The tombs are mostly to the memory of bishops who each in his own time maintained the dignity of the See. Of those natives who came to the front through sheer ability may be enumerated the following: Josephus Iscanus, or Joseph of Exeter, a distinguished Latin poet of the twelfth century; his contemporary, Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury; John Hooker, author of "A History of Exeter in the Sixteenth Century"; Sir Thomas Bodley, who founded the magnificent Bodleian Library at Oxford; Matthew Lock, a seventeenth-century musical composer of note; and many others.
Amongst many notable institutions is the Grammar School, which dates from the reign of Henry VIII.
The manufactures are few. The woollen trade, at one time only surpassed by Leeds, has now entirely departed from Exeter. If it were not for its glorious minster and the river Exe, up which vessels of three hundred tons' burden can come up right to the city's quay, Exeter would have long ago sunk to mere insignificance.
The river, which decided the early Britons to settle on its banks, the Romans to station the Second Legion of Augusta, the monks to establish their humble monastery, eventually to be absorbed into a see, has from the early times afforded facilities for exports and imports. The ship canal from Exeter to Topsham, which is in the estuary of the Exe, begun in 1564, enlarged in 1675 and again in 1827, materially assisted and rescued commerce from a serious decline. Those vessels that are too deep in the water remain at Topsham, whilst those of still greater tonnage discharge their holds at Exmouth, a port at the mouth of the river.
Norwic.
("Doomsday Book.")
HEN this city first came into being it is puzzling to say. The difficulty is as to where the site was originally fixed. Three miles to the south of Norwich is the village of Caistor (St. Edmunds). Owing to its position on the river Wentsum, or Wensum, it was called Cær Gwent by the Britons, and for the like reason it was named by the Romans Venta Icenorum. It formed their principal station, as it before had served as the residence of the kings of the Iceni. From the ruins of Venta Icenorum gradually arose Norwich. As to when it was firmly established on its present eminence under the name of Nordewic, or North Town, there seems to be no reliable evidence. It first appears by that name in the Saxon Chronicle of the year 1004. It may possibly mean the town north of the old settlement. For one thing it is certain, in proportion as Nordewic rose Caistor sank from an important town to a mere village in ruins. According to an authority, an earlier date is arrived at than the entry in the Saxon Chronicle. He conjectures that the keep, the only remnant of the castle built on the summit of the steep mound by William Rufus, was the Saxon "burh," erected in 767. This, if correct, would clearly indicate that Norwich had already attained considerable importance. According to Spelman, it was the residence of the kings of East Anglia. They established a mint, where it is supposed coins of Alfred and several succeeding monarchs were struck. From its geographical position Norwich was frequently exposed to the attacks of the Norsemen, who could easily land on the Norfolk coast and cover the few intervening miles in a short time. The city was alternately in the possession of the Saxons and the Danes. Against the latter Alfred the Great repaired and fortified the citadel, to whom, however, he eventually handed it over after a treaty of peace. The Saxons afterwards regained it and held it till 1004, when it had to surrender to the Danes under their leader Sweyn. The terrible weak reign of Ethelred II. had earned him the epithet of Unready. His indolence caused his territories to be terrorised, the towns to be racked, and their inhabitants to be massacred by the Danes under Sweyn, who, under pretext of avenging the murder of his sister, took the opportunity of ravaging and laying waste the land. On the accession of Canute, however, though a Dane, the cities began to prosper again. Thus it came about that Norwich, which had remained in a state of desolation till 1018, came again into Danish possession, but under Canute. With this fresh beginning it rapidly rose to great importance. By the time of the Norman Conquest, Norwich was classed as second only to York in extent and prosperity, being described in the "Doomsday Book" as having 1320 burgesses with their families, 25 parish churches, and covering an area of not far short of 1000 acres. It was bestowed by the Conqueror on Ralph de Guaer, or Guader, in 1075, who rewarded his master's kindness by joining a conspiracy formed by the Earls of Hereford and Northumberland against the Crown. After having unsuccessfully defended the Castle, he retired into Brittany, leaving his wife to sustain the siege. The city was very much damaged, and the number of burgesses woefully reduced in numbers, some 560 only being left on the capitulation to the Conqueror. In view of the gallant defence by Guader's wife and garrison of Britons, William granted them all the honours of war and permission to leave the kingdom in perfect security. This siege was a great check to the advancement of the city. At the same time the value of the property must have been considerably lessened. This depreciation after the drawing up of the "Doomsday Book" in 1086 could hardly have suited the views of the Conqueror. To obviate the difficulty it would be necessary to introduce some new element, some attraction that would bring added interest and fresh residents willing to ply their industries in the town. The commencement of a new period of prosperity was soon realised after the establishment of a see at Norwich, though not until the time of William Rufus. One of his followers from Normandy was Herbert de Lozinga, or Lorraine, who having been made Bishop of East Anglia, decided to remove the See from Thetford to Norwich. In addition to the Cathedral, he established an episcopal palace and a monastery to maintain sixty monks, all in the year 1094. It had the desired effect; the city rapidly improved, the number of inhabitants greatly increased, and trade extended. In the reign of Stephen it was rebuilt. In 1122 Henry I. granted Norwich the same franchise as that enjoyed in London, incorporated in a charter. The government of the city was at the same time separated from that of the Castle, and entrusted to the chief magistrate, or Præpositus (provost), as he was styled. Another factor in the city's welfare was the colony of Flemish weavers who settled at Worstead, about thirteen miles from Norwich. They introduced the manufacture of woollen stuffs. A second colony, however, came in Edward III.'s time and settled right in Norwich, when it was made a staple town for the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.