I’m going to talk about Exeter because we’ll go there in April with our English teacher and I wanted to make some research about it.

First, let’s locate Exeter :

It is located in the south-west of England and is the capital city of the Devon. London and Exeter are 255 km apart. The city is connected with the English Channel by a little canal. A river, the Exe, crosses the city.

Next, let’s talk about the city in itself :

Regional trade center, Exeter possesses some light industries (paper mill, metallurgy, food industry...).
The most famous monument of Exeter is Saint-Peter Cathedral, built between 1280 and 1369 in an English gothic style called “ornate style”. The cathedral’s library contains many precious manuscripts, like a poetry manuscript from the 10th century. There were 111 078 inhabitants in 2001.

Exeter’s cathedral :

Finally, let’s revise the history of the city :

First, the Romans founded the city in 50 B.C. and called it Isca Dumnoniorum.

Afterwards, it became an important city at the Saxon time and was called Exanceaster, but was, during the Middle Ages, the stake of many conflicts.

Then, the city was taken in 1068 by William the Conqueror who built the Rougemont castle there. During the 15th and the 16th centuries, Exeter was a famous wool trade center.

Later, it was one of the main supports of the Lancaster House during the Wars of the Roses that opposed the Lancaster family (red rose) and the York family (white rose).

Finally, it was a royalist center during the war that opposed Charles Ier and the Parliament.

Unfortunately, Exeter was seriously damaged during the Second World War by the bombings of the German’s aviation. 


Source : "Exeter." Microsoft® Encarta® 2006 [DVD]. Microsoft Corporation, 2005.

Raphaël