Princesshay is a shopping mall

Shopping mall

A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

 in the city of Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

, Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, England. It was built in the early 1950s to replace buildings that had been destroyed in the World War II Baedeker Blitz

Baedeker Blitz

The Baedeker Blitz or Baedeker raids were a series of Vergeltungsangriffe by the German air force on English cities in response to the bombing of the erstwhile Hanseatic League city of Lübeck during the night from 28 to 29 March 1942 during World War II.-Background:Lübeck was bombed on the night...

. From 2005 the precinct and some surrounding buildings were completely demolished and rebuilt as a new shopping centre that opened in September 2007.

History

Princesshay was a 1950s pedestrianised parade of shops, the first pedestrian shopping centre in the country, running from Bedford Street to Eastgate House, roughly parallel with the High Street. It was used synonymously as the name for the entire post-war development on the south side of the High Street between Paris Street and the Cathedral precinct, lying north of Southernhay. In its own right it replaced the pre-war area known as Bedford Circus (which included the Bedford Arcade) that was levelled by the City Council following damage in the Blitz. Before building commenced, a plaque was unveiled at the site on 21 October 1949 by Princess Elizabeth after whom the development was named.

After demolition of this precinct started in 2005, a considerable amount of archaeological work was undertaken owing to its potential interest, being close to the centre of the ancient Roman town of Isca Dumnoniorum

Isca Dumnoniorum

Isca Dumnoniorum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia and the capital of Dumnonia in the sub-Roman period. Today it is known as Exeter, located in the English county of Devon.-Fortress:...

 and being continuously inhabited since that time. Among the finds were over a ton of Roman tile fragments, rare early 15th century pottery and 144 coins, one of which, dated to around 1200, was minted in the city.

The post-war buildings have now been replaced with a modern shopping centre, opened in September 2007. It was the subject of considerable discussion with strong views for and against; inevitable because of its proximity to the Cathedral Close and Southernhay and the design which integrated mixed housing into the Exeter retail zone, and resisted the late twentieth century drive towards bland malls.

Shops

Today, Princesshay has popular high street stores such as New Look, Carphone Warehouse, Topshop/Topman, River Island

River Island

River Island is one of Britain's best known high street fashion brands and can be found in most cities across the UK. The brand also has stores in Singapore, Turkey, Poland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the Middle East.-History:...

 and Zara

Zara (clothing)

Zara is a Spanish clothing and accessories retailer based in Arteixo, Galicia, and founded in 1975 by Amancio Ortega and Rosalía Mera. It is the flagship chain store of the Inditex group; the fashion group also owns brands such as Massimo Dutti, Pull and Bear, Oysho, Uterqüe, Stradivarius and...

. It also has rarer stores such as an Apple Store, Hobbs, Rose Opticians, Oasis

Oasis (disambiguation)

Oasis is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert.Oasis may also refer to:-Music:* Oasis , an English rock band * Oasis * Oasis * Oasis Records, a record label* "Oasis"...

, CULT and a Reiss

Reiss (brand)

Reiss is a UK-based fashion brand owned and run by founder, David Reiss. The brand produces men's and women's clothing. It has 65 stores, located primarily in the UK, but with stores in the USA, Ireland, UAE, China and Malaysia. One store is located in Multrees Walk in Edinburgh, another in Marina...

 Store. It also has a large Debenhams

Debenhams

Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...

 and a Fat Face

Fat Face

Fat Face is a chain of clothing retailers selling its own branded products. The company has over 190 stores in the United Kingdom, with international stores in Singapore, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Ireland, France, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. The chain sells clothes aimed at men, women and...

's flagship store which is spread over 3 floors (Europe's biggest Fat Face store). More recently-opened stores include the Disney Store

Disney Store

Disney Store is an international chain of specialty stores selling only Disney related items, many of them exclusive. Disney Store is a business unit of Disney Consumer Products. James Fielding serves as the President....

, hmv

HMV

His Master's Voice is a trademark in the music business, and for many years was the name of a large record label. The name was coined in 1899 as the title of a painting of the dog Nipper listening to a wind-up gramophone...

, GAME

GAME (retailer)

The Game Group plc is a British video games retail company. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index....

, and Chatham Marine.

Princesshay also has a selection of restaurants and cafes, including Carluccios, Cafe Rouge

Café Rouge

Café Rouge is a French-styled restaurant chain in the UK, offering an all-day serving of main course meals, lighter snacks and salads as well as an extensive wine list. It is part of a bigger restaurant network owned by Tragus Ltd.-History:...

, Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee

Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse company founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Since 1995 it has been a subsidiary of Whitbread, since when the company has grown to over...

, Exshed, Nandos, Segafredo, Strada

Strada

Strada is a chain of Italian restaurants in the UK. It was spawned by Luke Johnson. It has 64 restaurants, mostly in the South of England with a few in the Midlands, North of England and in Wales. It is positioned as upmarket of Pizza Express....

, and Wagamama

Wagamama

Wagamama is a British-headquartered restaurant chain, serving pan-Asian food in the style of a modern Japanese Ramen bar.-History:Created by Alan Yau, who subsequently created the Chinese restaurants Hakkasan and Yauatcha in London, the first Wagamama opened in 1992 off Gower Street in...

.

The financial crisis has affected Princesshay with closures of local stores Stem florist and Parchment. In May 2010 Faith Shoes went into administration closing its store in Princesshay, it has since reopened as Quicksilver.

Attempted bombing

On 22 May 2008, the shopping centre was temporarily evacuated after an explosive was detonated in one of the restaurants injuring only the perpetrator. On 15 October 2008 Nicky Reilly admitted the attempted explosion.

External links

• Princesshay - A Summary of the Redevelopment in Exeter's City Centre. Exeter City Council, April 2008. (pdf file)
• Photo essay of the Princesshay redevelopment