Exeter

Exeter (Roman Isca Dumnoniorum), city and administrative centre of Devon, south-western England, on the River Exe. Exeter is a transport and commercial centre, linked by canal with the English Channel. It is the base for the county and regional headquarters of many substantial companies and authorities. The city also possesses some light industry, including the manufacture of paper, leather and metal goods, and food products. Remains of the Roman town walls are visible, as are ruins of the 11th-century Rougemont Castle, built by William the Conqueror. Exeter's most notable structure is the cathedral of St Peter, built between 1280 and 1369. It is in Gothic Decorated style, but noted for its unique transeptal towers of Norman design. The cathedral library contains many valuable manuscripts, among which is the 10th-century poetry manuscript known as the Exeter Book. Educational institutions include the University of Exeter (1955).

Before its Roman occupation (about ad 50), the site was a settlement of the Dumnonii, a British tribe. An important Saxon town, it withstood attacks by the Danes in the 9th and 10th centuries but was taken in 1003. Exeter became a bishopric in 1050. William the Conqueror captured the town in 1068. During the 15th and 16th centuries, it was known as a centre of the wool trade, and had powerful trade guilds. Exeter was severely damaged by bombing during World War II. Population 111,078 (2001).