Exeter, Devon's Roman city

Exeter is the county town of Devon and one of the oldest cities in England, with almost two thousand years of history still visible in its Roman walls, its magnificent Gothic cathedral and a unique network of medieval underground passages. Hit hard by bombing in 1942, it has kept a centre full of history and today is a lively university city, the gateway to two of the most beautiful areas of south-west England: the moors of Dartmoor and the cliffs of the Jurassic Coast. Compact, green and welcoming, Exeter can be seen in a day, but it deserves a base of a few nights to explore the surroundings.

Exeter at a glance

The city has about 130,000 inhabitants and stands on a hill above the River Exe, a few kilometres from its mouth on the English Channel. It is the administrative, commercial and cultural centre of Devon, and home to the University of Exeter, one of the most highly regarded in the country, with a fine hillside campus. Since 2003 it has been the headquarters of the Met Office, Britain's national weather service, and the city is also known for the Exeter Chiefs rugby team, among the best in England in recent years.

The history of Exeter

Around AD 55 the Romans built a legionary fortress here, later turned into the town of Isca Dumnoniorum, the westernmost centre of Roman Britain. The Roman walls, rebuilt in the Middle Ages, still survive along much of their route of more than two kilometres. In 1050 the bishop moved the seat of the diocese here, and in 1068 the city held out for eighteen days against the siege of William the Conqueror, who then had Rougemont Castle built. In the Middle Ages Exeter grew rich on the wool and cloth trade; when the Earls of Devon blocked the river with a weir, the citizens built the Exeter Ship Canal in the 1560s, one of the oldest artificial waterways in England. In May 1942 the German raids of the so-called Baedeker Blitz, which targeted historic cities, destroyed much of the centre, but the cathedral was almost entirely spared.

What to see in Exeter

The cathedral

The Cathedral of St Peter is one of the finest in England. Outside, the two massive Norman towers and the west front, covered by a screen of statues of kings, apostles and prophets, are striking. Inside, the Gothic nave is covered by the longest uninterrupted medieval stone vault in the world, almost a hundred metres long, with ribs that open like palm branches. Also worth seeing are the minstrels' gallery with carved angels playing instruments, the 15th-century astronomical clock, with a hole in the door below said to have let the cathedral cat in to hunt mice, and the carved wooden bishop's throne. The cathedral library holds the Exeter Book, from the 10th century, the largest collection of Old English poetry, recognised by UNESCO. Cathedral Green, surrounded by old houses, is the most pleasant spot in the centre.

The Underground Passages

The Underground Passages are unique in Britain: a network of narrow vaulted tunnels, dug in the 14th century to bring clean spring water into the city without having to dig up the streets for repairs. They are visited with a guide, stooping in places, and a small museum tells the story of the city's water supply.

Museums and the historic centre

The Royal Albert Memorial Museum, in a Victorian building, has rich collections of archaeology, natural history, art and world cultures, and is one of the best regional museums in the country. Of Rougemont Castle the mighty Norman gatehouse survives, and the Rougemont and Northernhay gardens, beside the walls, are the oldest public gardens in England. In the centre there are curiosities such as Parliament Street, one of the narrowest streets in the world, less than a metre wide at one point, and The House That Moved, a Tudor house moved on rails in 1961 to make way for a new road.

The Quayside

The old river port, the Quayside, is a picturesque corner with restored warehouses, craft workshops, cafés and pubs, dominated by the Custom House of 1681, one of the city's first brick buildings. From here you can hire canoes and bikes to follow the canal and the cycle path along the Exe estuary to the village of Topsham, with its pubs and merchants' houses.

Food, events and surroundings

Exeter is the place to enjoy a real Devon cream tea, with scones, clotted cream and jam, as well as local cider and cheeses and fish from the coastal ports. The farmers' market and the independent venues of Fore Street and Gandy Street offer good alternatives. Every year the city hosts music, food and film festivals, and nearby in August the famous Sidmouth Folk Festival takes place. From the city you can easily reach Dartmoor, with its moors and granite tors, the Jurassic Coast, a UNESCO site for its fossil-rich cliffs, which begins at Exmouth, Powderham Castle, the resorts of the English Riviera such as Torquay, home of Agatha Christie, and the lovely harbour town of Dartmouth.

Living in Exeter

Exeter is regarded as a city with an excellent quality of life, safe, green and with a growing economy thanks to the university, the Met Office, healthcare and services. Houses are expensive relative to local wages, but less so than in the big cities of the south-east. Closeness to the sea and the countryside is one of the main attractions for those who move here.

Practical information

• Getting there: Exeter Airport has domestic and European flights; by train you arrive from London Paddington in about two hours, or from London Waterloo on a slower, more scenic route.
• Getting around: the centre is small and walkable; for the coast and Dartmoor there are local trains and buses, but a car gives more freedom.
• When to go: from May to September for the coast and countryside; the cathedral is worth a visit in any season.

See also Plymouth, British cities and UNESCO sites in the UK.

Exeter on the map

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