[8] The portico that juts out over the pavement is dated 1594 and its four sturdy granite columns are surmounted by highly decorated corbels of Beer stone.

The upper floor, also in Beer stone, is more restrained with strapwork and 16 smaller paired pillars framing large windows that have both mullions and transoms.

During renovation work it has been noted that the stonework had once been painted in cream with details in red and blue and the pillars gilded.

[6] The arch-braced roof with seven bays is original; its main trusses rest on carved corbels representing grotesque animals.

[2][9] It was in Exeter Guildhall that, in the aftermath of the Monmouth Rebellion, Judge Jeffreys held the Bloody Assizes on 14 September 1685.

Apart from this and the roof, all the internal fittings are Victorian, including the stained glass, the gallery, the furniture and the stone floor (all 1863) and the heavily restored Tudor panelling (1887).

The heraldry was identified in the View of Devonshire by Thomas Westcote (d. circa 1637)[16] and later expanded upon by Colby, Rev.