibition fields', where competitors came in to land during the 4th Stage from Bristol to Brighton, with special trains bringing spectators from Exeter to

Whipton Bridge Halt railway station Exmouth Junction is the railway junction where the Exmouth branch line diverges from the London Waterloo to Exeter main line in Exeter, Devon, England. It was for many years the location for one of the largest engine sheds in the former Lond ...

as early as 2.30 in the morning.

Sale to Exeter City Council

Shortly after

World War 2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the Alford sold the exhibition fields to

Exeter City Council Exeter City Council is the council and local government of the city of Exeter, Devon. History Proposed unitary authority status The government proposed that the city should become an independent unitary authority within Devon, much like neighb ...

, becoming Whipton playing fields. The peripetetic

returned to exhibition fields in 1954, and the following year in 1955, the land became the permanent home to the previously peripatetic

Devon county show The Devon County Show is an agricultural show held annually from Thursday to Saturday in the third week of May at the Westpoint Arena and Showground in Clyst St Mary near Exeter. It is one of a number of county shows in the United Kingdom. The ...

Redevelopment as Exeter Arena

In 1989, after more than 30 years, the county show moved to its new permanent home at

Westpoint Arena Westpoint Exeter (formerly Westpoint Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena and showground, at Clyst St Mary, near Exeter, England. The capacity of the venue is 7,500 people. It hosts local concerts, fairs and exhibitions. Westpoint is the large ...

Clyst St Mary Clyst St Mary is a small village and civil parish east of Exeter on the main roads to Exmouth and Sidmouth in East Devon. The name comes from the Celtic word clyst meaning 'clear stream'. The village is a major part of the electoral ward of ...

. The council then redeveloped the exhibition fields as Exeter Arena.

Facilities

The arena has a

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

arena, with a 400m eight lane

running track An all-weather running track is a rubberized, artificial running surface for track and field athletics. It provides a consistent surface for competitors to test their athletic ability unencumbered by adverse weather conditions. Historically, v ...

, as well as field event areas marked out. The Rugby Union club Exeter Saracens RFC also have their clubhouse and playing fields at Exhibition Fields.

References

{{Reflist Exeter Sports venues in Devon Athletics (track and field) venues