The recorder of Exeter was a recorder, a form of senior judicial officer, usually an experienced barrister, within the jurisdiction of the City of Exeter in Devon.
The position of recorder of any borough or city carried a great deal of prestige and power of patronage.
The recorder was often entrusted by the mayor and corporation to nominate its members of parliament, as was the case with Sir Hugh I Pollard (fl.
[1] In the 19th century a recorder was the sole judge who presided at a Quarter Sessions of a Borough, a "Court of Record", and was a barrister of at least five years' standing.
He fixed the dates of the Quarter Sessions at his own discretion "as long as he holds it once every quarter of a year", or more often if he deemed fit.