The Exchange Public House

The Exchange Public House is a late 1870s public house and shop, situated on the High Street in Crediton, with a rear wing fronting Searle Street. It is constructed of Flemish bond brick with elaborate brick detailing, and has a slate roof with stacks featuring corbelled shafts and brick banding. The building is an example of provincial eclectic style.

The main block is rectangular, featuring a corner entrance to the bar and a cartway onto the High Street. A rear wing extends to Searle Street, incorporating a separate entrance. The main block is three stories high, while the rear wing is two stories. The corner has a canted bay with a hipped roof, and there are three bays facing the High Street. The Searle Street elevation has two bays to the rear wing and a further three bays. Elaborate moulded brick corbels are located under the eaves, and a frieze of serrated moulded brickwork runs below. Moulded brick strings are present at first and second floor levels, topped by a dentil frieze.

The corner bay’s doorway has triple-chamfered brick jambs, and the outer door sits within a narrow, square-headed doorway with a plain fanlight. Round-headed, 2-pane sash windows are found in square embrasures to each return bay. The first floor window in the canted corner bay has a brick architrave and a nowy-headed arch, while the second floor window features brick pilasters and a keystone. The High Street elevation incorporates a 20th-century shop front with plate glass, though original brackets and a cornice remain. An original roll-down shop blind and its fittings may be present. The centre bay above the cartway is recessed. First floor canted bay windows, with dentil friezes and cornices, feature 4-pane sashes. A matching V-plan bay window is in the centre. The second floor has three 4-pane sashes; the outer two have basket arches with keyblocks, while the central window has similar brick pilasters and triple-chamfered jambs. The Searle Street elevation is similarly styled, with a more regular appearance, including six ground floor 4-pane sashes with basket arches and keystones above, as well as a doorway in the first bay from the left. Five first-floor canted bays mirror those on the front, with four of the left-hand bays being technically oriels, set on pairs of deep, shaped brackets. The elevation has five first-floor 4-pane sashes.

The ground floor of the public house was gutted in 1989. Prior to this, the pub was named The Oatsheaf. The building is considered a good example of energetic provincial pub architecture of the late 19th century and is included for group value.