On the highest ground of the park is the Belvidere, erected in 1773, a triangular tower with a small hexagonal turret at each corner. It is 60 feet high, and from the summit the view comprises the city of Exeter, the broad estuary of the Exe, the village of Lympstone, and the little town of Topsham, where the spars of the ships appear to mingle with the trees on the river's banks. Looking inland we may see the well-wooded country stretching away in a succession of hills and combes, until the view is bounded by the stone-capped heights of Dartmoor in the far distance. The parish of Woodbury, on the east bank of the river, contains several small villages and a large stretch of common. Woodbury Castle is a well-known earthwork on the top of a high hill; it is probably prehistoric in origin, although afterwards occupied by the Romans. The church of St. Swithin at Woodbury has a chancel in the Decorated and a tower in the Perpendicular styles. The beautiful screen has been modernized and consequently spoiled, but some good monuments may still be seen. Nutwell Court, overlooking the estuary, is a modern mansion on the site of a castle which had been converted into a dwelling house so early as the reign of Edward IV. It is now the home of the Drakes, of the same family as the famous sailor of Elizabethan days. Among the relics preserved here are the cups given to Sir Francis Drake by Queen Elizabeth on his return from the memorable voyage round the world in the _Pelican_. Here also is a portrait of Sir Francis by Zucchero. Exmouth, although a modern watering-place, has a few points of interest, being one of the oldest seaside resorts on the south-west coast. In the time of King John it was an important port, and it supplied ten ships and one hundred and ninety-three seamen for Edward III's expedition to Calais. The principal part of the present town is very modern, but it is very pleasantly situated. The greater part of the town is included in the parish of Littleham, whose church, dedicated to St. Margaret and St. Andrew, is of Early English and Perpendicular architecture. The Spratshayes aisle was probably built by the Drakes of Spratshayes. The screen, dating from about 1400, has richly undercut cornice bands, the Stafford and Wake knots being freely introduced among the carvings. There are many delightful walks around Exmouth, both along the coast and inland, the view from Beacon Hill being very fine and including a large strip of the eastern and the western coastlines that border the blue waters of the English Channel. PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN _At the Villafield Press, Glasgow, Scotland_ +--------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Transcribers note: | | | |In this plain text E and S with a macron is represented by [=S] [=E]| +--------------------------------------------------------------------+