Uplands, Grendon Road, Heavitree, Exeter

In 1838 Sir George Gilbert Scott and Moffatt became involved in a scheme for a large-scale housing development on the east side of the city. The trustees of the Magdalene Charity advertised for plans to develop the land that they owned, and Scott and Moffatt's, or more probably Moffatt's, scheme was accepted. It was not until 1841 that one of the plots was leased to an Exeter builder, John Mason, but problems arose and Mason was only able to complete one pair of houses in 1844 in a modified version of the partner's design. They still exist in Grendon Road, Heavitree, and although they have the typical stuccoed facades with recessed panels and low-pitched slate roofs of the period and there is even a recessed Ionic porch, they are most unusual in their composition with low towers of different heights and entrances on different fronts.

Pevsner, N., and Cherry, B.,Devon, Buildings of England (Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1989), p. 431.Falla, T. J., ‘Sir Gilbert Scott in Exeter’ in Devon and Cornish Notes and Queries (1983), p. 125.