Alongside the Cathedral, the Guildhall is a goldmine for the history of Exeter as a building that has lived through countless historic events! The inside of the building has taken many forms; a police station, a prison, an archive, a woollen market hall, a place for civic functions and City Chamber and Council meetings. This image was taken in the early 20th century, whilst the building was being used as a courtroom.
This magic lantern slide (acquired by RAMM in 1977) was taken in by Walker Weaver Baker, a chemist that used his knowledge of chemicals and materials to understand the processing of photographs. His interest within this field was in historic architecture and within his life, he photographed many ancient buildings in and around Exeter. The image is a south facing, interior view from inside the courtroom with the chandelier taking centre stage – made by Thomas Pyke and installed in place in 1789.
Although a largely forgotten artist, many of Baker’s slides now reside in the museum’s collection – ranging from the grand images of the architecture of the Cathedral to a series of more comical ‘Kitten Studies’ which featured a number of cats sat on pedestals. The variety of photography from his slide collection are available to be fully explored here.
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