Exeter, Devon Family History Guide

Exeter consists of the following parishes:

Table of Contents

History

The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales 1870

EXETER, a city and a district in Devon, and a diocese in Devon and Cornwall. The city stands on the river Exe, 10 miles above the river’s embouchure; is, by railway, 39½ miles SE of Barnstaple, 52¾ NE by E of Plymouth, 75½ SW of Bristol, 169½ SW of Birmingham, and 194 WSW of London; and has railway communication in five directions, toward Exmouth, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Bristol, and London, with such numerous ramifications, either completed or in progress, as connect it with all parts of the kingdom.

History.—Exeter was a town of the ancient Britons long before the Roman invasion; and it has made a conspicuous figure in every subsequent age. It was called by the Britons Caer-Isc, “the city of the water, ” from its situation on the Exe, anciently Isc, signifying “water;” and Caer-Rydh, “the red city,” from the colour of the soil around it. It was called, by the Romans, Isca et Legio Secunda Augusta, from its having been occupied by the Augustan legion; and Isca Damnonioum, from its having belonged to the British Damnonii, and to distinguish it from Isca, afterwards Usk, in Monmouthshire. It was called, by the Saxons, Exan-Cestre or Exacestre, signifying “the castellated city of the Exe;” and that name passed, in course of time, through the forms of Exceaster, Excester, and Exceter, into the modern form Exeter. It is called, by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Caer-Penhuelgoit, signifying “the prosperous chief city in the wood;” and by the writer of an old, local, legal document, Pennehaltecaire, signifying “the chief town upon the hill.” It likewise bore, for some time, the descriptive name of Monkton, from the existence in it of many monasteries; and was described, by Henry of Huntingdon, as “Excestria clara metallis”- Exeter famous for metals-probably from its vicinity to the Dartmoor mines. It was the chief city of the Damnonii; it must, from the evidence of relics, have been an important station of the Romans; and it has ranked, in later times, as the capital of the south-west of England. Ancient roads went from it to Totnes, Stratton, Molland, and Collumpton; traces of camps are discernible in its vicinity; and many Roman coins, small bronze statues, tesselated pavements, fragments of columns, and other relics, have been found within and near its site.

Exeter was besieged by Vespasian, by Penda of Mercia, and by several other parties in early times. The Danes seized it, spoiled it, and wintered in it in 876; but were driven away by Alfred. The Danes again, in 894, came against it by sea, in nearly. 250 vessels; but were again driven off by Alfred. The Cornish Britons afterwards took it; and Athelstan drove them away, made it a mint town, and either surrounded it with a new wall, or repaired one originally constructed by the Romans. Sweyn of Denmark, in 1003, besieged it, got possession of it by treachery, put its inhabitants to the sword, and destroyed a castle in it, which some writers affirm to have been built by Julius Cæsar. Harold’s mother, Githa, in 1068, roused it to resist the Normans; but William the Conqueror took it after a siege of 18 days; and rebuilt its castle. Stephen, in 1136, captured it from a force placed in it by the partizans of Matilda. Edward I. was in it in 1285 and 1297; Edward, the Black Prince, in 1357 and 1371; Henry VI., in 1451; and Richard III., in 1483. Perkin Warbeck besieged it in 1497; and the western insurgents, in 1549. The Princess Catherine, on her way to be married to Henry VIII., was in it in 1501. The parliamentarians held it at the commencement of the civil war; the royalists, under Prince Maurice and Sir John Berkeley, soon captured and made it their head-quarters for the SW; the queen took up her abode in it at Bedford House, and gave birth there to the Princess Henrietta; the King also, with the Prince of Wales, made it a visit; and the parliamentarians, under Fairfax, in 1646, besieged it, took it, and dismantled its castle. Charles II. was in it in 1670; the Prince of Orange, in 1688; George III., with his queen and three princesses, in 1789; the Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV., in a subsequent year; the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., in 1827; Queen Adelaide, in 1845; Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, in 1856. The Royal Agricultural Society visited it in 1850; the British Association, in 1869; and a festival celebrative of the public peace was held in it in 1856. When Richard III. was here, he expressed admiration of the castle, and, on being told that it was called Rougemont, he mistook the name for Richmond; and hence does Shakespeare make him say,

Richmond ! When last I was at Exeter
The mayor in courtesy showed me the castle,
And called it Rougemont; at which name I started,
Because a bard of Ireland told me once
I should not live long after I saw Richmond.

Among the natives of Exeter have been Iscanus, a Latin poet, who died in 1185; Archbishop Baldwin, who died in 1190; Cardinal Langton, who died in 1228; Bishops Iscanus, Blondy, Bridgeman, and Brownscombe; Sir W. Petre, who was born in 1505; Hooker and Barkham the antiquaries; Richard Hooker the theologian, born in the immediate neighbourhood at Heavitree; Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian library; Lord Chancellor King; Sir William Morice, secretary of state to Charles II.; Cardmaker, the martyr, 1555; Hilliard, the limner of Queen Elizabeth; Acland, Foster, Hakewell, Hallet, Hawker, Manduit, Mudge, Tapper, Trope, and Walker, the theologians; Yalden and Hopkins, the poets; Sir S. Baskerville, the physician; Lock and Jackson, the musicians; Sir Vicary Gibbs, the lawyer; Gandy, the portrait-painter; Merivale, the scholar; D’Urfey, the wit; Eustace Budgell, the friend of Addison; Simon Ockley, the orientalist; G. Walker, the defender of Londonderry; Bryce, the topographer; Maria, Duchess of Orleans; Chief-Baron Peryan; and Johanna Southcote. Exeter gives the title of Marquis and Earl to the family of Cecil.

Site and Structure.—The city occupies the slopes and summit of a flat ridge, rising to the height of about 150 feet from the left bank of the Exe. The ridge ascends gradually on one side, descends abruptly on the other, and is engirt with rich undulating country. The city proper, or the old city, or the part within the circuit of the ancient walls, covers a space of about ½ a mile by 3 furlongs, nearly in the form of a parallelogram; and is intersected, in a cruciform manner, by four principal streets, which meet at right angles near the centre.

High-street and Fore-street traverse it in a line from E to W; and North-street and South-street traverse it in a line from N to S; other streets branch out from these; and extensive suburbs lie all around. St. Sidwell’s prolongs the principal street-line on the E; St. David’s, on the N; Mount Radford, on the S; and Exe Island and the Quarter, on the SW. These suburbs are of various character, and have various expansions; but, on the whole, they include both many old streets, and a number of new fine thoroughfares and squares. The principal streets, in all parts of the city, both old and new, are spacious; and some of the recently erected places are at once airy and elegant; yet many of the streets, especially the older ones, are narrow.

High-street is very cheerful, and contains handsome shops, and many curious old house-fronts. North-street goes down a steep descent, and has, on one side, some remarkable old-houses. Numerous parts, both in the other streets of the old city, and in some streets of the oldest suburbs, show features of antiquity; while most parts, especially the modern streets, and the handsome squares and terraces, present a highly pleasing aspect, and indicate a prosperous and tasteful care for renovation, embellishment, and extension. So large a sum as upwards of £70, 000 was recently expended in drainage, in ventilating-over crowded places, by the removal of houses and the widening of streets, and in other kindred improvements. The city altogether, from the conjoint effects of its site, its structure, and its police arrangements, is one of the cleanest, most orderly, and best regulated in the kingdom; and at the same time, from the purity, mildness, and equability of its climate, is one of the most healthy.

Walks and Environs.—The Northernhay, lying along a high slope on the N of the city, immediately under the castle-wall, is a beautiful promenade and favourite lounge; was, long ago, levelled and planted, at much cost; includes ornate grounds and shaded walks; commands extensive and pleasant views; has, on one spot, two guns captured from the Russians; and is the scene, in summer, of the exhibitions of the Devon and Exeter Botanical and Horticultural Society. The Bury Meadow, in the New North road, is another public walk, with pleasure-ground; and was formed, at the time of the recent street-alterations, by the Improvement Commissioners. The general character of the surrounding scenery is that of a succession of small undulations, increasing in height as they recede from the city, and eventually lost in eminences which bound the horizon, excepting to the SE, where the estuary of the Exe opens to the English channel. The Whitstone hills, rising to the height of 740 feet, are on the N; the Stoke range connects these with the Woodbury hills to the E; Haldon hill, upwards of 800 feet high, is on the SW; and the ridge of Dartmoor, with a mean height of 1,792 feet, extends beyond. Brilliant views of the northern part of the city, and of the country to the N, are obtained from the Northernhay; excellent views on the S side away to distant tracts, are got from Friar’s walk, and from the parade in front of Colleton terrace; and prime views of the city, in its connexion with the surrounding scenery, are had from Exwick hill, the numerous churches and other edifices spreading gradually from the river till they are surmounted by the towers of the venerable cathedral, while the heights of Haldon and the distant eminences, with their bold and swelling outlines, form the background and fill the horizon.

Public Buildings.—The city walls were entire in 1769; but many parts of them have been destroyed. Leland says, “The toune is a good mile and more in compace, and is right strongly waullid and maintained. Ther be diverse fare towers in the toune by twixt the south and west gate. There be four gates in the tonne, by names of est, west, north, and south. The east and the west gates be now the fairest, and of one fascion of building: the south gate has been the strongest.” None of these gates now exist. The Castle was situated at the highest point of the city, on the N; bore the name of Rougemont, either from the red colour of its stones, or from a baron called Rothemond; and has been so nearly demolished that only the gateway, a portion of the walls, with three of the bastions, and a portion of the rampart now remain. The gateway and the best part of the rampart are within the pleasure-grounds of Rougemont Lodge, the residence of R. S. Gard, Esq.; and the old keep is mantled over with ivy, while the rampart is tastefully laid out as a terrace-walk. The Assize-hall and Sessions-house, more generally called the Castle, stands on part of the castle’s site; was erected in 1773, but has undergone several alterations and enlargements; and is a neat stone-fronted edifice, with commodious interior.

The Guildhall was restored in 1864; has a projecting arcaded façade; and is a curious specimen of English and Italian architecture. The Victoria public-hall was built in 1869, and can accommodate 2, 000 persons. The Albert memorial museum was opened in 1868, but not completed till 1869; and wants a central tower, which it was designed to have. Warnford House lunatic asylum for the middle and upper classes was built in 1869, at a cost of £30, 000; and has accommodation for 120 patients. The County prison, opposite Northernhay, was almost entirely rebuilt in 1853 and preceding years, at a cost of about £32, 000; and has capacity for 298 male and 68 female prisoners.

The city prison went into disuse in 1863; and a new one was to be built after a lapse of ten years. The Western market, in Fore-street, was erected in 1835-6; and consists of a central avenue, 71 feet long and 31½ wide, and a market-hall, 157 feet by 91. The Eastern market, in Queen-street, was opened in 1838; shows Doric features; and has a central avenue of granite pilasters. The Post office, at the end of Queen-street, is a neat edifice of 1865. The building previously occupied in part by the post office, but mainly by the bankruptcy court, in Queen-street, is a handsome structure of 1849. The Theatre, near Bedford circus, is a neat edifice of 1821 Marble statues of Sir Thomas Acland and Earl Fortescue, both by E. B. Stephens, were erected, the former in the Northernhay in 1861, the latter in the Castle-yard in 1863. An elegant stone bridge, of three arches, was erected over the Exe, at the western entrance to the city, in 1776-8, at a cost of £20, 000. An iron bridge or viaduct, of six arches, on the line of North-street, was erected by the Improvement Commissioners, at a cost of £3, 500. There are a militia depôt with about 70 residents, and barracks for cavalry and for artillery.

The Cathedral.—A Benedictine monastery was founded, on the site of the cathedral, in 932, by Athelstan. Either that edifice enlarged, or a new edifice to supplant it, was the cathedral at the translation of the see from Crediton to Exeter in 1049; and is thought, by Sir Henry Englefield, to have been not more than 60 feet in length. A new cathedral was built by Bishop Warlewast, in 1112; was pillaged and burnt by Stephen, at his capture of the city; and was restored and enlarged at various times till 1206. Two towers of that structure still stand, and are the towers of the present pile; they are believed to have occupied a different relation to the original pile from what they occupy to the present; and they are of Norman architecture, corresponding to each other in size and form, but dissimilar in details. The present cathedral, with the exception of the towers, part of the Lady chapel, and two of the oratories, was founded by Bishop Quivil in 1288, and was not completed till 1478. It consists of a nave, with aisles, a transept, terminating in the towers, a choir, with aisles, a Lady chapel, ten oratories, and a chapter-house. The nave is 180 feet long, 60 wide, and 68 high; the transept is 140 feet long, 32 wide, and 68 high; the choir is 132 feet long, 54 wide, and 68 high; the Lady chapel is 65 feet long, 35 wide, and 40 high; the chapter-house is 55 feet long, 28 wide, and 50 high; the towers are 28 feet each way, and 145 high; and the entire pile is 387 feet long. The Lady chapel was built, in 1224-44, by Bishop Bruere; and completed, in 1281-91, by Bishop Quivil. The oratories of Gabriel and St. Mary Magdalene were built, in 1257. 80, by Bishop Bromescombe. The first four eastern arches of the choir were completed in 1310, by Bishop Stapleton. The nave was built, in 1293-1307, by Bishop Bytton. The choir was completed, the nave vaulted, and the west front built, in 1327-90, by Bishop Grandison. Additions were made to the west front, the cloisters were built, and the east window of the choir was constructed in 1370 95, by Bishop Brentingham. The chapter-house was built in 1420 58, by Bishop Lacy; and completed, in 1478, by Bishop Booth. The prevailing style is the early decorated; and it is maintained, from the early parts to the latest, with a persistency which has rarely been exemplified in similar structures, and which produces an appearance as if the entire pile had been constructed as a single work and by one designer. “A singular felicity,” remarks Sir H. Englefield, “attended the erection of this cathedral. During the long period of 500 years, no tasteless or vain prelate interfered with the regular and elegant plan of the founder. Though the taste in architecture was continually changing, so scrupulous was the adherence to the original design, that the church seems rather to have been erected at once in its perfect state, than to have slowly grown to its consummate beauty. Even Grandison, who, if we may judge from his screen, had a taste florid in the extreme in architecture, chastised his ideas within the church, and felt the simple grace of Quivil’s design.”

The exterior of the cathedral has a venerable appearance, but loses effect from want of height, and from the unusual position of the towers. The clerestory is supported by very elegant flying buttresses; and the ridge of the roof has a fleur-de-lis ornament, a feature which exists in no other English cathedral. The west front was restored, in 1817, by Kendall; presents an elaborate screen, covered with canopied imagery work; and has a great window, 32 feet by 27, of nine lights. The interior, from the uniform style of the architecture, the fresh appearance of the stone, the numerousness of the oratories and screens, and the splendid stone vaulting of nave and choir, is highly effective. The nave has clustered piers, with shafts of Purbeck marble; the triforium consists of arcades of four trifoliated arches in each bay, with a gallery of open stonework; and the organ-screen, separating the nave from the choir, has three arches, is mostly as old as the time of Edward III., but includes panelled additions of 1819. The choir was about to be restored in 1869, at an estimated cost of more than £12, 000. The stalls are of good design; three sedilia have rich open-work canopies; and the bishop’s throne is of black oak, tastefully carved, and forming a light pyramid 52 feet high. The organ was built by Loosemore in 166 4, at a cost of £2, 000; rebuilt by H. Lincoln, in 1819; and improved by Byfield and Gray. A curious astronomical clock, of the time of Edward III., based on the ancient ideas of astronomy, is in the north transept. A great bell, weighing 12, 500 lbs., or 2, 500 more than “Tom of Lincoln,” is in the north tower; and a peal of eleven bells, the tenor weighing 7, 552 lbs., is in the south tower. The chapter-house stands on the south side of the south tower; is partly early English, partly perpendicular; has an oblong form, with richly panelled and pointed roof; and contains a library of about 8,000 volumes. The cloisters were destroyed by the Puritans. The Episcopal palace stands adjacent on the south; and is not a building of any note; but has an early English chapel.

Many persons are commemorated in the cathedral by effigies, tombs, or other monuments. The chief are Bishop Bronscombe, screen and canopy, of the 15th century; Bishop Stafford, screen, altar-tomb, and canopied effigies; Bishop Wolton, altar-tomb; Bishop Chichester, Purbeck slab; Sir Arthur Chichester, effigies; Bishop Marshall, Purbeck tomb with imagery; William Park-house, a cadaver; Judge Doddridge, effigies; Sir Peter Carew, effigies; H. de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, effigies: Sir Peter Courtenay, a brass; Hugh Courtenay, Earl of Devon, effigies; Bishop Stapleton, canopied effigies; Bishop Carey, in parliamentary robes; Bishop Cotton, effigies with canonical cap; Bishop Grandison, chantry; Bishop Bartholomew, effigies; Bishop Simon de Apulia, Purbeck effigies; Bishop Quivil, floriated cross; Bishop Oldham, effigies; Sir John Speke, effigies; Sir Richard Stapleton, effigies; Bishop Leofric, canopy of the time of Henry V., with imagery; Sir J. Gilbert, effigies; J. Northcote, marble-statue by Chantrey; General Simcoe, marble statue by Flaxman; officers and soldiers who died in the Indian service, a slab-monument about 20 feet long and 5 feet high by Marochetti; and officers and soldiers who fell at Lucknow and Cawnpore, a wall monument by Richardson.

Churches.—The places of worship within the municipal borough, in 1851, according to the Census of that year, were 25 of the Church of England, with 10, 840 sittings; 2 of Independents, with 1, 072 s.; 3 of Baptists, with 1, 030 s.; 1 of Quakers, with 700 s.; 1 of Unitarians, with 800 s.; 2 of Wesleyan Methodists, with 1, 380 s.; 1 of Wesleyan Reformers, with 345 s.; 1 of Bible Christians, with 800 s.; 1 of Brethren, with 200 s.; 1 of an isolated congregation, with 1, 000 s.; 1 of Roman Catholics, with 200 s.; and 1 of Jews, with 90 s. But some other places of worship, situated beyond the municipal limits and within the parliamentary ones, also group with the city.

Allhallows-Goldsmith church stands in Goldsmith-street; is an ancient edifice of nave and chancel; was closed for upwards of a century; and, after undergoing thorough repair, was re-opened in 1822. All hallows-on-the-Walls stands in the Old Bartholomew cemetery; was built in 1845, after designs by Hayward; is in the later English style; consists of nave and chancel, with lofty tower and S porch; and has an E window, of four lights, with stained-glass representation of the four evangelists. St. Edmund’s church stands in Edmund-street; was rebuilt and enlarged in 1835; and consists of nave, aisles, and sanctuary, with western tower. St. John’s church stands in Fore-street; is very ancient; and had a bow, with sanctuary above, till 1863. St. George’s church stood in South-street, and was demolished in the course of the recent city improvements. St. Kerrian’s church stands in North-street; is ancient and dilapidated; and has long ceased to be used. St. Petrock’s church stands in High-street; is ancient; consists of nave, chancel, and two S aisles, with western octagonal tower; and contains a handsome reredos and a very ancient font, both recently restored. St. Lawrence church also stands in High-street; was restored in 1847; consists of nave and chancel; and has a carved oak screen, and an altar-piece of 1846 by Bacon. St. Martin’s church stands in the Cathedral-yard; is partly of the 11th century and partly later English; consists of nave and chancel; and has a superb marble monument to Philip Hooper, Esq. St. Pancras’ church stands in Pancras-street; was long closed, but afterwards restored; and was re-opened in 1830. St. Mary-Arches church stands in a street of its own name; takes that name from its Norman piers; is said to be the oldest church in the city; consists of nave and aisles, with small tower; has undergone many alterations; and contains several very ancient monuments. St. Mary-Major church stands in the Cathedral-yard; was partly Norman, partly early English; and was rebuilt in 1868, on an enlarged scale, in the first pointed style, a cost of £6, 000. St. Mary Magdalene’s church, in Rack-street, is subordinate to this, and was erected in 1861. St. Mary-Steps church stands in West-street; figures in 1291 as well endowed; consists of nave, S aisle, and sanctuary, with western tower; contains a fine Anglo-Norman font; and has, on its tower, a curious clock, said to have been erected in honour of Henry VIII., and having three figures supposed to represent the king and two of his attendants. These figures are popularly called Matthew the Miller and his two sons, from a tradition that a miller in the neighbourhood passed and repassed daily with a regularity which resembled clockwork; and a local rhyme respecting them says, –

Adam and Eve would never believe
That Matthew the Miller was dead;
But every hour in Westgate tower
Matthew the Miller nods his head.

St. Olave’s church stands in Fore-street; is very ancient; consists of nave, sanctuary, N aisle, and transept, with small south-eastern tower; was given by William the Conqueror to Battle abbey, and used by the French refugees after the battle of Nantes; ceased, for some time, to be occupied; and was repaired, enlarged, and re-opened in 1815. St. Paul’s church stands in Paul-street; was built at the latter end of the 17th century; consists of nave and sanctuary, with small tower; and contains a black marble font, and a few elaborate monuments. St. Stephen’s church stands in High-street; is small and ancient; consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with western tower; has windows of later English; and anciently had a crypt. Holy Trinity church stands in South-street; was rebuilt in 1820; consists of nave, aisles, and small chancel; and contains about 1,000 sittings. St. David’s church stands on St. David’s hill; was rebuilt in 1541; consists of nave, aisles, and chancel; and has a decorated font. St. Sidwell’s church stands in Sidwell-street; is the finest, architecturally, of all the city churches; comprises ancient pillars with figures of St. Sidwella and angels, but was chiefly rebuilt in 1812-13; consists of nave, chancel, and aisles, with western tower and spire, -the tower improved and the spire added in 1823; and contains a handsome reredos, a richly carved pulpit, and an octagonal font. St. Leonard’s church stands at Mount Radford; is plain and modern: and consists of nave and aisles, with small bell turret. St. Thomas the Apostle’s church stands in Cowick-street, in the suburb beyond the Exe; is a handsome edifice, with elaborate workmanship; consists of nave, chancel, aisles, and transept, with western pinnacled tower; has an E window, of five lights, in the decorated English style; and contains a fine stone monument, by Bacon, to Mrs. Medley, the wife of the vicar of St. Thomas, who became Bishop of Fredericton. Bedford chapel stands in Bedford Circus precinct; is a neat brick edifice of 1832, with Tuscan portico; and consists of nave, aisles, and sanctuary. St. James’ church stands in St. James’-road; is a spacions but plain edifice of 1836; and consists of nave, chancel, and aisles. St. Michael and All Angels’ church was built in 1868, at a cost of £20, 000; and is in the first printed style, with tower and spire 233 feet high.

The Wesleyan chapel, formerly Known as the Free church, in Southernhay, is in the Roman style, and consists of nave, aisles, and small chancel, with bell-turret. The Independent chapel, in Castle-street, was built in 1797, and afterwards enlarged. The Baptist chapel, in South-street, was built in 1823, and is in the Roman style. The Wesleyan chapel, in Mint-lane, was built in 1812, and afterwards enlarged; and has a fine organ. The Wesleyan chapel, in St. Sidwell-street, was built in 1834. The United Free Methodist chapel, in Musgrave-alley, belonged formerly to the Wesleyans, is very old, and has a massive Norman entrance. The Roman Catholic church, in the Mint, was founded in 1790, and enlarged in 1856; and is a cruciform edifice, in the Norman style. The Jews’ synagogue, in Mary-Arches-street, was rebuilt in 1835; is lighted by an octagonal dome; and has an ark resting on Doric columns, and containing a very ancient manuscript of the Pentateuch. The chapel attached to Wynard’s hospital, in Magdalen-street, dates from 1436; was recently restored by its patron, Mark Kennaway, Esq.; and has a beautiful specimen of Tudor work, of the time of Henry. VI., in the doorway which divides the nave and chancel. The chapel attached to St. Anne’s alms-houses, in St. Sidwell-street, is a small later English structure. An Independent chapel was built, burnt, and refounded in 1869.

“The city of Exeter,” say the editors of the old “Magna Britannia, ” published in 1738, “abounded with religions houses, before the dissolution, and other lesser suppressions. Within the circuit of the cathedral were three; one for the monks, supposed to be founded by King Ethelred; another for nuns, which is now called the Kalendarhay; and a third for the monks of St. Benedict, founded by King Athelstan, and is that part of the cathedral that is now called Our lady’s chapel. Within the east gate stood the priory of St. John for regular canons, built, as is said, by Gilbert and Robert Long, brothers; St. James’ abbey, replenished by Dominicans; and St. Nicholas, a monastery of black canons of St. Benedict, founded by William the Conqueror. The abbot of Battle built a priory here, which he dedicated to St. Nicholas, and made it a cell to his abbey; and without the south gate was a priory of grey friars, Franciscans; so that it is no wonder that this city bore the name of Monkton, when so many monasteries were in it.” The crypt of St. Nicholas’ priory, a massive Norman structure, is now used as a kitchen.

Parishes and Livings.—The parishes in the municipal borough, with their respective pop. in 1861, are All-hallows-Goldsmith, 371; All-hallows-on-the-Walls, 1, 002; Holy Trinity, 3, 841; St. David, 4, 486; St. Edmund, 1, 525; St. George-the-Martyr, 596; St. John, 653; St. Kerrian, 479; St. Lawrence, 561; St. Martin, 207; St. Mary-Arches, 652; St. Mary-Major, 3, 409; St. Mary-Steps, 1, 422; St. Olave, 945; St. Pancras, 345; St. Paul, 1, 308; St. Petrock, 220; St. Sidwell, 10, 478; St. Stephen, 407. Other places in the municipal borough are Bedford Circus precinct, 145; Brandninch precinct, 91; and Cathedral-close, 595. And a parish, and parts of parishes beyond the municipal limits, but within the parliamentary ones, are St. Leonard, 1, 576; part of Heavitree, 2, 757; part of Thomas-the-Apostle, 3, 570; part of Topsham, 98; and part of Alphington, 10.-The livings within the city, or designating from it, are Allhallows-Goldsmith, All hallows-on-the-Walls, Holy Trinity, St. David, St. Edmund, St. John-with-St. George, St. Kerrian-with-St. Petrock, St. Lawrence, St. Martin, St. Mary-Arches, St. Mary-Major, St. Mary-Steps, St. Olave, St. Pancras, St. Paul, St. Sidwell, St. Stephen, St. Leonard, St. Thomas-the-Apostle, St. James, and Bedford chapel. All, except three, are rectories, and St. David and St. Thomas-the-Apostle are vicarages, and Bedford chapel is a p. curacy, in the diocese of Exeter. Value of Allhallows-Goldsmith, £80; of Allhallows-on-the-Walls, £100; of Holy-Trinity, £111; of St. David, £174; of St. Edmund, £187; of St. John-with-St. George, £212; of St. Kerrian-with-St. Petrock, £138; of St. Lawrence, £135; of St. Martin, £77; of St. Mary-Arches, £162; of St. Mary-Major, £191; of St. Mary-Steps, £179; of St. Olave, £81; of St. Pancras, £60; of St. Paul, £135; of St. Sidwell, £300; of St. Stephen, £54; of St. Leonard, £260; of St. Thomas, £237; of St. James and Bedford chapel, not reported. Patron of St. Lawrence and St. Olave, the Lord Chancellor; of St. Stephen and St. Mary-Arches, the Bishop; of St. Edmund, Mrs. E. M. Alleyne; of St. Mary-Steps, Mrs. Strother; of St. Leonard, Samuel Wills, Esq.; of St. Thomas, J. W. Buller, Esq.; of St. Sidwell and St. James, the Vicar of Heavitree; of Bedford chapel, Trustees; of St. John-with-St. George, alternately the Lord Chancellor and the Dean and Chapter; of all the others, the Dean and Chapter. Two chapelries connected with the city, or rather with St. Thomas parish, are Exwick and Oldridge.

Schools.—There were, within the municipal borough, in 1851, 23 public day schools, with 2, 723 scholars; 91 private day schools, with 2, 123 s.; and 14 Sunday schools, with 2, 112 s. One of the public schools was supported by taxation, four by endowments, and 14 by religions bodies. -St. John’s hospital, at the E end of High-street, was founded, in the 13th century, for 5 priests, 9 boys, and 12 alms-men; underwent dissolution in 1539; passed, through various hands, to the city magistrates for the uses of the poor; became partly a Free English school, partly a Free Grammar-school; encloses a quadrangle, with a statue of Henry VII. in the centre, arrayed as a Roman; and has been thoroughly restored, after plans by Mr. Macintosh. The Free English school educates, feeds, and clothes 25 boys till th e age of 14, and educates about 80 other boys. The Free Grammar-school has only £40 a year from endowment for free education, but has upwards of £400 for exhibitions, educates about 75 boys by fees, and had Lemprière as a master. Hele’s Foundation school, in the New North-road, was built in 1848-9, at a cost of about £1, 500, and is supported from estates bequeathed by Elize Hele in 1632. These estates became vested in the Crown, and were, for nearly 200 years, but partly available for the school; but they were so disposed by Queen Victoria, that £3, 300 were granted for building a boys’ school, a training school, a girls’ school, and an infant school, £750 a year for maintaining these schools, and £100 a year for two exhibitions. The Diocesan Training college, in the Heavitree road, was opened in 1854; stands on a plot of three acres; is an edifice in the decorated English style, 199 feet long; and admits young men, between the ages of 16 and 25, to be trained as schoolmasters. The Episcopal Charity schools, off S. Davids-hill, were instituted in 1709, and rebuilt in 1861; are supported by voluntary contributions to the amount of about £800 a year; and educate and clothe about 160 boys and 120 girls. Other schools of note are the National schools in Bartholomew-yard; the new Central schools, in Rack-street; the Infant schools in Preston and Rack streets; the National day and Sunday schools, in Cowick-street; St. James’ Free school, in Black-Boy-road; the parochial schools of St. Sidwell, St. James, and St. Mary-Arches; the Protestant-Dissenters’ charity school; and the Wesleyan day schools.

Institutions.—The College-Hall, in South-street, is the meeting-place of the Exeter Architectural Diocesan Society; was formerly a chantry of the Vicar’s Choral; dates from the 14th century; is hung with antique portraits, supposed to be of early bishops of Exeter; and contains models, drawings, and other matters relating to ecclesiology. The Literary and Scientific Institution, in Cathedral-yard, was established in 1813; and contains a large library, a good museum, and an extensive herbarium. The Royal Public Rooms, opposite the new London inn, were erected in 1820; are partly occupied by the Literary Society, who have a select library and engage lecturers; and contain an assembly-room, 92 feet long, 41 feet wide, and 40 feet high, lighted by a handsome dome. The Athenæum, in Bedford Circus, was erected in 1835; is a large and fine edifice; and includes a lecture-room, with accommodation for nearly 400 persons. The School of Art is held in large rooms over the Western market. Public reading room s and public libraries, of different kinds, are in various parts of the city.

Hospitals and Charities.—The Devon and Exeter hospital, in Southernhay, was opened in 1743; has undergone many enlargements; got a new wing in 1857; is well supported by voluntary contributions; and has, in its board-room, portraits of John Tuckfield and Ralph Allen by Hudson, and John Patch by Gandy. The dispensary, in Queen-street, is a handsome erection of 1841. The new lunatic asylum, near the city, was erected in 1865, is in the Tudor style, and has a frontage of 450 feet. Forty-five cottages, built since 1860, the new Episcopal schools, a fine new church, built in 1865, and a public fountain, form a large quadrangle off S. Davids-hill; and a statue of John Dinham, Esq., will be in the centre. There are also in the city, Wynard’s hospital, numerous alms-houses, a female penitentiary, an eye infirmary, a homœopathic dispensary, an institution for the deaf and dumb, an institution for the blind, a living in charity, and a number of benevolent societies. – The total yearly value of all charities is upwards of £4, 500.

Trade.—Exeter is a head-port, with jurisdiction over the rivers Exe, Teign, Otter, Sid, and Axe, and along the coast from the vicinity of Lyme-Regis to the Ness point at Teignmouth. The Exe was originally navigable by vessels of heavy burden to Exeter, but was obstructed, a little above Topsham, by the construction of a weir across its bed by one of the earls of Devon; and could not again be made navigable to the city without the aid of a canal. The canal was begun to be cut in the time of Henry VIII.; and has been widened and much improved at different periods; so that large vessels now discharge their cargoes at the city quay. The vessels belonging to the port, at the beginning of 1863, were 116 large sailing-vessels, of aggregately 16, 848 tons; 36 small sailing-vessels, of aggregately 989 tons; and 1 steam-vessel, of 37 tons. The vessels which entered, in 1862, were 15 British vessels, of aggregately 1, 635 tons, from the British colonies; 2 foreign vessels, of aggregately 559 tons, from the British colonies; 43 British vessels, of aggregately 6, 801 tons, from foreign countries; 33 foreign vessels, of aggregately 5, 142 tons, from foreign countries; and 465 sailing-vessels, of aggregately 59, 501 tons, coastwise. The vessels which cleared, in that year, were 15 British vessels, of aggregately 1, 356 tons, to British colonies; 4 British vessels, of aggregately 642 tons, to foreign countries; 14 foreign vessels, of aggregately 2, 526 tons, to foreign countries; and 174 sailing-vessels, of aggregately 8, 780 tons, coastwise The amount of customs, in 1867, was £112, 382. A good trade is done in groceries, drugs, coals, timber, corn, wool, wines, spirits, and most other articles of general commerce. Woollen manufacture was, for a long time, extensively carried on, but is now on a very small scale. Lace-making is considerable, and got prize medals at the national exhibition of 1851, and at the Paris exhibition of 1855. Glove-making, also, is carried on; and there are several extensive iron foundries, agricultural implement manufactories, paper-mills, corn-mills, malt-kilns, tanneries, breweries, bone-mills, and other industrial establishments. Nursery grounds, on the road to Topsham, and on that to Alphington, are among the largest and most celebrated in the kingdom. Letterpress printing was established at an early period, and produced the first printed English translation of Tasso. Weekly markets are held on Tuesday and Friday; and fairs on the third Wednesday of Feb. and May, the last Wednesday of July, and the second Wednesday of Dec. . The city has a head post office, ‡ two telegraph offices, five banking offices, and seven chief inns, and publishes four newspapers.

The Borough.—Exeter, at Domesday, was exempt from paying taxes; has, from different monarchs, received many charters and grants; was among the earliest places sending members to parliament; has, since the time of Edward I., regularly sent two members; and is governed, under the new act, by a mayor, 12 aldermen, and 36 councillors. Borough income, in 1855, £8, 169; of which £3, 182 were from rates. Real property in 1860, £160, 177; of which £3, 494 were in the canal. Constituency in 1868, 3, 689. The city is the place of election, and a polling-place, for the S division of the county; the head of an excise collection; and the seat of a district court of bankruptcy, courts of quarter-sessions, and the spring and summer assizes. Its police force, in the year ending Sept. 1862, comprised 21 men, and cost £1, 917. Its municipal boundaries are less extensive than its parliamentary ones; and both have been indicated in our paragraph on its parishes. Pop. of the m. borough in 1851, 32, 818; in 1861, 33, 738. Houses, 5, 381. Pop. of the p. borough in 1851, 40, 688; in 1861, 41, 749. Houses, 6, 854.

The District.—The poor-law union of Exeter is administered under a local act, forms a registration district, and is divided into the sub-districts of St. Sidwell and St. David. St. Sidwell sub-district contains the parishes of St. Sidwell, St. Martin, Holy Trinity, and St. Mary Major, and the precinct of Cathedral-close; and St. David sub-district contains the parishes of St. David, St. Paul, St. Lawrence, St. Stephen, Allhallows-Goldsmith, Allhallows-on-the-Walls, St. Pancras, St. Petrock, St. Kerrian, St. George, St. Mary-Arches, St. Mary-Steps, St. Olave, St. John, and St. Edmund, the precincts of Bedford Circus and Bradninch, and the extra-parochial place of Castle-yard. Acres of the district, 1,800. Poor-rates in 1862, £12, 956. Pop. in 1851, 32, 823; in 1861, 33, 742. Houses, 5. 111 . Marriages in 1860, 413; births, 989, of which 73 were illegitimate; deaths, 851, of which 262 were at ages under 5 years, and 27 at ages above 85. Marriages in the ten years 1851-60, 4, 389; births, 8, 776; deaths, 7, 931. The district, it will be seen, is nearly co-extensive with the municipal borough; so that it contains nearly the same churches and schools. The workhouse stands in Heavitree road, on a plot of three acres; has two front wings, with adjoining chapel; and can accommodate upwards of 500 persons. The workhouse of St. Thomas district a district which includes part of the parliamentary borough-stands near the Exe, about a mile from the city, and was erected in 1837, at a cost of about £11, 000.

The Diocese.—Exeter stood originally within the diocese of Wessex; afterwards within that of Sherborne; afterwards within that of Crediton or Devonshire; and eventually became the seat of the united diocese of Devonshire and Cornwall. Warlewast, its bishop in 1112, was blind; Chichester, another of its early bishops, was a pilgrim and a great collector of relics; Eske, another of its bishops, was called “the light of the English church;” Brewer was a crusader, and fought at Acre; Stapledon founded Exeter college at Oxford, and was beheaded by a mob at London; Grandison resisted visitant-tion by the primate; Stafford was lord-chancellor; Oldham foretold the fall of the monasteries; Coverdale was the well-known translator of the Bible; Turberville was distinguished for tolerance; Wolton was noted for voluntarily rising to his feet when dying; Colton was noted for an impediment in speech; Hall was noted for piety and learning; Brownrigg never saw his diocese; Ward plumed himself on celibacy; Gauden was reputed to be the author of Eikon Basilike; Sparrow was noted for learning; and Blackburne was a converted buccaneer. The cathedral establishment includes the bishop, the dean, a chancellor of the church, six canons, four arch-deacons, a sub-dean, seventeen prebendaries, a chancellor of the diocese, and four priest-vicars. The income of the bishop is £2, 700; and his residences are Exeter Palace and Bishopstowe The income of the dean is £1, 100. The income of the chapter, in 1852, was £11, 431 The diocese comprehends Devon and Cornwall; and is divided into the archdeaconries of Exeter, Cornwall, Totnes, and Barnstaple. Many of the livings have recently been raised in status, and are named according to their new status in our separate articles on them; but all shall be named here as they stood in 1862.

The archdeaconry of Exeter comprises the deaneries of Aylesbear, Cadbury, Exeter, Dunkeswell, Dunsford, Honiton, Kenn, Plymtree, and Tiverton. The deanery of Aylesbear contains the rectories of Bickton, Clyst-St. George, Clyst-St. Mary, Faringdon, Lympston, Poltimore, Huxham, Sowton, and Whimple; the vicarages of Aylesbear, Branscombe, Broad Clyst, East Budleigh, Colaton-Rawleigh, Hartford, Ven-Ottery, Littleham, Otterton, Ottery-St. Mary, Pinhoe, Salcombe, Sidbury, and Sidmouth; and the p. curacies of Poppleford, Withycombe-Rawleigh, Honiton, Exmouth, Escot, Tipton, Salcombe-Chapel, Sidmouth-All Saints, Stoke-Canon, Topsham, Countess-Weir, Woodbury, and Salterton. The deanery of Cadbury contains the rectories of Cadbury, Cadeleigh, Cheriton-Fitzpaine, Down-St. Mary, Kennerleigh, Morchard-Bishop, Poughill, Shobrooke, Stockleigh-English, Stockleigh-Pomeroy, Upton-Helions, and Upton-Pyne; the vicarages of Brampford-Speke, Colebrooke, Newton-St. Cyres, and Thorverton; and the p. curacies of Nether-Exe and Sandford-St. Swithin. The deanery of Exeter contains the livings within Exeter municipal borough, and the vicarage of Heavitree. The deanery of Dunkeswell contains the rectories of Church-Stanton, Clayhidon, Combe-Rawleigh, and Hemyock; the vicarages of Awliscombe, Luppit, Up-Ottery, and Yarcombe; and the p. curacies of Dunkeswell, Dunkeswell-Abbey, Culm-Davey, and Sheldon. The deanery of Dunsford contains the rectories of Ashton, Bridford, Chagford, Cheriton-Bishop, Christow, Doddiscombsleigh, Drewsteignton, Dunsford, Gidleigh, Hittisleigh, Tedburn-St. Mary, Throwleigh, and Whitstone; and the vicarages of Holcombe-Burnell, Spreyton, and South Tawton. The deanery of Honiton contains the rectories of Combpyne, Cotleigh, Farway, Gititsham, Honiton, North Leigh, South Leigh, Musbury, Offwell, Roosdown, Up-Lyme, and Widworthy; the vicarages of Axminster, Axmouth, Colyton, Shute, Membury, Seaton, and Stockland; and the p. curacies of Kilmington, Monkton, Honiton-Allhallows, Beer, and Dalwood. The deanery of Kenn contains the rectories of Alphington, Ashcombe, Dunchideock, Shillingford, George, Haccombe, Kenn, Mamhead, Powderham, and Trusham; the vicarages of Chudleigh, Crediton, Dawlish, Exminster, Kenton, East Teignmouth, Teignton-Bishops, and St. Thomas-the-Apostle; and the p. curacies of Ide, Starcross, Oldridge, West Teignmouth, and Luton. The deanery of Plymtree contains the rectories of Blackborough. Butterleigh, Clyst-Hydon, Clyst-St. Lawrence, Feniton, Kentisbeare, Plymtree, Rewe, Silverton-St. Mary, and Tallaton; the vicarages of Broad-Hembury, Buckerell, Collumpton, and Payhembury; and the p. curacy of Bradninch. The deanery of Tiverton contains the rectories of Bickleigh, Calverleigh, Cleyhanger, Huntsham, Loxbear, Samford-Peverell, Templeton, Tiverton-Clare, Tiverton-Pitts, Tiverton-Priors, Tiverton-Titcombe, Uplowman, Washfield, and Willand; the vicarages of Bampton, Burlescombe, Culmstock, Halberton, Hockworthy, Holcombe-Rogus, Morebath, and Uffculme; and the p. curacies of Petton, Withley, Cove, and Tiverton-St-George.

The archdeaconry of Cornwall comprises the deaneries of East, West, Trigg-Major, Trigg-Minor, Powder, Pyder, Kerrier, and Penwith. The deanery of East contains the rectories of Botus-Fleming, Calstock, St. Dominic, St. Ive, St. John, Landulph, Lawhitton, Lezant, St-Mellion, North Hill, Pillaton, Rame, Shevioke, South Hill, and Stoke-Climsland; the vicarages of Antony, Landrake, Lewanick, Linkinhorne, Maker, Menheniot, Quethiocke, and St. Stephens-by-Saltash; and the p. curacies of St. Germans, Hessenford, Tideford, St. Erney, Milbrook, Saltash, Callington, and Torpoint. The deanery of West contains the rectories of Boconnoc, Broadoak, Cardynham, Duloe, St. Keyne, Lanreath, Lansallos, St. Martins, St. Pinnock, and Warleggan; the vicarages of St. Clere, Lanteglos, Liskeard, Morval, St. Neots, Pelynt, Talland, St. Veep, and St. Winnow; and the p. curacies of Herodsfoot, Looe, Polperro, and St. Nighton. The deanery of Trigg-Major contains the rectories of Jacob-stow, Kilkhampton, Marhamchurch, Week-St. Mary, and Whitstone; the vicarages of Alternon, St. Clether, David-stow, St. Gennis, Launcelles, Moorwinstow, South Petherwin, North Petherwin, Poughill, Poundstock, Stratton, and Treneglos; the p. curacies of Bolventor, Boyton, Egloskerry, Tremayne, St. Giles-in-the-Heath, St. Juliet, Laneast, Launceston-St. Mary, Trewen, St. Stephen-near-Launceston, St. Thomas-by-Launceston, Bude, Warbstow, and Tresmere; and the donatives of Tamerton and Werrington. The deanery of Trigg-Minor contains the rectories of Blisland, St. Endellion, Forrabury, Helland, Lanteglos, Advent, Lesnewth St. Mabyn, Michael-stow, Minster, Otterham, Trevalga, and St. Tudye; the vicarages of Bodmin, St. Bruard, Egloshayle, St. Kew, St. Tethe, Tintagel, and St. Minver; and the p. curacies of Lanhydrock, Porthilly, and St. Enodoc. The deanery of Powder contains the rectories of Creed, St. Erme, Gerrans, St. Just, Ladock, Lamorran, St. Mewan, Michael-St. Penkevill, Carhayes, Philleigh, Roche, Ruan-Lanihorne, Tregony, and Truro-St. Mary; the vicarages of St. Allen, St. Austell, St. Blazey, St. Clements, St. Ewe, St. Feock, Fowey, St. Goran, Kenwyn, Kea, Lanlivery, Lostwithiel, Luxulyan, Mevagissey, Probus, Cuby, and Veryan; the p. curacies of Charlestown, Treverbyn, Par, Cornelly, Baldhu, Chasewater, Truro-St. John, Kenwyn-St. George, Merther, Michael-St. Stephen, Michael-St. Dennis, Golant, Tywardraeth, and Tregaminion; and the donative of Anthony-in-Roseland. The deanery of Pyder contains the rectories of St. Breoke, St. Columb-Major, St. Ervan, Lanivet, St. Mawgan, Little Petherick, and Withiel; the vicarages of Colan, Cubert, St. Enoder, St. Evel, St. Issey, St. Merin, Newlyn, Padstow, Perranzabuloe, and St. Wenn; and the p. curacies of St. Columb-Minor, Crantock, Mount-Hawk, and Mithian. The deanery of Kerrier contains the rectories of Falmonth, Grade, Landewednack, St. Martin-in-Meneage, Mawgan-in-Meneage, Mawnan, Ruan-Major, and Ruan-Minor; the vicarages of St. Anthony-in-Meneage, Breage, St. Constantine, St. Gluvias, Budock, St. Gwennap, Helston, St. Keverne, Manaccon, Mullion, Mylor, Sithney, St. Stithians, and Wendron; and the p. curacies of Cury, Germoe, Gunwallo, Godolpliin, Penwerries, Day, Lannarth, Mabe-Flushing, Porthleven, Perran-Arworthal, and Carnmenelis. The deanery of Penwith contains the rectories of St. Buryan, Illogan, Camborne, St. Ludgvan, Perran – St. Uthnoe, Phillack, Gwithian, and Redruth; the vicarages of Crowan, St. Erth, Gulval, Gwinear, St. Hilary, St. Just-in-Penwith, Lelant, Madron, St. Paul, Sancreet, and Zennor; and the p. curacies of Levan, Sennen, Penponds, Treslothan, Tucking-Mill, Trevenson, St. Ives, Halsetown, Pendeen, Towednack, Morvah, Marazion-in-St. Hilary, Newlyn-St. Peter, Penzance, Treleigh, and Hugh-Town-in-Scilly.

The archdeaconry of Totnes contains the deaneries of Ipplepen, Moreton, Okehampton, Plympton, Tamerton, Tavistock, Totnes, and Woodleigh. The deanery of Ipplepen contains the rectories of Combinteignhead, Denbury, East Ogwell, West Ogwell, Staverton, Stoke-in-teignhead, and Torbrian; the vicarages of Abbotskerswell, Brixham, Ipplepen, St. Mary-Church, St. Nicholas, Paington, and Stoke-St. Gabriel; the p. curacies of Churston-Ferrers, Lower Brixham, Kingscarswell, Kingswear, Landscone, Coffinswell, Marldon, Tormoham, Cockington, Torquay-St. John, Torquay-Trinity, Upton-St. Mary, and Woodland; and the donatives of Woolborough and Newton-Abbot. The deanery of Moreton contains the rectories of High Bickington, North Bovey, Ideford, Lustleigh, Monaton, Moreton-Hampstead, and Teign-grace; the vicarages of Ashburton, Bovey-Tracey, Hennock, Ilsington, Kingsteignton, and Widdicombe-in-the-Moor; and the p. curacies of Bickington, Buckland, Povey-Heathfield, Highweek, and Lensden. The deanery of Okehampton contains the rectories of Ashbury, Beaworthy, Belstone, Bratton-Clovelly, Broadwoodkelly, Exbourne, Highampton, Honeychurch, Inwardleigh, Jacobston, Monk-Okehampton, Northliew, and Sampford-Courtenay; the vicarages of Hatherleigh and Okehampton; and the p. curacies of Sampford-Courtenay Chapel of Ease and Week-St. Germans. The deanery of Plympton contains the rectories of Harford, Hobleton, St. Leonard’s, Stoke-Damerell, Newton-Ferrers, and North Huish; the vicarages of Cornwood, Egg-Buckland, Ermington, Modbury, Plymouth-St. Andrew, Plymouth-Charles-the-Martyr, Ugborough, and Yealmpton; and the p. curacies of Brixton, St. Budeaux-in-Plymouth, Ivy-Bridge, Kingston, Noss-Mayo, Pennycross, Plymouth-St. Andrew’s Chapel, Plymouth-St. James, Plymouth-St. Peter, Plymouth-Trinity, Plymouth-Christchurch, Plymouth-Charles, Compton-Gifford, Plympton-St. Mary, Plympton-St. Maurice, Plymstock, Shaugh, Devonport-St. Michael, Devonport-St. Aubyn, Devonport-St. James, Devonport-St. John, Devonport-St. Mary, Devonport-St. Paul, Devonport-St. Stephen, East Stonehouse, Stonehouse-St. Paul, Wembury, and Revelstoke. The deanery of Tamerton contains the rectories of Bere-Ferrers, Meavy, Tavy-St. Peter, and Tavy-St. Mary; the vicarages of Bickleigh, Buckland-Monachorum, Budock, Tamerton-Foliatt, Walkhampton, and Whitchurch; and the p. curacies of Sheepstor, Penwerries, Sampford-Spiney, and Martin-Stowe. The deanery of Tavistock contains the rectories of Bradstone, Bridestowe, Coryton, Kelly, Lewtrenchard, Lidford, Lifton, Stowford, Sydenham-Damerell, and Virginstow; the vicarages of Lamerton, Marystow, Milton-Abbot, and Tavistock; and the p. curacies of Brent-Tor, Sowiton, Broadwoodwigger, Thrushelton, Prince-Town, and Tavistock-St. Paul. The deanery of Totnes contains the rectories of Ashprington, Dartington, Diptford, Dittisham, Little Hempston, and Stoke-Fleming; the vicarages of Berry-Pomeroy, Blackawton, South Brent, Buckfastleigh, Cornworthy, Dene-Prior, Harberton, Holne, Rattery, Totnes, and Townstall; and the p. curacies of Street, Harbertonford, Marland-Peters, St. Petrox, St. Petrox-Chapel, and Townstall-St. Saviours. The deanery of Woodleigh contains the rectories of East Allington, Aveton-Gifford, Bigbury, Charleton, Dodbrooke, Moreleigh, South Pool, Portlemouth, Ringmore, Thurleston, and Woodleigh; the vicarages of West Allington, Churstow, Kingsbridge, Loddeswell, and Stokenham; and the p. curacies of Marlborough, South Milton, South Huish, Buckland-Tout-Saint, Slapton, Chivelstone, and Sherford.

The archdeaconry of Barnstaple comprises the dean-eries of Barnstaple, Chulmleigh, Hartland, Holsworthy, Shirwell, South Molton, and Torrington. The deanery of Barnstaple contains the rectories of Atherington, Filleigh, Horwood, Hunshaw, Instow, Tawstock, and Newton-Tracey; the vicarages of Ashford, Barnstaple, Chittlehampton, Fremington, West Leigh, Bishop-Tawton, and Yarnscombe; and the p. curacies of Barnstaple-Christchurch, Barnstaple-St. Mary, Chittlehampton-St. John, Landkey, Pilton, Swymbridge, Harricote, and Newport. The deanery of Chulmleigh contains the rectories of Bow, Bundleigh, Chawleigh, Chulmleigh, Clannaborough, Eggesford, Lapford, Nymet – Rowland, North Tawton, Wemworthy, and Zeal-Monachorum; the vicarages of Burrington, Coleridge, and Nymet-Tracey; and the p. curacy of Brushford. The deanery of Hartland contains the rectories of Alverdiscott, Alwington, Bideford, Clavelly, Lancras, Littleham, Parkham, and Wear-Gifford; the vicarages of Abbotsham, Buckland-Brewer, Monkleigh, and Northam; and the p. curacies of Bulkworthy, East Putford, Frithelstock, Hartland, Hartland-Chapel, Appledore, Welcombe, Woolfardisworthy, and Bucks-Mills. The deanery of Holsworthy contains the rectories of Ashwater, Black Torrington, Bradford, Halwell, Holsworthy, Hollacombe, Luffingcott, Milton-Damerell, West Putford, Pyworthy, Sutcombe, Tettcott, and Thornbury; the vicarages of Bradworthy and Bridgerule; and the p. curacies of Abbots-Bickington, Pancras-Wyke, Clawton, and Cookbury. The deanery of Shirwell contains the rectories of Arlington, Berrynarbor, Bittadon, Bratton-Fleming, Brendon, East Buckland, West Buckland, Challacombe, Charles, Coombmartin, East Down, Georgeham, Goodleigh, Heanton-Punchardon, Highbray, Kentisbury, Loxhore, Martinhoe, Marwood, Parracombe, Shirwell, Stoke-Rivers, and Trentishee; the vicarages of Braunton, West Down, Ilfracombe, and Morthoe; and the p. curacies of Lee, Ilfracombe-St. Philip and St. James, Lynton, and Countisbury. The deanery of South Molton contains the rectories of East Anstey, Cheldon, Creacombe, Cruwys-Morchard, Kings-Nymphton, Meshaw, Nymet-St. George, Oakford, Puddington, Rackenford, Romansleigh, Rose-Ash, Salterleigh, Stoodleigh, Thelbridge, Warkleigh, Washford-Pyne, Woolfardisworthy, East Worlington, and West Worlington; the vicarages of West Anstey, Knoweston, North Molton, and Witheridge; and the p. curacies of Mariansleigh, Twitching, and South Molton. The deanery of Torrington contains the rectories of Ashreigney, Beaford, Buckland-Filleigh, Dolton, Huish, Iddesleigh, Langtree, Meeth, Merton, Newton-Petrock, Petrockston, Roborough, and Little Torrington; the vicarages of Shebbear and Winkleigh; and the p. curacies of Dowland, Peters-Marland, Sheepwash, Great Torrington, and St. Giles-in-the-Wood.

Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].

A Topographical Dictionary of England 1848

EXETER, a city, and a county of itself, locally in the hundred of Wonford, S. division of Devon, of which it is the chief town, 44 miles (N. E.) from Plymouth, and 172 (W. by S.) from London; containing, within the municipal boundary, and exclusively of the suburban parishes of St. Thomas, St. Leonard, and Heavitree, 31,312 inhabitants. Geoffrey of Monmouth affirms that Exeter was a British city prior to its establishment as a Roman station, and various circumstances concur to prove the fact. It was by the Britons called Caer-Isc, “city of the water;” also Caer Rydh, or “the red city,” from the colour of the adjacent soil. After its capture by the Romans, who made it a stipendiary town, it was denominated Isca with the addition of Danmoniorum, to distinguish it from Isca (now Usk) in Monmouthshire. That it was occupied by the Romans, is evident from the coins and other relics which have been dug up in profusion at different times, and more particularly in July 1778, when small statues of Mercury, Mars, Ceres, and Apollo, the largest not exceeding four inches and a half in height, evidently the penates, or household gods, of that people, together with the fragments of urns, tiles, and tessellated pavement, were discovered; and also in 1834, when digging the foundations for the market-houses. A further evidence of Roman occupation is found in the castrametation of the numerous signal stations extending to the English and Bristol Channels. The city is said to have been honoured at one time with the name of Augusta, from the circumstance of its being occupied by the second Augustan legion, commanded by Vespasian, the conqueror of Britannia Prima, which included Danmonium.

It was for a considerable time the capital of the West Saxon kingdom, and was subsequently occupied by the Danes, after the violation of a solemn treaty made with Alfred, the Saxon monarch. Alfred, however, invested the city, and compelled the enemy to capitulate, with a promise of evacuating all their holds within the West Saxon territory; it was afterwards attacked by the Danish marauders in 894, and was again relieved by Alfred. Exeter was at a very early period distinguished for its religious establishments, and contained so many monastic foundations, that the Cornish Britons and Saxon pagans are reported to have called it in derision “Monk-Town.” On the accession of Athelstan, the Britons and Saxons not converted to Christianity, who till now had formed a considerable portion of the population, were expelled, and the number of religious institutions was augmented by the foundation of a Benedictine monastery, dedicated to St. Peter, which was converted by Edward the Confessor into a cathedral. The town is greatly indebted for its early importance to Athelstan, who is said to have established two mints in it, and to have regularly fortified it with towers and a wall of hewn stone; from which circumstance, most probably, it was denominated Exanceastre, or Excestre, i. e., “the castellated city of the Exe,” whence its present name. In 968, King Edgar restored the monastery founded by his predecessor, Athelstan, which had been destroyed by the Danes, and appointed Sydemann to the abbacy, who was ultimately raised to the bishopric, as eighth bishop of Devon. In 1003, Sweyn, King of Denmark, landed on the western coast with a formidable force, to avenge the slaughter of his countrymen, and laid siege to Exeter, which, after a vigorous resistance for two months, was treacherously given up by its governor. The castle of Athelstan was destroyed, and the monastery of St. Peter shared in the common ruin; nor did the city recover from its devastation till the accession of Canute, when it began to resume its former importance, and the monks of St. Peter their former privileges.

At the time of the Conquest, the citizens, instigated by Githa, mother of Harold, refused to receive a Norman garrison, and having recourse to arms, were joined by the neighbouring inhabitants of Cornwall and Devonshire. On the approach of William to punish their revolt, sensible of the unequal contest, they submitted to his authority, and delivered hostages for their obedience. To prevent a revolt in future, William Rufus erected a citadel in Exeter, the government of which he entrusted to Baldwin de Brioniis, whom he made sheriff of Devon, and to whom he gave the barony of Oakhampton, with the custody of all the county of Devon. The castle, having been garrisoned in 1136 by the partisans of the Empress Matilda, held out against Stephen for three months, but was compelled to surrender from want of water. Stephen, however, acted with clemency, and Henry II. subsequently rewarded the loyalty of the citizens by a grant of additional privileges. In 1284, Hugh Courtenay, then Earl of Devon, greatly injured the trading interests of Exeter, by obstructing the navigation of the river Exe, hitherto navigable for vessels of considerable burthen. In the year 1286, Edward I. held a parliament at Exeter, augmented the privileges of the borough, and gave it a new common seal. In 1308, Walter Stapleton, lord treasurer, was appointed bishop of Exeter; he was the founder of Exeter College, Oxford, and was sent ambassador to France in 1322. The Black Prince remained here several days with his royal prisoner of France, and subsequently visited the city in 1371.

In 1469, the Duchess of Clarence, with others of the royal adherents, took refuge in Exeter, which was besieged by Sir William Courtenay, one of Edward’s generals: the siege, however, was raised at the mediation of the clergy. In 1470, Edward IV. arrived in pursuit of the Duke of Clarence and the Earl of Warwick; and some time after the battle of Tewkesbury, that prince, with his queen and infant son, was entertained here for several days. Richard III.’s visit to Exeter is alluded to by Shakspeare. In the year 1488, Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, was made free of the city, being the first honorary freeman on record. In 1497, Exeter sustained a violent assault from Perkin Warbeck, the pretended Richard of York, and claimant of the crown; the inhabitants, however, succesfully resisted the impostor till the arrival of the Earl of Devon, when Perkin retreated to Taunton. The loyalty of the citizens was afterwards rewarded by Henry VII., who presented them with his sword. In 1501, Catherine of Arragon remained here several days, on her way from Fowey to London. In the rebellion of the year 1549, many clergymen took an active part; among these was Welch, the vicar of St. Thomas’s, near the city, who not only promoted the cause by his preaching, but was “an arch captain and principal doer:” this leader of the western insurgents was hanged upon the tower of his own church. On the 2nd of July, in that year, Exeter was invested by a strong body of the popish adherents; the citizens withstood the attack till the 5th of August, when John, Lord Russell, having defeated the rebels at Clist Heath, dispersed the assailants. The privations endured by the inhabitants during the siege were of the severest kind, and to mark their gratitude, the day of Lord Russell’s entry into the city (Aug. 6th) was consecrated an annual festival.

Exeter is distinguished for numerous proofs of loyal attachment, which has been extended even to the unfortunate among foreign monarchs, as in the case of Don-Antonio, the deprived king of Portugal. So sensible was Queen Elizabeth of the loyalty of the Exonians, that with other more substantial proofs of her favour, she presented the corporation with the honourable motto Semper Fidelis. During the insurrection in Devon and Cornwall, in 1541, this city sustained a siege of 35 days. In the MS. notes of Milles, as copied in Polwhele’s History of Devon, it is recorded that, “when the Earl of Bedford went into the west to suppress the rebellion, he found the clergy so indifferent to his cause that he could get none of them to attend him except Miles Coverdale, afterwards Bishop of Exeter.” Exeter was firm to the cause of Charles I.; but the lord-lieutenant of the county, who was of the opposite party, disarmed the citizens, and garrisoned the castle with parliamentarian troops. It was, however, taken by Prince Maurice and Sir John Berkeley, the latter of whom was appointed governor. The city was now regarded as a place of great security, and the queen being near the time of her confinement sought refuge within its walls. Her accouchement took place in Bedford House, where she was delivered of the Princess Henrietta Maria, who was baptized in the cathedral, in 1643; on which occasion the font, a beautiful basin of white marble, embellished with cherubim and supported by a pedestal of black marble, was erected. Charles visited Exeter on his way to and return from Cornwall, and the infant princess remained here till the surrender of the city, after a vigorous blockade of more than two months, to General Fairfax, in April, 1646. During the stay of the parliamentary forces, the cathedral was shamefully defaced, and divided into places of worship for Presbyterians and Independents; the palace, with other buildings adjoining, was turned into barracks, and the chapter-house converted into a stable. Previously to their arrival, the bishop’s throne, with his altar-chair and the altar-piece of Speke’s chapel, had been taken down and concealed. During the Protectorate, two zealous royalists, who had attempted to restore Charles II., were by Cromwell’s order beheaded in the city. No burials are entered in the cathedral register from 1646 to 1660; there is not a will, nor any entry by which it can be established that any wills were proved in the ecclesiastical courts of Exeter within that period, during which they were proved by commission, and deposited with the city and county records. On the restoration of Charles II., the city again testified its loyalty with much enthusiasm; and the king, on his visit in 1671, presented the corporation with a portrait of his sister Henrietta, then Duchess of Orleans. On the appearance of the Prince of Orange, in Nov. 1688, the inhabitants submitted to him; and that monarch afterwards established a mint here: there is a thoroughfare, comprising many respectable houses, still called “the Mint.” In August, 1789, George III., with his queen and three of the princesses, visited Exeter. Pestilential diseases have raged here, as in most other towns, with destructive effect: the plague is said to have been fatal to a great number in 1569. In the year 1586, one of the judges of assize, several of the grand jury, and many others, fell victims to the virulency of the gaol distemper. The plague was again prevalent in the years 1603 and 1625; and in the year 1777, not less than 285 persons died of the small-pox.

This city, which has been denominated “The Capital of the West,” occupies the flat summit and the declivities of a hill, rising gradually from the eastern bank of the river Exe, but abruptly steep on the western side, in the midst of a fertile and undulated country, surrounded on all sides by scenes of beauty and interest. Its salubrious air, cleanliness, good market, and proximity to several watering-places, tend greatly to enhance its eligibility as a place of residence. Including its suburbs, it contains many handsome ranges of modern houses, particularly in the eastern part of the town, where are situated the cathedral, Bedford Circus, Southernhay Place, and Northernhay Place, in front of which are inclosed pleasure-grounds, and the public baths, erected in 1821, having a good exterior of classical design, and internally replete with every accommodation. The town is well paved, and partly lighted with gas by a company established in 1816; in 1836 an act was procured for more effectually lighting it. Water is obtained from the river by works erected in 1694, at the western extremity of the town: in 1833 an act was passed for providing a more ample supply, and in 1840 an act to amend former acts for this purpose. At the western entrance is a handsome stone bridge over the Exe, built after repeated failures caused by the rapidity of the current, in 1778, at an expense of £20,000, a little above the site of an ancient bridge of twelve arches, erected in 1250. To the north of the city are the cavalry barracks, and at some distance to the south-west the artillery barracks; the latter since the peace, have been divided into several separate dwellings, and let to private families. The Devon and Exeter Institution, for the general promotion of science, was established in 1813: the building was purchased from Viscount Courtenay, having been the town residence of that family; the library contains 10,000 volumes, with numerous natural and artificial curiosities. In Fore-street is a public subscription library, founded in 1807, and comprising 2500 volumes. The tradesmen’s and mechanics’ institution was formed in 1825. In a modern building near the Northernhay walk are the public rooms, erected by subscription in 1820; the ball-room, measuring 80 feet by 40, is superbly fitted up, and lighted by a handsome dome. The theatre is a neat structure, on the site of a former one destroyed by fire. The races generally take place in July or August, on Haldon, an excellent racecourse, about seven miles distant.

The limits of the port of Exeter extend from the river Axe, near Lyme Regis, to the Ness Point at Teignmouth. A little above Topsham the tide of the Exe is arrested by the “Lower Weir,” there being another between this and the city. In 1699, a canal was cut nearly to Topsham, navigable for vessels of 150 tons: it was completed at an expense of £20,000, communicating with the river about three miles from the city; and in 1827 was extended about two miles and a half further to the south, for the admission of vessels of larger tonnage. On the quay are the custom-house and wharfinger’s office; and near it are extensive iron-foundries, fulling-mills, timber wharfs, &c. A large basin has been constructed opposite the quay, where vessels of considerable burthen may float and discharge their cargoes, and wharfs and warehouses have been erected. A good trade is carried on with London, Liverpool, Bristol, Plymouth, Falmouth, and Penzance; the number of vessels of above 50 tons’ burthen registered at the port is 131, and their aggregate tonnage 15,637. The Bristol and Exeter railway, 75½ miles in length, commences at Bristol by a junction with the Great Western railway, and is carried in a south-western direction to the coast; the part from Bristol to Bridgwater, a distance of 32½ miles, was opened on the 14th of June, 1841, and the other portions have been since completed. An act was passed in 1844 for making a railway from Exeter to Plymouth, 52 miles in length, which was opened as far as Teignmouth in May 1846; in 1845 an act was obtained for a railway from the Bristol line, near Exeter, to Crediton, a distance of six miles; and in 1846 one for a railway to Topsham and Exmouth. The trade, at a very early period, was chiefly in the article of wool, and the market for this commodity was removed hither from Crediton, in 1538. Fulling-mills existed here in the time of Edward I.; the weavers and fullers were united to the merchant-adventurers, and incorporated by Elizabeth. The city formerly exported woollen-cloth to Italy, Turkey, &c.; and it is said that, before the year 1700, eight out of ten of the citizens were engaged in that trade, of which the annual returns were estimated at £600,000, but which greatly decreased during the American war. The cotton-works, and manufactories for kerseymere and shawls, have also declined; the manufacture at present consists chiefly of coarse cloth. The markets are held by prescription: the principal market-day is Friday; but there is a daily sale for butchers’ meat, fish, and vegetables; and a market for pork, poultry, butter, &c., is held on Tuesday and Friday, on which latter day is also a market for corn, cattle, and serges. In 1834, a bill was obtained for removing the markets held in High-street and Forestreet, and providing other market-places in lieu. The fairs are on the third Wednesday in February, third Wednesday in May, last Wednesday in July, and the second Wednesday in December; and there is a great market on the second Friday in every month.

The city was anciently held in demesne by the crown. Its earliest charter was bestowed by Henry I., and confirmed by Henry II. and Richard I.; and it is supposed to have been first governed by a mayor in the reign of John, in the year 1200, at which time the office was held for life. In 1312, the mayor and bailiffs were made justices of the peace. Edward III. granted them the cognizance of pleas; the charters of Edward IV. and Henry VII. confirmed their privileges, and Henry VIII. constituted Exeter a county of itself. Further liberties were granted by Charles I.; and in 1770, George III. renewed and confirmed the charter. By the act of the 5th and 6th of William IV., cap. 76, the corporation now consists of a mayor, 12 aldermen, and 36 councillors, assisted by a recorder, sheriff, town-clerk, and other officers; the city is divided into six wards, and exclusively of the mayor and recorder, ten justices have been appointed by commission from the crown. The city has sent two members to parliament ever since the reign of Edward I. The right of election was formerly vested in freemen by heirship, servitude, and presentation, and in freeholders, in number about 1200; but by the act of the 2nd of William IV., cap. 45, the non-resident freemen, except within seven miles, were disfranchised, and the privilege was extended to the £10 householders of an enlarged district, comprehending 4600 acres: the former limits of the franchise comprised only 2400 acres. The sheriff is returning officer. There is a court of assize for the city and county of the city twice a year, at the guildhall, before the judges on the circuit, assisted by the corporation, under a separate commission: the assizes for the county of Devon are held in the sessionshouse within the castle; and a court of quarter-sessions is also held in both places, the recorder presiding at the city sessions. The powers of the county debt-court of Exeter, established in 1847, extended over the registration-districts of Exeter and St. Thomas. The court of bankruptcy, established in 1842, embraces several counties. There is a court of record, called the Provost court, at the guildhall monthly for the trial of causes; and petty-sessions are held by the mayor and justices every Tuesday and Saturday. Attendance is also given at the guildhall by the magistrates daily at eleven o’clock; and in the castle the magistrates for the hundred hold pettysessions every Friday. The guildhall was formerly fronted by a chapel dedicated to St. George, which was demolished in 1592; the present facade projects into the street, and is a tasteless intermixture of ancient English and Italian architecture: the common hall is spacious, with an arched roof supported by grotesque figures, and contains portraits of Charles I., his daughter the Princess Henrietta, General Monk, and others. The sessions-house, within the walls of Rougemont Castle, was erected in 1773; it exhibits a neat stone front, and is complete in its internal arrangement. The city prison, erected in 1818 at a cost of £10,000, is a large brick building. The county gaol, a short distance north of the city, erected in 1796, is also very spacious, and judiciously planned for the classification of prisoners. The bridewell was erected in 1809, near the same spot. The sheriff’s debtors’ ward, in the parish of St. Thomas, south-west of the city, was erected in the year 1818, and is appropriated to debtors of the county of Devon.

Exeter was, in the reign of Edward the Confessor, erected into a See, the jurisdiction of which extends over Devon and Cornwall; the authority of rural dean is exercised throughout. The ecclesiastical establishment consists of a bishop, dean, sub-dean, precentor, chancellor, treasurer, four archdeacons, 23 canons, seven of whom are residentiary, and four minor canons. The bishop has the patronage of the archdeaconries, the canonries, and the other offices of the church, except the minor canonries, the patronage of which belongs to the Dean and Chapter. The number of the canons will eventually be reduced to 21, five of them to be residentiary canons.

The silence of all the early historians concerning the foundation of the Cathedral has given rise to various and opposite opinions respecting it. The majority of writers, from Hooker, in 1584, to those of the present day, have stated that St. Mary’s chapel at the end of the choir, was the original Saxon church, and that the whole of the existing fabric was 500 years in building: the chapel is stated by Davey, one of the historians of Exeter, to have been built by Bishop Richard Blondy, who died December 26th, 1257. Previously to its establishment at Exeter, the see of Devon was seated at Crediton; but Leofricus, who was bishop of the see and lord chancellor of England, prevailed on Edward the Confessor to remove it hither in 1049; and that monarch, with Editha his queen, attended at the installation, and placed the bishop in the new see, which he then endowed with the lands and emoluments that had previously belonged to Crediton. The see being thus established, it is probable that a suitable cathedral was soon afterwards provided; but whether constructed by enlarging and altering some existing edifice, or by the erection of a separate and entire building, is uncertain. The first principal enlargement of the cathedral may, with great probability, be ascribed to Bishop William Warelwast, who was preferred to the see in 1107, and who greatly improved the building; he laid the foundation of the choir, and to him, probably, may be attributed the towers yet remaining, which are perfectly similar in style to those of his contemporary Gundulphus, and resemble more the magnificence of the Norman architects than the simplicity of the Anglo-Saxons. In the two chapels dedicated to St. Andrew and St. James, and in the vaulting of the stairs leading to the rooms above, are some circular Norman arches; and on the whole, it appears that the first considerable cathedral was planned under the direction of Warelwast. But whatever grandeur and consequence might distinguish it under his prelacy, were nearly destroyed during the siege of Exeter by King Stephen, in 1138, when it was plundered and burnt, and the choir is mentioned as having particularly suffered. Bishop Chichester, the successor of Warelwast, is said to have expended much money in the repairs of the building; and Bronescombe, who was elevated to the see in 1258, built a chapel on the south side of the east end, which was dedicated to St. Gabriel, and endowed for two chaplains with the vicarage of Bockerel, in Devon. On the accession of Bishop Quivil, in 1280, the cathedral, with the exception of the towers, the north and south transepts, and the door of the Galilee, or penitential porch, was rebuilt in the early English style, and became one of the most superb ecclesiastical structures in the kingdom. Among the successors of Quivil who contributed towards the completion of his design, Bishops Stapleton and Grandison were distinguished by their munificence. Under the episcopacy of the latter, the nave was lengthened and the roof vaulted: the west front was probably erected in the time of his successor, Brantingham; and in 1420, under the superintendence of Bishop Lacy, the whole as it now appears was completed.

The west front is splendidly decorated with a profusion of canopied niches, statuary, and elegant tracery, constituting a shrine to the sepulchral chapel of Bishop Grandison. The principal entrance is in the centre of an elaborately-carved screen, divided by projecting and highly-enriched buttresses into compartments, in which are two series of arches, whereof the lower, surmounted by an open battlement, contains figures, in a sitting posture, of several of the kings arrayed in their robes, and of others in armour. In the upper stories and on the buttresses are statues of monarchs in an erect posture, and in the central niche is one of a king sitting with his foot on a globe, holding in one hand a book, and in the other a sceptre; below which are the arms of the see quartered with those of the ancient Saxon monarchs, in a shield supported by kneeling angels. Above the screen is a noble window of nine lights with elegant tracery, 37 feet in height and 27 in breadth: in the lower part are full-length figures of St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Andrew, and the Four Evangelists; the other parts are enriched with mosaic paintings and the armorial bearings of the nobility and gentry of the county, together with the union rose, thistle, fleur-de-lis, and harp, the different insignia of royal and ecclesiastical dignity, emblems of the nations composing the British empire, the several orders of knighthood, the holy lamb, &c. On the north and south sides of the cathedral are the massive Norman towers, of which the lower parts, opening into the nave, form the transepts.

The interior exhibits a striking combination of majestic grandeur and graceful simplicity. The nave is separated from the aisles by massive clustered columns, but of elegant proportions; and above the finely-pointed arches that support the vaulted roof are a triforium of singular beauty, and a noble range of clerestory windows filled with rich tracery. The choir, which is separated from the nave by a screen of exquisite design, is of similar style and of equal elevation, and has a continuation of the triforium and clerestory, the windows of which, as well as those of the cathedral in general, exhibit the finest specimens of tracery in the decorated style to be found in the kingdom. On the south side of the choir are some stalls of exquisite beauty; and the bishop’s throne, reaching to the clerestory windows, an elevation of sixty feet, is a specimen of tabernacle-work of unequalled magnificence. It was erected in 1470, by Bishop Booth, and is entirely of wood, and dove-tailed, without, it is said, either a nail or screw; it is elevated above the floor, and ascended by six steps: its area is ten feet square. The canopy is composed of pointed arches, columns, niches, pinnacles, and foliated ornaments, and is carved in a tasteful and most delicate manner. To the north and south of the Lady chapel are the chapels of St. Mary Magdalene and St. Gabriel, and in various parts of the cathedral are others richly adorned with sculpture, in one of which, dedicated to St. Edmund, is held the consistorial court every Friday during term. In the north aisle of the choir are the splendid monuments of Sir Richard and Bishop Stapleton. There are many other monuments deserving attention, especially the tomb of Bishop Stafford, which is of beautiful design and elaborate execution. In the year 1820, on removing the flooring of the Lady chapel, two very ancient tombs were discovered, which corroborate the opinion that this part was the original cathedral: the material is Purbeck marble. The tombs are now placed on pedestals of common masonry, one on each side of the chapel, and are supposed to be those of two of the five bishops between Leofricus, who became first bishop in 1049, and John the Chaunter, who was appointed in 1186. The organ was built in 1665, by John Loosemore, and, for richness of tone, is said to be unrivalled. The length of the cathedral is 390 feet from east to west, and 140 between the extremities of the transepts. The chapterhouse is a beautiful edifice, partly in the early and partly in the later English style; the roof is of oak, carved in panels on the slope, and the intervals above the beams are filled with tabernacle-work. The episcopal palace is an ancient structure, containing several noble apartments, and a chapel. The deanery is celebrated as having been honoured by the visits of Charles II., William III., and George III.

The city comprises the parishes of All Hallows Goldsmith-street, with 360 inhabitants; All Hallows-on-the Walls, 866; St. Edmund, 1595; St. George, 685; St. John, 500; St. Kerrian, 401; St. Lawrence, 641; St. Martin, 254; St. Mary-Arches, 651; St. Mary Major, 3429; St. Mary-Steps, 1256; St. Olave, 912; St. Pancras, 364; St. Paul, 1337; St. Petrock, 261; St. Stephen, 477; and Holy Trinity, 3796; also the parochial chapelries of St. David and St. Sidwell, 3508 and 9154; and the extra-parochial precincts of the Cathedral Close, 684; Bedford, 119; Bradninch, 55; and Castle-yard, 7. The living of All Hallows’ Goldsmith-street is a discharged rectory, valued in the king’s books at £6. 4. 7.; net income, £66; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. The living of All Hallows’-on-the-Walls is a discharged rectory, valued at £5. 4. 9½.; net income, £18; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. The church, a new edifice, of which the internal effect is exceedingly good, was consecrated in September, 1845: the old church was destroyed nearly a century ago, being ruinous. The living of St. Edmund’s is a discharged rectory, valued at £10. 16. 8.; net income, £187; patron, G. Hyde, Esq. The present church was consecrated in September, 1834. St. George’s is a discharged rectory, valued at £9. 13. 8.; St. John’s is a rectory not in charge: these livings now form one benefice, in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £212. St. Kerrian’s is a discharged rectory, with that of St. Petrock’s united, the former valued at £5. 18. 6½., the latter at £14. 10. 2.; net income, £138; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. The living of St. Lawrence’s is a discharged rectory, in the gift of the Crown; net income, £90. St. Martin’s is a discharged rectory, valued at £8. 14. 6.; net income, £77; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. St. Pancras’s is a discharged rectory, valued at £4. 13. 4.; net income, £43; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. The church, long disused, has been recently fitted up. The living of the parish of St. Mary-Arches is a discharged rectory, valued at £10; net income, £162; patron, the Bishop. St. Mary Major’s is a discharged rectory, valued at £15. 14. 9½.; net income, £150; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. The living of the parish of St. Mary-Steps is a discharged rectory, valued at £8. 6. 8.; net income, £179; patron, the Rev. William Carwithen. St. Olave’s is a discharged rectory, valued at £7. 17. 4., and in the patronage of the Crown; net income, £81. St. Paul’s is a discharged rectory, valued at £8. 2. 6.; net income, £172; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. St. Stephen’s is a discharged rectory, valued at £7. 17. 3½.; net income, £85; patron, the Bishop. The living of the Holy Trinity parish is a discharged rectory, valued at £11. 16. 4.; net income, £111; patrons, the Dean and Chapter. The living of the parochial chapelry of St. David is a perpetual curacy; net income, £130; patron, the Vicar of Heavitree; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter. The chapel was rebuilt in 1816, on the site of the ancient edifice. St. Sidwell’s is also a perpetual curacy; net income, £252; patron, the Vicar of Heavitree; appropriators, the Dean and Chapter. The church, rebuilt in 1812, is a spacious and handsome structure in the later English style, with a lofty tower surmounted by an octangular spire; it was enlarged in 1839. On an eminence to the south-west of the city is the cemetery of St. Bartholomew, consecrated in 1639, which having become very crowded, a new and spacious cemetery adjoining it was inclosed for public use, and consecrated on the 24th of August (St. Bartholomew’s day), 1837. Owing to the increase of population, chapels have been built in some of the above parishes. The living of Bedford chapel is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of Trustees; net income, £136: St. James’s chapel, erected in 1836, is presented to by the Vicar of Heavitree. The parishes of St. Leonard and St. Thomas the Apostle, near Exeter, are described under their own heads. There are places of worship for Baptists, the Society of Friends, Independents, Wesleyans, Methodists, and Unitarians, a Roman Catholic chapel, and a synagogue.

The Free Grammar school was founded by the citizens, before the date of the charter of Charles I., and in 1633 the corporation instituted certain ordinances for its better government. There are fifteen exhibitions, to either Cambridge or Oxford, belonging to this seminary; viz., six of £36 each, of which two are for boys of Devon, two for boys of Cornwall, and two for the sons of freemen of the city; three of £20 each, for boys of any county educated here; and eight of £8. The schoolroom forms part of the building called St. John’s hospital, a convent of Augustine friars, founded in 1239, and the revenue of which at the Dissolution was £102. 12. 9.; the present income, arising from various endowments, exceeds £800 per annum. Adjoining it is the Mayor’s chapel. Within St. John’s hospital is the Blue-coat school, founded by Hugh Crossing and others, in the year 1661. The College school, at Mount Radford, formerly the residence of the Baring family, was established in 1826, for the purpose of general instruction. The Blue Maids’ school, for the instruction and maintenance of seven girls, was founded in 1672, by Sir John Maynard and Eliza Stert, and endowed with lands producing more than £100 per annum.

The Devon and Exeter Hospital was opened in 1743, a lunatic asylum in 1795, and a female penitentiary in 1819. St. Catherine’s almshouse was founded in 1457, for thirteen aged people, by John Stevens. Wynard’s hospital was established in 1436, for twelve infirm and elderly men, and has a chapel attached, a handsome structure. Grendon’s, or the Ten Cells‘, almshouses were founded in 1406, by S. Grendon, for ten unmarried men or women. In 1479, John Palmer founded an almshouse for four women. Hurst’s almshouses were founded in 1568, for twelve tradesmen, or their widows, and are endowed with nearly £100 per annum. Flaye’s almshouses, for six widows of clergymen and decayed tradesmen, were founded in 1634; the income is about £100. Six parishioners of St. Mary-Arches are appointed to the almshouses founded in 1669 by Christopher Lethbridge, which Sir Thomas Lethbridge endowed with £15. 12. per annum. In St. John’s parish is an endowed almshouse for six persons, founded by Alice Brooking. The city almshouses, for twelve aged persons, rebuilt in 1764 with funds originating in a bequest by Richard Lant in 1675, have an income of £170. Atwill’s almshouses were founded and endowed by Lawrence Atwill for decayed woollen manufacturers; the annual income amounts to about £320. In the parochial chapelry of St. Sidwell are the ancient chapel and eight almshouses of St. Anne, the former of which is open for divine service every Wednesday; and there are an old chapel and almshouses in the parish of Heavitree; besides an almshouse for four women, founded in 1676 by John Webb. The late R. T. Spearman, Esq., many years deputy treasurer at this port for Greenwich Hospital, bequeathed £12,000 for the building of almshouses in the city, for women above sixty years of age, members of the Church of England; and in addition to these various benefactions, there are lands in the possession of the different parishes, the proceeds of which are applicable to general purposes of charity, and numerous individual bequests and donations.

Exeter still retains some proud vestiges of its ancient institutions and mural fortifications: the gardens attached to the bishop’s palace are inclosed by the remains of the old wall that encompassed the city. In the vicinity are several encampments, among which may be particularised that at Stoke Hill; it is semicircular, and more than 250 paces in diameter. The north, south, and east gates were taken down for the improvement of the city; but the walls in some places exhibit the original elevation, and may be correctly traced throughout. On the highest ground in the city, the north-west angle, stand the venerable remains of the Norman castle, supposed to occupy the site of that founded by Athelstan; it was denominated Rougemont Castle, from having been erected on a mound of red earth. A collegiate chapel was founded within its walls, by Avenell, the grandson of Baldwin de Brioniis, to which were attached four prebends: it served as the assize chapel after the Reformation, but was taken down in 1782. The principal gateway, a lofty and picturesque object, still remains, as does the greater part of the outer walls, from the summit of which there is a fine view over the city; also of Exmouth and the Channel, at a distance of more than ten miles. The Benedictine priory of St. Nicholas is said to have been founded by William the Conqueror, and was at first subordinate to the abbey of Battle, in Sussex; it afterwards obtained from the parent house a renunciation of superior authority, the presentation remaining with the abbot of Battle. At the Dissolution, its revenue was £154. 12., and it was conveyed to the corporation, who demolished the buildings for the sake of the materials, and subsequently sold the property in lots. The walls may be traced to a considerable extent; and in Mint-lane are the remains of the crypt, with its massive Norman arches, &c. On the site of the ancient church stands the Roman Catholic chapel opened in 1792. Here were also Franciscan and Dominican convents: the latter was converted, after its suppression, into a mansion belonging to the Bedford family; the site is now occupied by Bedford Circus. At Poleslo, in the neighbourhood, are some remains of a Benedictine nunnery founded by Bishop Briwere in 1236, the revenue of which, at the Dissolution, was £164. 8. 11.; and at Cowick, in the parish of St. Thomas, was also a monastery. On excavating the ground opposite the London inn in the city, were found a small brass coin of Henry IV. of France, a large coin of Trajan, a Constantine, and some others; also the remains of a water-course which supplied the citizens with water during the siege.

Among the distinguished natives of the city may be enumerated Josephus Iscanus, or Joseph of Exeter, a Latin poet of the twelfth century; his contemporary, Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury; Stephen Langton, also Archbishop of Canterbury, who, in the reign of John, divided the Bible into chapters; John Hooker, who wrote a history of Exeter, in the sixteenth century; Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the Bodleian library at Oxford; Dr. John Barcham, an eminent writer on heraldry, born in 1572; Matthew Lock, a composer of music in the seventeenth century; Lord Chancellor King, a distinguished lawyer and theological writer; the Rev. Thomas Yalden, a poet of eminence; Simon Ockley, a learned orientalist; Dr. James Foster, a nonconformist divine and theological writer of celebrity; William Jackson, an ingenious musical composer; Andrew Brice, author of a topographical dictionary; the late Chief Justice Gibbs; and Lord Gifford, master of the rolls. Exeter gives the title of Earl and Marquess to the family of Cecil.

Source: A Topographical Dictionary of England by Samuel Lewis 1848

Bankrupts

Below is a list of people from Exeter that were declared bankrupt between 1820 and 1843.

Abraham Abraham Elisha, Exeter, optician, Nov. 28, 1834

Barker Edward, Exeter, druggist, Feb. 17, 1821.

Barker Edward, Exeter, druggist, May 23, 1837.

Bayly Ebenezer. Exeter, straw bonnet dealer, Oct. 5, 1841.

Bourne Thomas, Norwich and Exeter, woollen draper, Nov. 6, 1829.

Bowditch William. Exeter, grocer, Feb. 12, 1833.

Bricknell Joseph Page Allez, Exeter, haberdasher and hosier, Dec. 3, 1830.

Brown John, Exeter, coach maker, Nov. 27, 1824

Burch John, Exeter, horse dealer, April 11, 1828.

Source: The Bankrupt Directory; George Elwick; London; Simpkin, Marshall and Co.; 1843

London Gazette

Joseph Shepherd and Benjamin Shepherd – Exeter Devon – London Gazette April 1850

Declaration of Dividend, under a Fiat dated 19th day of April 1847, against Joseph Shepherd, and Benjamin Shepherd, of the city of Exeter, Wine and Spirit Merchants and Copartners in Trade. NOTICE is hereby given, that a Second Dividend, at the rate of 23d. in the pound, in the separate estate of Benjamin Shepherd, is now payable, and that warrants for the same may be received by those legally entitled, at my office, Queen-street, Exeter, on any Tuesday between the hours of eleven and three. No warrants can be delivered unless the securities exhibited at the proof of the debt be produced, without the special direction of a Commissioner. Executors and administrators of deceased creditors will be required to produce the probate of will and letters of administration. April 13, 1850. HENRY LAKE HIRTZEL, Official Assignee.

Parish Registers

Marriage Licences and Allegations

London Marriage Licences and Allegations 1521 to 1869

The following have been extracted from London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869.
Abbreviations. — B. Bishop of London’s Office; D. Dean and Chapter of Westminster; F. Faculty Office of Archbishop of Canterbury; V. Registry of the Vicar-General of Canterbury.

Bruton, William, of the city of Exeter, esq., bachelor, 28, and Elizabeth Honeychurch, of Aveton Gifford, co. Devon, spinster, 21, her father dead, and she at her own disposal — at Battersea or Putney, Surrey, or Marybone, Middlesex. 11 May, 1663. F.

Source: London Marriage Licences 1521 to 1869; Edited by Joseph Foster; London 1887

Parish Records

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