The idea for an institution combining a library, reading room, county museum and venue for public lectures was conceived by
William Elford Leach, a young
naturalist from
Plymouth. Leach approached the Mayor of Exeter with his proposal in June 1812, and fundraising began shortly after. The Institution's aims were agreed in a meeting on 12 August 1813. Membership required the purchase of a £25 share and an annual subscription of £1, limiting its initial membership to affluent, educated gentlemen. The building in which the Institution is housed at 7, Cathedral Close, was purchased from the Dean and Chapter of Exeter Cathedral and was formerly the Exeter
townhouse of the
Civil War Roundhead General Sir
William Waller (1597–1668) of
Forde, Wolborough, Devon. Following the death of his son, his eventual heiress was his daughter Margaret Waller (d.1694), who married
Sir William Courtenay, 1st Baronet (1628–1702), of
Powderham, Devon, to which family she brought the Waller estates including the Exeter townhouse. Her descendants became
Viscounts Courtenay and
Earls of Devon.
Courtenay overmantel An heraldic overmantel of 1750, survives in a back room of 7 Cathedral Close. The left hand painted panel shows the arms of
William Courtenay, 1st Viscount Courtenay (1711–1762):
Quarterly 1st & 4th: Or, three torteaux (Courtenay);
2 & 3: Or, a lion rampant azure (de Redvers,
Earl of Devon)
impaling Argent, a chevron between three griffins passant sable, the arms of Finch,
Earl of Aylesford, the family of his wife. The
sinister supporter is one of the Finch heraldic griffins, the dexter one is the Courtenay boar. The Courtenay Latin motto is shown underneath:
Ubi lapsus quid feci ("Where did I slip what have I done"). The panel on the right shows the arms of Bishop
Peter Courtenay (1432–1492), Bishop of Exeter and Winchester, of the Powderham family. His arms (Courtenay, with a label of three points azure each point of the label charged with three
plates for
difference) are impaled by the arms of the
See of Winchester, which are very similar to the arms of the
See of Exeter. The whole is circumscribed by the
Garter. The supporters are: dexter, the Courtenay dolphin, sinister, the Courtenay boar. The motto beneath is:
Quod verum tutum ("What is true is safe"). ==Sources==