Press release: Ten years after the fire, the Royal Clarence is rising again

Exeter, 27 October 2026. Wednesday 28 October marks ten years since fire destroyed the Royal Clarence on Cathedral Yard. On the eve of the anniversary, NooKo, the Exeter developer restoring the Grade II listed building, has set out how far the rebuild has come and what the city will see next.

Where the rebuild stands

NooKo took on the Royal Clarence in April 2025. Preparatory work to make the site safe began in January 2026, and with the final planning approvals granted in October 2026 the rebuild is now fully under way.

The restoration will create 25 apartments above new commercial space on the ground floor, with completion planned for the end of 2027.

2026 has been the year the Clarence started to rise again. In June the first new floor was poured, the first concrete to go into the building since the fire. In September a tower crane arrived on Cathedral Yard, ready for the new structure to go up behind the old walls. This week the site hoardings went up around the building, telling the story of the Clarence and the restoration to everyone who passes.

Keeping the face Exeter knows

The whole front of the building is being kept. The top section that had to come down after the fire will be rebuilt, and the coat of arms that sat above it will be recreated by Rod Hare from the surviving pieces of the original mould. The Royal Clarence name will be painted back across the front, exactly as it was.

Inside, a new staircase and light well will wrap around timbers still marked by the fire. NooKo decided early on not to hide what happened to the building.

Max Sayers, managing director of NooKo, said: “The fire was a hard day for Exeter and we are conscious of that this week. Almost everyone in the city has a memory of the Clarence. Our job is to give the building back, looking the way people remember it from the Green, and ten years on we can finally show that it is happening. The planning is in place, the new floors are going in and the crane is working behind the old walls.”

Marking the day

On Wednesday 28 October, ten years to the day, historian Dr Todd Gray and Max Sayers will talk about the fire and the rebuild at The Mint Methodist Church Centre, Fore Street, from 2pm to 4pm. Tickets are £7 including booking fee from Exeter Corn Exchange.

People who would like to follow the restoration can register their interest at theroyalclarence.com.

Ends

Notes to editors

• The Royal Clarence stood on Cathedral Green from 1769 and is often described as the first building in England to call itself a hotel. In the early hours of 28 October 2016 fire spread from a neighbouring building on Cathedral Yard into the Royal Clarence. It was the largest fire Exeter had seen since the Second World War and crews were on the scene for more than a week.
• NooKo is an Exeter property developer. Its recent projects include the restoration of Paternoster House in the city centre.
• The Royal Clarence restoration: 25 apartments above ground floor commercial space, Grade II listed, full planning approval October 2026, completion planned for the end of 2027. Architects Kirkham Board Associates. Structural engineers Expedite. Interiors by Penrose Tilbury.
• Max Sayers will be on site at the Royal Clarence from 7am on Wednesday 28 October for interviews. Rod Hare, who is recreating the coat of arms, and Dr Todd Gray will join him from 9:30am.
• Photographs of the fire (courtesy of Todd Gray) and of the site in 2026 (NooKo) are available for editorial use from the contact below.
• Talk: Dr Todd Gray and Max Sayers, The Royal Clarence site 2016 to 2026, Wednesday 28 October, 2pm to 4pm, The Mint Methodist Church Centre, Fore Street, Exeter. Tickets £7 including booking fee from Exeter Corn Exchange, exetercornexchange.co.uk.

Media contact: Simon Hoe, NooKo, 07375 915374, simon@nooko.co.uk

Photos: NooKo.