Exeter Inn

The Exeter Inn is a public house located in Newton Poppleford, dating from the late 17th century. It was extensively modernised in the late 19th century and again in the 20th century. The building is constructed of plastered cob or stone rubble, with stone rubble stacks topped with 19th and 20th-century brick, and features a thatched roof. It has an L-shaped layout, with the main block facing the road to the north. Originally, the front main block consisted of two rooms with a central cross passage leading to the stairs in the rear block, but it has since been converted into one room (the bar). There are end stacks at both ends of the main block.

The rear block, which has a two-room plan, projects at right angles behind the eastern room and includes a disused stack that backs onto the main block, along with an end stack. The building is two storeys high and has a vaguely symmetrical front with two windows, featuring various late 19th and 20th-century windows. On the left, there is a 15-pane (12/3) horned sash window beneath a 16-pane horned sash window with shutters. On the right, there is a 20th-century curving bay window with glazing bars below a three-light casement with glazing bars. The central doorway features a late 19th to early 20th-century studded plank door with a flat hood supported by shaped brackets. The roof is gable-ended.

The interior has mostly been altered due to the 19th and 20th-century modernisations, with little of the original 17th-century work exposed. However, the right end of the main block retains a 17th-century crossbeam with double scroll stops. The fireplace at this end has been rebuilt in the 20th century. Several joists in this area are soffit-chamfered with scroll stops, though it is unclear if they are from the 17th or 20th century. There is no other visible 17th-century carpentry, and the stairs are from the 19th century, with much of the first-floor joinery being contemporary. The roof of the main block is late 17th century, supported by tall, steeply-pitched A-frame trusses with pegged lap-jointed collars.

The Exeter Inn is part of an attractive group with Wisteria Cottage and Forstmill, all of which were once part of a Chantry House founded in 1331.