Exeter

by Sidney Heath

At the top of Sidwell Street is St. Anne's Almshouse, one of the most interesting foundations in the city. It was originally a hermitage, but little is known about it until 1418, when it was "newly constructed", and in 1561 Oliver and George Mainwaring founded a hospital for eight poor people. The chapel is a small building that has retained its piscina and two niches for holding figures. The almshouse was fortified by Fairfax during the Civil War, and for many years the chapel was in a ruinous condition, but it was restored early in the nineteenth century. St. Anne's Day, 26 July, has been observed regularly by the inmates of the charity since its foundation.

Retracing our steps to the beginning of High Street, and proceeding up Castle Street, we reach the highest point of the city, the Red Mount, crowned by the gateway and ruined towers of an ancient castle. The fortress formed a part of the fortifications erected by Athelstan, and the Red Tower, with its triangular-headed window, may be confidently assigned to the Saxon era. During the Norman period the castle was rebuilt by Brian de Molis. In Stephen's reign it was besieged and taken from Earl Baldwin de Redvers, who was banished until the following reign, when his possessions were restored. The castle belonged to the de Redvers and Courtenay families until 1231, when Henry III presented it to his brother Richard as part of the earldom of Cornwall. In 1537 Henry VIII granted Exeter a charter giving the city the privilege of being a county with its own sheriffs, excepting Rougemont Castle, which still belongs to the Duchy of Cornwall.

ROUGEMONT CASTLE

In 1774 a large portion of the castle ruins were cleared away, when several interesting buildings were destroyed, among them the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin, to make room for the present Assize Court, a plain building with no pretensions to architectural beauty. On the right of the castle yard is a little path leading to the top of the walls, whence a comprehensive view of the city and the neighbourhood can be obtained. Looking straight across the valley, beyond the county jail, one can see the site of the ancient camp of the Danes, against whom Athelstan built his fortifications, now occupied by the reservoir. At the foot of the wall are the Northernhay Gardens, a favourite resort with youthful Exonians. From Northernhay the old walls can easily be traced westwards, and crossing Queen Street we may proceed down the narrow Maddocks Row to find the wall pierced by the only archway now remaining. Continuing westwards we cross North Street, where the old North Gate stood until it was demolished in 1769. Entering Bartholomew Street East we are on the ramparts again, and from the bastion near All-Hallows-on-the-Walls Church we may look down upon the old Bartholomew burying-ground, consecrated in 1639, and used as the principal city cemetery for nearly two hundred years. The Church of All-Hallows-on-the-Walls is a modern one that stands on the site of a more ancient edifice. From this point one can see the tapering spire of St. Michael's Church, in the grounds of Mount Dinham, where are the almshouses erected and endowed in 1860 by John Dinham. Here are forty free cottages and episcopal charity schools, the latter founded originally in 1709 by Bishop Offspring Blackall.

Continuing along the bastion the limit of the northern wall is soon reached. Many of the old streets in this quarter of the city are worth visiting, for in the narrow thoroughfares are some interesting old houses. In St. Mary Arches Street is the church of the same name, shut in by houses. It is one of the old parish churches of Exeter, and one that takes part of its name from the fine Norman pillars and arcade of the nave, which is the oldest in the city. In the south aisle is a chantry containing the altar tomb of Thomas Andrews, mayor in 1505 and 1510; and who died in 1518. Mint Street, as its name implies, was associated with the mint established there by permission of William III. The coinage minted there may be recognized by the letter E placed beneath the king's head. Bartholomew Street brings us to Fore Street, a narrow and very steep thoroughfare, within which is the fine front of the Tuckers' Hall, belonging to the Incorporated Guilds of Weavers, Fullers, and Shearmen, chartered in 1490. Close at hand are steps leading down to Exe Island, which was for many years a subject of dispute between the Earls of Devon and the citizens; but on the attainder of Henry, Marquis of Exeter, in 1558, the property reverted to the Crown. On the conclusion of the Prayer-Book Riots the island was granted to the city by Edward VI, as a reward for the services it had rendered the authorities. Most of the old portions of the island have been destroyed, many of them in recent years, but an interesting specimen of a Tudor house remains with a covering of slates somewhat resembling scale armour. Shields appear in the ornamentation, one of them bearing the Tudor rose. At one time this style of wall covering was very common in Exeter, but the example in Exe Island is the only one now remaining.

On the south side of Fore Street stands St Olave's Church, where, according to Domesday, a church with the same dedication existed before the Conquest. It is said traditionally to have been built by Gytha, Harold's mother, in order that masses might be said for the souls of her son and Earl Godwin. William I gave the church to the monks of Battle Abbey, in whose possession it remained until the Reformation. More than a century later St. Olave's was lent to the French Huguenot refugees, many of whom settled in Exeter where they established an important woollen industry. The present church bears few indications of antiquity, beyond some Norman arches and a little early carving in the tower.

At the lower end of Fore Street is West Street, marking the western limit of the old walls. A right-hand turn leads to St. Edmund's Church, built in the thirteenth century at one end of the old bridge, when it was known as St. Edmund Super pontem. In 1831 the original structure was pulled down and the present building begun. It is said to stand upon some of the arches of the ancient bridge. Turning eastwards we reach the foot of Stepcote Hill, and the church of St. Mary Steps. A remarkable exterior feature is the old clock and figures, known locally as "Matthew the Miller". The dial is enriched with basso-rilievos representing the four seasons, and in a niche just above is a small effigy of Henry VIII in a sitting posture, who nods his head as each hour is struck. On each side is a military figure, their morions crowned with feathers, javelins held in their right hands, and small hammers in their left hands, with which they alternately strike the quarter hours on two small bells at their feet. The name of "Matthew the Miller" is said to have originated from the punctuality of a miller of that name who was so regular in going to and from his mill that people set their clocks by him. The church contains a fine chancel screen, with twenty-eight panels of painted saints, which was removed from the church of St. Mary Major. The font is a good one, of Norman date. Just opposite St. Mary Steps stood the West Gate of the city, which was taken down in 1814.

The Westgate quarter formed part of the manor of Exe Island, and was inhabited chiefly by weavers, fullers, dyers, and those whose occupations required a copious supply of water. The whole of this district is intersected with narrow lanes and passages, beneath and around which are many streams diverted from the river to work the mills.

A few old gabled houses with overhanging upper stories still remain in this district, but they are in a very dilapidated condition, as will be noticed by anyone who traverses one of the numerous byways that lead to South Street, at the lower end of which is Magdalen Street, where are two very interesting hospitals—"Wynard's" and the "Magdalen". The former was founded in 1430 by William Wynard, sometime Recorder of the city, for the habitation of a priest and twelve poor men. The attached chapel was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and the hospital was called "God's House". The founder left many lands and tenements to provide funds for the establishment. The master might not be absent more than once or twice in the year, and his total holidays in the twelve months were never to exceed three weeks and three days. He was also required to teach from three to nine boys, starting them with the alphabet, and going on to the "great psalter of the holy David". The foundation passed eventually into the possession of William Kennaway, who built a vault within which he was buried.