Exeter
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Exeter is the principal city of south-west England, capital of Devon and one of the most historic cities of Britain. Despite the severe damage it received in May 1942, during a single German bombing raid, the city retains enough of its past to repay exploration.
The present High Street was an ancient ridgeway when the Dumnonii, a Celtic tribe, settled there between the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. The site chosen was a dry plateau above the River Exe at the lowest point at which it could readily be bridged; little else is known of Caer Isc , the Celtic ‘stronghold on the river'. The Romans arrived in AD49 and installed the 2nd Augustan Legion in a walled fortress above the strategic crossing-point of the Exe. Now called Isca Dumnoniorum, this Roman frontier town became the headquarters and communications centre for the south-west, and so it has been ever since. The entire course of the Roman walls can still be traced, the best remains being at Southernhay, Northernhay and Rougemont. The remains of one of the largest Roman bathhouses excavated in Britain were discovered in what is now Cathedral Close. Toward the end of the 4th century most of the Roman garrison had been withdrawn from Britain and Exeter declined, sharing the loss of the stabilising Roman influence with the rest of the country - now the Dark Ages fell upon Britain.
The Saxon invasions of south-east England eventually drew Exeter into the kingdom of Wessex in 680. The Saxon Alfred became king in 871 and defended Exancaster , as Exeter was then called, from marauding Danes on two occasions. In 1050, Edward the Confessor transferred the Bishop's see from the town of Crediton, vulnerable and lacking good defences, to make Exeter a cathedral city. After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William the Conqueror eventually arrived at Exeter and laid siege to the only town in England still holding out, this was the bleak midwinter of 1068. Unknown to William, Bishop Leofric had given sanctuary to a prize refugee, Gytha mother of King Harold. After lengthy negotiations peace with honour was agreed, William marched into Exeter at the head of his troops through the East Gate as Gytha slipped out to safety through the West Gate. One of William's first actions was to build a castle on the highest part of Exeter's walls.
During the Middle Ages Exeter was the westernmost city in England, exerting a civilising influence throughout the south-west of the country. While playing this key West Country role in England's politics, wars and religious upheavals, Exeter remained an industrious city full of corporate pride. As cloth market and mercantile port it enjoyed three rich centuries until the advent of the 17 th century, when industrial competition took much of the trade elsewhere and the city adopted a more genteel disposition.
In the centre of Exeter is the city's oldest crossroads, where the four streets met that ran from the four gates