By N. Jaberi and Ellie Jones, Cathedral Archivist
Soil is that vital mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and small organisms that is so familiar that it’s frequently overlooked. Often treated interchangeably with the terms earth or dirt, soil has been viewed in many ways, from its usefulness as a material for growing crops or constructing buildings to its association with waste and filth. This mix of perspectives and uses is captured neatly in a memorandum written to the Dean and Chapter in the 1820s by a group of 46 local residents to discuss the movement of soil from outside the Cathedral.
The group of “memorialists” were an enthusiastic collection of local inhabitants united by their concern for civic improvement. Works had begun to remove a bank of soil that had built up along the northern wall of the Cathedral as a result of several centuries of burials and the recent demolition of the Treasurer’s House. The memorialists are delighted to see that the soil is finally being removed, remedying “the dampness occasioned to the structure by the mass of earth which has accumulated so high above the level of its floor”. However, they venture to suggest that the works are not going far enough.
At the same time as the Cathedral excavations are in progress, Exeter’s Improvement Commissioners are carrying out building works along the new North Road and need more soil to complete the project. Spotting a potential solution for both problems, the memorialists urge the Chapter to “avail yourselves of the present opportunity of effecting such essential objects” by allowing the Commissioners to use the Cathedral soil to complete their building works by removing it from along the wall themselves. The only cost to the Cathedral would be to repair any damage to the railings and wall that marked the edge of the grounds. The group is keen to stress that this is a one-time-only offer that could solve the damp problem once and for all.
Anticipating that some people might find the use of the soil for construction purposes to be a violation of a holy burial ground, the memorialists assert that the work would be carried out sensitively and that, anyway, no burial had taken place in the immediate area for over 200 years and that no official memorial remains to any earlier burial.
The plans to drop the level of Cathedral Green were carried out in the 1820s. In fact, they may have been a little too successful, as so much soil was removed that, in places, the foundations of the cathedral were exposed and work had to be undertaken to repair the damage.