The oldest building in Exeter has secured a £163,000 grant from the city council to pay for urgent roof repairs after water leaked through, damaging ‘important’ Tudor wall paintings.
Exeter Historic Buildings Trust (EHBT), who leases the building from the city for an annual fee of one loaf of bread, welcomed the recent backing but warned the roof will need to be replaced completely within ten years.
The charity said St Nicholas – or St Nix as it is known – is run entirely by volunteers and relies on raising funds from events, private hires and donations to cover the day-to-day running of the property, but it cannot afford the ancient building’s conservation costs.
St Nicholas Priory was built in 1087 on the orders of King William. One wing was bought by the Catholic Diocese of Plymouth in the 18th century and the other was rescued in 1913 by Exeter City Council
St Nicholas Priory’s Diocese-owned north wing was leased to Exeter Historic Buildings Trust in 1996. The west wing was restored by the city council, and run as part of the museum until cost cuts forced it to close in 2012. EHBT took over the lease as part of a community asset transfer in 2018, for the ‘symbolic rent’ of one loaf of bread a year.
The roof dates back to 1456, and had a complete tile replacement when the city council restored the building more than a century ago between 1913 and 1916.
Leaks in the roof began in 2022. Water coming in through the chimney stack area damaged Tudor wall paintings.
In 2025 Historic England gave a £12,000 grant to pay for a roof survey and repair plan. But after its own funding was cut by the government it advised the Exeter Historic Buildings Trust to contact the National Lottery Heritage Fund as an alternative potential source of funding, and offered to continue to help where it could.
Exeter Historic Buildings Trust raised £10,000 and appealed to the city council to help.
Now funding has been found, the trust expects roof repairs can begin in the summer, saying the work ‘should guarantee that a complete replacement will not be needed for at least 10 years’.
Jo Sinclair, EHBT vice-chair, said: “We are really grateful to Exeter City Council, firstly for saving this wonderful building over 100 years ago and again now for giving this money.
“Doing nothing would have endangered St Nix again. Of course, maintaining this Exeter landmark is a never-ending task and although this money will make a substantial difference, we then need to start on the substantive work of preserving the wall paintings and other vital conservation works. Trustees are already working on a plan to raise funds for future works.”
St Nix was a Benedictine priory until 1536 when the east and south wings of the building, and priory church, were demolished and the stone used for Exeter housing. Surviving wings became residences for wealthy Exeter merchants.
Now it is run entirely by volunteers on behalf of the community, relying on raising funds from events, private hires, and donations from visitors. Entry is free on Sunday afternoon and every Monday.
The EHBT vice-chair added: “We are so grateful for the support of our many visitors, people that hire our rooms, and other donors from the local community. We are entirely run by volunteers who cheerfully give up huge amounts of time and effort to keep this important part of Exeter’s heritage alive for everybody to enjoy.”
Exeter City Council agreed the funding in early April. Leader Cllr Phil Bialyk said: “There is nobody else giving us the money. We need to take care of the assets of the city.”
For more information about St Nicholas Priory, how to donate or volunteer, see here.
