64 South Street, Exeter EX1 1EE Cathedral quarter
01392 435800 Tue to Fri, 10 to 5 · Sat 10 to 3
SOUTH GATE Gallery · Framing · Exeter Visit the gallery  →
South Street · Exeter · since February 2020

Picture framers and a contemporary gallery, on the cathedral side of the old South Gate.

We are Stephen and Matthew, two brothers at the bench at 64 South Street, in the cluster of independents below the cathedral end of the High Street. Stephen moved his family from West London to Exeter in October 2019, after more than a decade on a single London framing bench. We took the keys here on 10 February 2020, four months before the country closed. The doors reopened that June and the bench has been busy since, with framing for new and repeat customers and a contemporary gallery on the wall behind the counter.

See the framing bench  → Visit us · South Street
Feb 2020Brothers take the keys
4Glass options on the bench
6 × 10Feet, the working envelope
14Devon artists represented
The slate-grey shopfront of South Gate Gallery at 64 South Street in the Exeter cathedral quarter
64 South Street · EX1 1EE Cathedral quarter
Bespoke and conservation framing · on the bench at South Street

Four glass options on the bench. Museum-standard pH-neutral mount-board throughout.

The framing workshop sits on the South Street side of the building, behind the gallery wall. Every commission is built to order on the bench, from a four-tier glass ladder topping out at museum glass that blocks 98 per cent of incoming ultraviolet.

01
Float glass The standard option

The standard clear glass cut on the bench. Right for everyday prints, posters and family pictures that live on a hallway wall away from direct sun.

02
Anti-reflective glass For pieces in a lit room

Cuts the room reflection so the work reads clearly under gallery and domestic lighting. The choice for a piece hung opposite a window or under a downlight.

03
Conservation glass UV filtering

Filters ultraviolet light to slow the fading of pigments, paper and textile dyes. The right call for a watercolour, an antique print, a signed photograph, anything that matters and is going on the wall for a decade or more.

04
Museum glass Blocks 98 per cent of UV

The top of the ladder. Anti-reflective and UV-filtering in one sheet, blocking 98 per cent of incoming ultraviolet. The choice for a piece you want to look the same in fifty years as it does today.

The mount-board, in trade terms.

Conservation and museum-standard mount-board only, cut to size on the bench. pH-neutral tape, acid-free hinging, sealed back. The work sits in a neutral environment, not in contact with the wood pulp and acid in cheaper mount-board. Quietly the most consequential decision on most jobs, and the one most framers do not surface.

MUSEUM CONSERVATION ANTI REFLECT FLOAT MOULDING ANTIQUE GILT MOUNT BOARD pH NEUTRAL THE WORK
Frame corner, cross-section Moulding · mount · four glass options
The London CV at the bench · the unusual brief

Ten-plus years on a West London bench framing the brief most regional framers will never see in a career.

Before the move to Exeter, Stephen spent more than a decade on a single West London framing workshop bench, where the daily diet was the unusual job. Ceramic poppies from the Tower of London, silk Hermes scarves laid as fabric, Premier League team shirts box-framed without piercing the cloth, entomological insect collections with precision pinning and conservation hinging, and pieces up to six feet by ten on the same bench. The bench at 64 South Street is set up to handle the same range.

  • Tower of London Poppies Ceramic poppy, hand-stitched mount, deep box frame
  • Hermes Scarves Silk laid as fabric on archival mount, never pressed flat
  • Premier League Team Shirts Box framed without piercing the cloth, conservation backing
  • Insect Collections Precision pinning, fine mount cutting, conservation hinging
  • Up to six feet by ten A working envelope that needs the glass-cutting bench and clamps a hobbyist framer does not own
6 × 10

Feet · the working envelope

A six-by-ten envelope needs a glass-cutting bench and the clamps a hobbyist framer does not own. The same workshop handles the smallest intricate work at the opposite end of the same skill stack, including the precision pinning and fine-mount cutting an insect-collection frame asks for.

The picture-framing workshop bench at 64 South Street, with mouldings stacked against the wall
The bench at 64 South Street · Stephen at the workshop
The two of us · October 2019 · February 2020 · today

Two brothers, two trades, one bench.

Stephen brings the framing CV. Matthew brings the operations CV. Stephen moved his wife and two children from West London to Exeter in October 2019, after more than a decade on a single West London framing bench. Matthew, already settled in Exeter with his own wife and two children, brings fifteen years of construction operations behind a counter. We took the keys to South Gate Gallery together on 10 February 2020, four months before a national lockdown. We reopened on 16 June, and the bench has been busy with new and repeat customers since.

Stephen at the framing workshop at 64 South Street, Exeter

Stephen

At the bench

A BA in arts and crafts, then ten-plus years on a single West London framing workshop bench, where the daily diet was the unusual brief. Framed Tower of London Poppies, Hermes Scarves, Premier League Team Shirts, entomological Insect Collections, and pieces up to six feet by ten. Relocated to Exeter with his wife and two children in October 2019, to be closer to the sea and the open air.

Matthew at South Gate Gallery, 64 South Street, Exeter

Matthew

Operations and the counter

Fifteen years in construction operations behind him. Eight years as a roof-truss designer, then seven as site operations manager in a busy manufacturing branch, running people, stock and transport. Settled in Exeter with his own wife and two children for many years. Runs the operations side of the gallery and built the website and the social channels from scratch during the spring 2020 closure.

Oct 2019

Stephen relocates to Exeter

Stephen moves with his wife and two children from West London to Exeter, after more than a decade on a single West London framing workshop bench, to be closer to the sea and the open air.

Feb 2020

The brothers take the keys

On 10 February 2020 the brothers acquire South Gate Gallery from the previous owners. Four months before a national lockdown closes the doors.

Lockdown

The workshop is reorganised

During the spring 2020 closure Stephen reorganises the framing workshops to better suit the work the bench was set up for, and Matthew builds the new website and the social channels from scratch.

Jun 2020

The gallery reopens

South Gate Gallery reopens on 16 June 2020. The framing bench has been busy with new and repeat customers since.

Today

In the cathedral quarter

Six years on the South Street bench. A working framing workshop on site, with a contemporary gallery at the front, in the cluster of independent shops below the Exeter Cathedral end of the High Street.

Visit us · South Street, the cathedral quarter

64 South Street, Exeter EX1 1EE.

64 South Street
Exeter
EX1 1EE

South Street runs south from the cathedral end of the High Street toward the lost medieval South Gate of the Exeter city wall, demolished in 1819. We are in the cluster of independent shops below the cathedral, a few minutes on foot from the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and the Cathedral Green. Park on the surrounding residential streets or in the John Lewis car park, a short walk back into the city. The kettle is on at the counter.

Mon Closed
Tue 10:00 to 17:00
Wed 10:00 to 17:00
Thu 10:00 to 17:00
Fri 10:00 to 17:00
Sat 10:00 to 15:00 Short Saturday
Sun Closed
64 South Street, Exeter EX1 1EE. In the cluster of independents below the cathedral end of the High Street. Open in Google Maps ↗
FAQ · from the counter

Five questions we hear at the counter most weeks.

Will you frame my sports shirt, scarf, medal, memorabilia, or is the bench only for flat artwork?

Yes to all of it. Stephen spent more than a decade on a West London bench whose daily work was the unusual brief: Tower of London Poppies, Hermes Scarves, Premier League Team Shirts, entomological Insect Collections, and pieces up to six feet by ten. The South Street bench is set up for the same range of work. Bring the piece in to 64 South Street Tuesday to Friday between 10 and 5, or Saturday morning between 10 and 3, and Stephen or Matthew will talk through frame, mount and glass options against the piece itself.

What glass should I choose, and is the expensive option actually worth it?

There are four options on the bench. Float glass is the standard clear, right for an everyday print in a hallway. Anti-reflective glass cuts the room reflection for a piece hung under lighting or opposite a window. Conservation glass filters ultraviolet light to slow the fading of pigments, paper and textile dyes, the choice for a watercolour or a signed photograph. Museum glass is the top of the ladder, anti-reflective and UV-filtering in one sheet, blocking 98 per cent of incoming ultraviolet, the right call for a piece you want to look the same in fifty years. We talk through the four against the piece you bring in, so you pay for the protection it needs and not the protection it does not.

How long does a frame take from drop-off to collection?

Most bespoke commissions are ready inside two to three weeks. A simple re-mount or a re-glaze is often faster. A complex box frame for a textile or a memorabilia piece, or a custom mount-cut for a multi-aperture display, can take three to four. We give a date at the counter when you drop the piece in, and we phone when the work is on the bench in case there is a glass or mount-board decision worth talking through. There is no deadline rush charge.

Do you come out and hang the framed work in the house once it is ready?

Yes. We offer a home picture-hanging service: Stephen or Matthew come to the house with the tools and the hardware and hang the work for you, with practical advice on the right wall position, the right hardware for the wall behind it, and how to balance a salon-hang on a long wall if you have more than one piece. The service is for customers inside a sensible drive of Exeter. Ask at the counter when you collect, or phone the gallery on 01392 435800.

Is this an art gallery I can walk into without being a serious collector, or is it more for buyers?

Walk in. We are a working framing workshop on the South Street side of the building with the contemporary gallery at the front, and the wall stock includes original work, limited editions, and open-edition prints across a wide price range. The gallery represents fourteen named Devon artists in painting, drawing and printmaking, with new work added through the year. There is no appointment to make, no buyer’s register, no pressure. Tuesday to Friday between 10 and 5, Saturday between 10 and 3. The kettle is on at the counter.