50°43N 3°31W, pop (2001e) 111 100. County town of Devon, SW England, UK; on the R Exe, 70 km/43 mi NE of Plymouth; founded by the Romans 1st-c AD; stone wall erected in 3rd-c against Saxons and (later) Danes; port status partially restored by the construction of England's first ship canal (1560); W headquarters of Royalist forces during Civil War; university (1955); railway; airfield; agricultural trade, textiles, leather goods, metal products, pharmaceuticals, wood products, tourism; 12th-c cathedral (damaged by bombing in World War 2), 12th-c Guildhall, Customs House (1681); museum (1865); football league team, Exeter City (Grecians).
| City of Exeter | |
|---|---|
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Shown within Devon |
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| Geography | |
| Status: | City |
| Region: | South West England |
| Admin. HQ: | Exeter |
| ONS code: | 18UC |
| Demographics | |
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Population: - Total (2005 est.) - Density |
Ranked 170th 117,600 2,501 / km² |
| Ethnicity: | 97.6% White |
| Politics | |
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Exeter City Council http://www.exeter.gov.uk |
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| Leadership: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Executive: | Labour (council NOC) |
| MP: | Ben Bradshaw |
The city of Exeter is the county town of Devon, in the southwest of England, also known as the Westcountry.
Situation
Until the construction of main road by-passes in the 20th century, Exeter was the lowest bridging point of the River Exe, and therefore developed as an administrative and route centre. From Saxon times until the 19th century, the diocese of Exeter covered the whole of the counties of Devon and Cornwall, and civil administration and services tended to follow the lines of the ecclesiastical. Exeter was also a port: the limit of tides of the River Exe lies below Exeter, and the small town of Topsham on the estuary (nowadays within the city limits) developed as a port for the city, but goods were transported to the city's quays in lighters.
Economy
The city provides strong industries and services to a sizable area. The Met Office, the main weather forecasting organisation for the United Kingdom and one of the most significant in the world, relocated from Bracknell in Berkshire to Exeter in early 2004. It is one of the three largest employers in the area (the others being the University of Exeter and Devon County Council), providing a welcome boost to the local economy.
Exeter City Council are currently bidding for the city to become an Independent Unitary Authority within Devon, muchlike neighbouring Plymouth and Torbay. If successful, a new unitary city council could be up and running in Exeter by April 2009.
On June 26, 2004, Exeter was granted Fairtrade City status.
A NEF survey in 2005 rated Exeter as the worst example of a clone town in the UK, with only a single independent store in the city's High Street, and less diversity (in terms of different categories of shop) than any other town surveyed. However, Exeter has many independent shops off the High St, such as those in Gandy Street, which was reconstructed after bombing in 1942.
History
The Latin name for Exeter, Isca Dumnoniorum ("Isca of the Dumnones"), suggests that the city was originally a Celtic oppidum, or town, on the banks on the River Exe prior to the foundation of the Roman city in about AD 50. Exeter was also the southern starting point for the Fosse Way Roman road.
In 876 Exeter was attacked and captured by the Danes.
In 1067 the city rebelled against William the Conqueror who promptly marched West and laid siege.
Exeter was held against King Stephen by Baldwin de Redvers in 1140 and submitted only after a three month siege when the supplies of fresh water ran out.
In 1537, the city was made a county corporate.
The city's motto, Semper fidelis, is traditionally held to have been suggested by Elizabeth I.
Exeter was at first a Parliamentary town in the English Civil War in the largely Royalist South West, but it was captured by the Royalists on 4 September 1643 and it remained in their control until near the end of the war, being one of the final Royalist cities to fall into Parliamentary hands.
Early in the English industrial revolution, Exeter's industry developed on the basis of locally available agricultural products and, since the city's location on a fast-flowing river gave it ready access to water power, an early industrial site developed on drained marshland to the west of the city, at Exe Island. However when steam power replaced water in the nineteenth century, Exeter was too far from sources of coal (or iron) to develop further.
The first railway to arrive in Exeter was the Bristol and Exeter Railway that opened a station at St Davids, on the western edge, in 1844.
Exeter was bombed by the German Luftwaffe in the Second World War, when a total of 18 raids between 1940 and 1942 flattened much of the city centre.
Large areas of the city were rebuilt in the 1950s, when little attempt was made to preserve Exeter's ancient heritage.
The city centre is currently undergoing another significant change with the redevelopment of the Princesshay shopping centre, due to be completed in 2007, to ensure that Exeter can compete with other regional cities, such as Plymouth and Bristol.
Previously regarded as second only to Bath as an architectural site in southern England, Exeter is now a city with some beautiful buildings rather than a beautiful city. As a result, although there is a significant tourist trade, Exeter is not dominated by tourism.
Politics and administration
Exeter forms a single parliamentary constituency.
Exeter's city council is a district authority, and shares responsibility for local government with the Devon County Council. Norman Shiel (Conservative by political affiliation), a former teacher of Classics at Exeter School.
Notable Buildings
The front of Exeter Cathedral
Ruined gatehouse at Rougemont Castle.
Among the notable buildings in Exeter are:
The cathedral, founded in 1050 when the bishop's seat was moved from the nearby town of Crediton (birthplace of Saint Boniface) because Exeter's Roman walls offered better protection against "pirates", presumably Vikings. A statue of Richard Hooker, the sixteenth century Anglican theologian, who was born in Exeter, has a prominent place in the Cathedral Close.Northernhay Gardens located just outside the castle, is the oldest public open space in the whole of England, being originally laid out in 1612 as a pleasure walk for Exeter residents.
Culture
Literature
The Exeter Book, an original manuscript and one of the most important documents in Anglo-Saxon literature, is kept in the vaults of Exeter Cathedral. The Exeter Book dates back to the 10th century and is one of four manuscripts that between them contain virtually all the surviving poetry in Old English.
The Inquisitio Eliensis, the "Exon Domesday" (so called from the preservation of the volume at Exeter), is a volume of Domesday Book that contains the full details which the original returns supplied.
The Crowner John Mysteries by Bernard Knight are a series of books set in 12th century Exeter.
The Barnfield Theatre, in the city centre, was converted in 1972 from The Barnfield Hall which was built towards the end of the 19th century by Exeter Literary Society. Exeter does not have a resident professional orchestra, but the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra tours to the city regularly. The largest orchestra based in Exeter is the EMG Symphony Orchestra which presents regular concerts at the University of Exeter and in Exeter Cathedral. Children of the Drone is an improvisational music collective, based in Exeter since 2001
Museums and galleries
The city museum is the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Queen Street. Spacex is a long established modern art galleryNewspapers
Express and Echo, daily (current) Eyes on Exeter, monthly magazine going out to homes in Exeter Flying Post, weekly (discontinued 1917, but revived in 1975 as an alternative (polemical) community magazine) The Western Morning News, a Plymouth-printed daily regional paper, is also popularTwin towns
Exeter is twinned with:
| — Rennes in Brittany, France — Bad Homburg in Germany | — Yaroslavl in Russia — Terracina in Italy |
The city also seeks to maintain a relationship with HMS Exeter.
Education
The University of Exeter has two campuses in the city, both notable for their attractive parkland. Exeter is one of the four main sites of the University of Plymouth The Peninsula Medical School, a joint operation of the two universities, has one of its main sites in Exeter St Loye's School of Health Studies, well known for training in occupational therapy has now been incorporated into the University of Plymouth. For about 30 years the city of Exeter operated a maintained school system in which the divisions between phases came at different ages from most of the United Kingdom, with First, Middle and High rather than Infant, Junior and Secondary schools, so that children transferred between schools at age (about) 8 and 12 rather than 7 and 11. Exeter School is the oldest of several private schools in the city. Exeter is home to several substantial language schoolsSports
Exeter's football club, Exeter City F.C., were relegated from the Football League in 2003 after 83 years' membership. Rugby union is popular in the south-west: Exeter's team is the Exeter Chiefs. The University of Exeter has a strong reputation in sport and regularly wins or comes close to winning national trophies in inter-university sports. Exeter Rowing Club enjoys much success both locally and nationally, and has a recorded history stretching back to the early 1800s. Exeter Squash club is one of the most active squash clubs in the region, annually hosting the Exeter Diamonds which is a professional team of world class players. The Great West Run half marathon is run through the streets of Exeter in late April each year Exeter's speedway team, Exeter Falcons, was founded in 1929 and were located at the County Ground until its closure in 2005. The site was where Exeter Falcons legend Australian Jack Geran trained youngsters in the art of the shale sport on a speedway training track at Exeter Racecourse in the late 1970s and early 1980s.Transport
Road
The M5 motorway to Bristol and Birmingham starts at Exeter, and connects at Bristol with the M4 to London.
Going west, the A38 connects Exeter to Plymouth and South Cornwall, whilst the A30 continues to Okehampton and North Cornwall.
Rail
There are two main line railway routes from Exeter to London, the faster Great Western Main Line route via Taunton to London Paddington and the slower West of England Main Line via Salisbury to London Waterloo. Another main line, the Cross-Country Route, links Exeter with Bristol, Birmingham, the Midlands, Northern England, and Scotland. Many trains on all three lines continue westwards from Exeter, variously serving Torbay, Plymouth and Cornwall.
Exeter is served by two main railway stations. Exeter St David's is served by all services, whilst Exeter Central is more convenient for the city centre but served only by local services and the main line route to London Waterloo. There are also six suburban stations, Topsham, St. James Park, Exeter St. Thomas, Polsloe Bridge, Pinhoe and Digby &
Air
Exeter International Airport lies east of the city and the local airline, previously called Jersey European and British European but now known as Flybe, is a significant local employer.
Exeter Canal
In 1200's the Countess of Devon, Isabella de Fortibus, built a weir accross to river to prevent trade in the city (the "Countess Weir" is still there today). In 1290, trade with Exeter's port was restored, only to be blocked by a new weir in 1317, built by the then Earl of Devon, who also built a quay at Topsham. Because of the blockages on the river, boats were forced to unload at Topsham and the Earls were able to exact large tolls to transport goods to Exeter.
In 1563, Exeter traders employed John Trew of Glamorgan to build a canal to bypass the weirs and rejoin the River Exe in the centre of the city where a quay would be built.
There were many notable failures to connect Exeter and the southwest to the national canal and rail networks: The Grand Western Canal linking Exeter to Bristol (1796) was never completed; Exeter Railway link to the canal basin was posponed in 1832 and 1844;
Districts of Exeter
The wards of the city for City Council purposes are listed below. One or two, inevitably, are somewhat artificial creations:
Alphington - includes the Marsh Barton industrial estate Cowick - includes parts of the area known locally as St Thomas Duryard Exwick Heavitree Mincinglake - little used locally as the name of an area Newtown - includes parts of the area known locally as St Sidwells Pennsylvania Pinhoe Polsloe - little used locally as the name of an area Priory - includes parts the areas referred to locally as Wonford and Countess Wear St David's St James St Leonards St Loyes - includes areas referred to locally as Heavitree and Wonford, and most of the Sowton industrial estate St Thomas Topsham Whipton Barton
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