Bedford Circus, Exeter

Princesshay is a shopping precinct in the city of Exeter, Devon, England. It was built in the early 1950s to replace buildings that had been severely damaged in the World War II Baedeker Blitz. From 2005 the precinct and some surrounding buildings were demolished and rebuilt as a new shopping centre that opened in September 2007.

History

The original Princesshay opened in the 1950s, Princesshay was the first pedestrianised shopping street in the country, running from Bedford Street to Eastgate House, roughly parallel with the High Street. The name was also used for the entire post-war development on the south side of the High Street between Paris Street and the Cathedral precinct, lying north of Southernhay. It replaced the pre-war area known as Bedford Circus (which included the Eastgate Arcade) that was levelled by the City Council following damage in the Blitz. Before building commenced, a plaque was unveiled at the site on 21 October 1949 by Princess Elizabeth after whom the development was named.

After demolition of the precinct started in 2005, archaeological work was undertaken owing to its potential interest, being close to the centre of the ancient Roman town of Isca Dumnoniorum and being continuously inhabited since that time. Among the finds were over a ton of Roman tile fragments, rare early 15th century pottery and 144 coins, one of which, dated to around 1200, was minted in the city.

The post-war buildings have been replaced with a modern shopping centre, opened in September 2007. It was the subject of considerable discussion with strong views for and against; inevitable because of its proximity to the Cathedral Close and Southernhay and the design which integrated mixed housing into the Exeter retail zone, and resisted the late twentieth century drive towards bland malls.

Despite criticism, the site was developed by Land Securities in partnership with The Crown Estate into 530,000 sq ft of retail space accommodating over 60 stores. It won the British Council of Shopping Centres "Supreme Gold Award" in 2007, Retail Week's "Shopping location of the year" in 2008, and the International Council of Shopping Centers "Best Medium Sized Shopping Centre in Europe" in 2008.

The shopping centre has a CACI rating of 30 which places it between Covent Garden and Derby in terms of its profitability. In 2011 it had an annual footfall of 9.5 million which attracted a potential spending of over £730 million.

In October 2024, Frasers Group bought the shopping centre.

Shops

Princesshay's largest stores are Next, John Lewis and Fat Face along with other high street stores such as Apple Store, Ted Baker, New Look, River Island, Zara, Tiger, Levi's, Hollister, Superdry, Lush, Build A Bear, Saks Hair and Beauty, Schuh, HMV, AllSaints and Pandora.

Princesshay restaurants and cafes including Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Nandos, Coal bar and grill, Chandos Deli, Wagamama, Coffee 1, Slim Chickens, YO! Sushi and Italian restaurant Luciano‘s.

Princesshay is also home to Exeter's Underground Passages attraction, giving visitors a guided tour of the medieval subterranean passageways that used to transport water under the city centre. Dating back to the 14th century.

Mobile device tracking

Princesshay has been criticised by visitors and consumer groups for its use of digital tracking technologies to provide near real-time location data of mobile phones within the complex. The system was provided by the retail metrics firm Path Intelligence in 2008, and gathers data by intercepting TMSI beacons from mobile phones. By using this aggregate data, the system creates a site plan displaying the location of switched on mobile phones, and their likely users.

Attempted bombing

On 22 May 2008, the shopping centre was temporarily evacuated after a bomb was detonated in one of the restaurants injuring only the perpetrator. On 15 October 2008, Nicky Reilly admitted the attempted explosion.

References

External links

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Photo essay of the Princesshay redevelopment

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Shopping centres in Devon
Buildings and structures in Exeter