111-405: The area of Cathedral Close, Exeter has been in the centre of Exeter , Devon , England, since Roman times when there was a basilica and a bath house in this area. A church was established here by the seventh century when a young Saint Boniface came from Crediton to study. The area was walled after 1283 and seven gates into the yard were created. The gates included one at St Petrocks and
222-404: A Colonia in 97 as Colonia Nervia Glevensium , or Glevum , in the reign of Nerva . It is likely that Glevum became the provincial capital of Britannia Prima . Within about 15 years new privately constructed properties replaced the earlier barracks and public buildings, temples and bath houses were under construction in stone. Piped water began to be supplied. Drains and sewers were laid. On
333-429: A forum and a basilica , and a smaller-scale bath was erected to the southeast. This area was excavated in the 1970s, but could not be maintained for public view owing to its proximity to the present-day cathedral . In January 2015, it was announced that Exeter Cathedral had launched a bid to restore the baths and open an underground centre for visitors. In the late 2nd century, the ditch and rampart defences around
444-550: A three hinged arch design, it cost £25,000 and was designed by Sir John Wolfe Barry . Also in 1905, electric trams replaced the horse trams with a new route which passed along the High Street, down Fore Street and over the new Exe Bridge. Once across the Exe the line divided, with one route along Alphington Road and another along Cowick Street. The line to St David's Station travelled along Queen Street instead of along New North Road and
555-640: A 16th-century Anglican theologian , who was born in Exeter. As well as the Cathedral itself there are a number of important buildings in the close. Two churches face the Cathedral – St Petrocks Church and St Martins . There are also a number of other grade 1 listed buildings: Mol's Coffee House, No 5, Nos 8, 9 and 9a and No 10 Cathedral Close. The grade II listed Royal Clarence Hotel in Cathedral Yard, also overlooks
666-456: A 19% increase from 2019. In 2014, Exeter had "...the unenviable status of having the highest per capita rate of rough sleeping outside of London". During the COVID-19 pandemic, 102 people in Exeter rough sleeping, or at risk of rough sleeping were accommodated as part of the government's 'Everybody In' directive. In Exeter City Council's recent 'Rough Sleeping Delivery Plan', a total of £3,351,347
777-674: A Latin base. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Gloucester is shown as part of Wessex from the Battle of Deorham in 577. At some point afterwards, along with the rest of its shire excluding the Forest of Dean , Gloucester was part of the minor kingdom of the Hwicce . In 628, as a result of the Battle of Cirencester , that kingdom became a client or sub-kingdom of Mercia . From about 780, the Hwicce
888-716: A battle. After the Norman Conquest, William Rufus made Robert Fitzhamon the first baron or overlord of Gloucester. Fitzhamon had a military base at Cardiff Castle , and for the succeeding years the history of Gloucester was closely linked to that of Cardiff. During the Anarchy , Gloucester was a centre of support for the Empress Matilda , who was supported in her claim to the throne by her half-brother, Fitzhamon's grandson, Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (also known as Robert of Gloucester). After this period of strife ended with
999-469: A mint. In the early 10th century, the remains of Saint Oswald were brought to a small church here and shrine built there, a draw for pilgrims. The core street layout is thought to date to the reign of Æthelflæd in late Saxon times. In 1051, Edward the Confessor held court at Gloucester and was threatened there by an army led by Godwin, Earl of Wessex , but the incident resulted in a standoff rather than
1110-464: A number of monastic establishments, including St Peter's Abbey, founded in 679 (later Gloucester Cathedral ); the nearby St Oswald's Priory , founded in the 880s or 890s; and Llanthony Secunda Priory , founded in 1136. The town is also the site of the siege of Gloucester in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist forces in the First English Civil War . A major attraction of
1221-580: A spur overlooking a navigable river teeming with fish, with fertile land nearby. Although there have been no major prehistoric finds, these advantages suggest the site was occupied early. Coins have been discovered from the Hellenistic kingdoms , suggesting the existence of a settlement trading with the Mediterranean as early as 250 BC . Such early towns had been a feature of pre-Roman Gaul as described by Julius Caesar in his Commentaries and it
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#17328560595411332-482: A thousand Roman coins have been found around the city and there is evidence for copper and bronze working, a stock-yard, and markets for the livestock, crops, and pottery produced in the surrounding countryside. The dating of the coins so far discovered, however, suggests a rapid decline: virtually none have been discovered dated after the year 380. Bishop Ussher identified the Cair Pensa vel Coyt , listed among
1443-451: A three-month siege, not when the three wells in the castle ran dry, but only after the exhaustion of the large supplies of wine that the garrison was using for drinking, baking, cooking, and putting out fires set by the besiegers. During the siege, King Stephen built an earthen fortification at the site now known (erroneously) as Danes Castle. The city held a weekly market for the benefit of its citizens from at least 1213, and by 1281 Exeter
1554-649: A town within a city. Gloucester is the county town of Gloucestershire , and is the 53rd largest settlement in the United Kingdom by population. In 2010, its population was 123,400;. It has the traditional lowest bridging point of the longest river in Great Britain, connecting it with Over . The 2011 census recorded that the city had a population of 121,921 and by 2016 its population was estimated to be 128,488. The city's urban area extends beyond its boundaries, with several outlying districts . The 2021 census gave
1665-406: Is due to begin in the summer of 2023. On 27 February 2021 a 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) Second World War bomb was uncovered at a construction site and more than 2,600 people were evacuated. Bomb Disposal squads used approximately 400 tons of sand to secure it. It was safely detonated at 18:12. By 1 March hundreds of the evacuees were unable to return to their properties, due to damage caused by
1776-505: Is in two parliamentary constituencies, the majority of the city is in the Exeter constituency but two wards (St Loyes and Topsham) are in East Devon . Since World War II until recently, Exeter itself was relatively marginal, with its Member of Parliament usually drawn from the governing party. Nowadays the Exeter seat is increasingly becoming a Labour stronghold. The Exeter MP is Steve Race , with
1887-454: Is mentioned in the 18th century as a possible Latin name related to the city. The first bridging point on a navigable, defensive barrier, great river and the foundation in 681 of the abbey of St Peter by Æthelred of Mercia , favoured town growth; and before the Norman conquest of England , Gloucester was a borough governed by a portreeve , with a castle which was frequently a royal residence, and
1998-598: Is now the St David's area, not far outside Exeter's walls. The quarter vacated by the Britons was apparently adapted as "the earl 's burh" and was still named Irlesberi in the 12th century. In 1001, the Danes again failed to get into the city, but they were able to plunder it in 1003 because they were let in, for unknown reasons, by the French reeve of Emma of Normandy , who had been given
2109-510: Is possible that they existed in Britannia as well. The unreliable source Geoffrey of Monmouth stated that when Vespasian besieged the city in 49 AD its Celtic name was Kaerpenhuelgoit , meaning 'town on the hill under the high wood'. The Romans established a 42-acre (17 ha) 'playing-card' shaped (rectangle with round corners and two short and two long sides) fort ( Latin : castrum ) named Isca around AD 55. The fort
2220-507: Is provided by the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service , which is headquartered at Clyst St George near Exeter. It has two fire stations located at Danes Castle and Middlemoor. Gloucester#Etymology Gloucester ( / ˈ ɡ l ɒ s t ər / GLOSS -tər ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England . Gloucester lies on
2331-601: The 2010 general election the new coalition government announced in May 2010 that the reorganisation would be blocked. From Saxon times, it was in the hundred of Wonford . Exeter has had a mayor since at least 1207 and until 2002, the city was the oldest 'Right Worshipful' Mayoralty in England. As part of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II Exeter was chosen to receive the title of Lord Mayor . Councillor Granville Baldwin became
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#17328560595412442-578: The British Dumnonians at Peonnum in Somerset in 658. It seems likely that the Saxons maintained a quarter of the city for the Britons under their own laws around present-day Bartholomew Street, which was known as "Britayne" Street until 1637 in memory of its former occupants. Exeter was known to the Saxons as Escanceaster . In 876, it was attacked and briefly captured by Danish Vikings . Alfred
2553-470: The Cathedral Close and the High Street was redeveloped between 2005 and 2007, despite some local opposition. It incorporates 123 varied residential units. To enable people with limited mobility to enjoy the city, Exeter Community Transport Association provides manual and powered wheelchairs and scooters ('Shopmobility') for use by anyone suffering from short- or long-term mobility impairment to access
2664-612: The Devon County Council . In May 2012 Labour became the majority party on the council. Exeter City Council 's bid for the city to become a Unitary Authority was initially approved by ministers in February 2010. A judicial review was called by Devon County Council and the Court held that the Minister had acted unlawfully in granting Unitary status to Exeter at the same time, however, following
2775-473: The Dumnonii and was listed as one of their four cities ( Ancient Greek : poleis ) by Ptolemy in his Geography (it also appeared in the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography , where it appears as an apparently confused entry for Scadu Namorum ). When the fortress was abandoned around the year 75, its grounds were converted to civilian purposes: its very large bathhouse was demolished to make way for
2886-437: The Dumnonii ", and Caerleon as Isca Augusta. A small fort was also maintained at Topsham ; a supply depot on the route between the two was excavated at St Loyes near Topsham Road in 2010. The presence of the fort built up an unplanned civilian community ( vicus or canabae ) of natives and the soldiers' families, mostly to the northeast of the fort. This settlement served as the tribal capital ( civitas ) of
2997-669: The Great Western Railway for transportation of meat products to London. The first electricity in Exeter was provided by the Exeter Electric Light Company, which was formed at the end of the 1880s, but it was municipalised in 1896 and became the City of Exeter Electricity Company. In 1896 £88,000 was spent constructing sewerage system which reduced the risk of infectious diseases, The first horse-drawn trams in Exeter were introduced in 1882 with 3 lines radiating from
3108-564: The Middle Ages , the main export was wool, which came from the Cotswolds and was processed in Gloucester; other exports included leather and iron (tools and weapons). Gloucester also had a large fishing industry at that time. In 1222, a massive fire destroyed part of Gloucester. One of the most significant periods in Gloucester's history began in 1378 when Richard II convened Parliament in
3219-660: The Restoration , the Commonwealth coat continued to be used by the city rather than the Tudor coat. The Commonwealth coat, along with the crest and supporters, was legally granted to the city by letters patent dated 16 April 1945. This was reconfirmed in 1974 following the local government changes of that year. There are two tiers of local government covering Gloucester, at district (city) and county level: Gloucester City Council and Gloucestershire County Council . The Quedgeley area of
3330-578: The River Severn , between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west; it is sited 19 miles (31 km) from Monmouth , 33 miles (53 km) from Bristol , and 17 miles (27 km) east of the border with Wales . Gloucester has a population of around 132,000, including suburban areas. It is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal to the Severn Estuary . Gloucester
3441-520: The Severn Estuary , allowing larger ships to reach the docks than would be possible on the tidal reaches of the river itself, which go well north of the city to Haw Bridge. The wharfs, warehouses and the docks themselves fell into disrepair until their renovation in the 1980s. They now form a public open space. Some warehouses now house the Gloucester Waterways Museum , others were converted into residential flats, shops and bars. Additionally,
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3552-596: The 'Lwów Eagle Owls', who were based at Exeter Airport . The city of Lwów shared the same motto as the city of Exeter – 'Semper Fidelis' (Always faithful). In April and May 1942, as part of the Baedeker Blitz and specifically in response to the RAF bombing of Lübeck and Rostock , 40 acres (16 hectares) of the city were leveled by incendiary bombing. Many historic buildings in the center—particularly adjacent to High Street and Sidwell Street—were destroyed, and others, including
3663-576: The 28 cities of Britain by the History of the Britons , as Isca, although David Nash Ford read it as a reference to Penselwood and thought it more likely to be Lindinis (modern Ilchester ). Nothing is certainly known of Exeter from the time of the Roman withdrawal from Britain around the year 410 until the seventh century. By that time, the city was held by the Saxons , who had arrived in Exeter after defeating
3774-524: The Cathedral and the Norman St Mary de Crypt Church, Gloucester in Southgate Street . Additionally, there is evidence of a Jewish community in Gloucester as early as 1158–1159; they lived around present-day East Gate Street and had a synagogue on the south side, near St Michael's church. Gloucester was probably the home of Rabbi Moses, who established an important Anglo-Jewish family. The Jews of
3885-483: The City Quay ". In 1778 a new bridge across the Exe was opened to replace the old medieval bridge. Built at a cost of £30,000, it had three arches and was built of stone. In 1832, cholera , which had been erupting all across Europe, reached Exeter. The only known documentation of this event was written by Dr Thomas Shapter , one of the medical doctors present during the epidemic. The first railway to arrive in Exeter
3996-529: The Common Council come from the same elite of wealthy citizens, as did the major and the stewards and this concern introduced a second conflict of interests in the government organism of the city. In 1537, the city was made a county corporate . In 1549, the city successfully withstood a month-long siege by the so-called Prayer Book rebels : Devon and Cornish folk who had been infuriated by the radical religious policies of King Edward VI. The insurgents occupied
4107-622: The Exeter canal. The city's motto, Semper fidelis , is traditionally held to have been suggested by Elizabeth I , in acknowledgement of the city's contribution of ships to help defeat the Spanish Armada in 1588; however its first documented use is in 1660. Schools in Exeter teach that the motto was bestowed by Charles II in 1660 at the Restoration due to Exeter's role in the English Civil War . When in 1638 Reverend John Wheelwright
4218-577: The Great drove them out the next summer. Over the next few years, he elevated Exeter to one of the four burhs in Devon, rebuilding its walls on the Roman lines. These permitted the city to fend off another attack and siege by the Danes in 893. King Athelstan again strengthened the walls around 928, and at the same time drove out the remaining Britons from the city. (It is uncertain, though, whether they had lived in
4329-541: The Green. This Devon article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Exeter Exeter ( / ˈ ɛ k s ɪ t ər / EK -sit-ər ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Devon , South West England . It is situated on the River Exe , approximately 36 mi (58 km) northeast of Plymouth and 65 mi (105 km) southwest of Bristol . In Roman Britain , Exeter
4440-556: The Medieval England. The first detailed and continuous evidence of its existence and activity was founded after 1345. Formed by twelve "better and more discreet men" (in Latin : duodecim meliores ), reelected each year, it was originally designed to control the abuse of the Major and of his four stewards , which respectively presided over the borough court and the provost court. The members of
4551-561: The Roman invasion of Britain. Initially, a Roman fort was established at present-day Kingsholm. Twenty years later, a larger legionary fortress was built on slightly higher ground nearby, centred on present-day Gloucester Cross, and a civilian settlement grew around it. Probably the Roman Legion XX Valeria Victrix was based here until 66 and then Legio II Augusta as they prepared to invade Roman Wales between 66 and 74 AD, who stayed later until around 87. Gloucester became
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4662-715: The Second World War, two petroleum storage depots were constructed in Gloucester. A Government Civil Storage depot with six 4,000-ton semi-buried tanks was constructed on the Berkeley Canal in 1941/42 by Shell-Mex and BP and connected to the pipeline that ran from the Mersey to the Avon. It was also connected to the Air Force Reserve Depot and a Shell Mex and BP facility for road and rail loading. Due to severe tank corrosion, it
4773-589: The Youth MP being Georgia Howell, and Simon Jupp represents East Devon. Prior to Brexit in 2020, Exeter was part of the South West England European constituency , which elected 6 MEPs . Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , Exmouth and Exeter East will first be contested at the 2024 general election . Exeter's city council is a district authority, and shares responsibility for local government with
4884-472: The abolished County Borough of Gloucester. The reforms also saw the city become subordinate to Gloucestershire County Council, losing the independence it had held since 1483. The parish of Quedgeley was subsequently transferred into Gloucester from Stroud District in 1991. Quedgeley retains its own parish council, unlike the rest of Gloucester, which is an unparished area . In 2017, Quedgeley Parish Council changed its name to Quedgeley Town Council, making it
4995-465: The ascent of her son Henry to the throne Henry II of England , Henry granted Robert possession of Cardiff Castle , and it later passed to William Fitz Robert, 2nd Earl of Gloucester son of Robert. The story of the Anarchy is vividly told in a series of 19th-century paintings by William Burges at the Castle. Henry granted Gloucester its first charter in 1155, which gave the burgesses the same liberties as
5106-448: The cathedral, were damaged. On the night of 4 May, the Polish 307 Squadron dispatched four available aircraft against forty German Junkers Ju 88 bombers, preventing four German aircraft from releasing their load of bombs on Exeter. 156 people were killed, but the squadron suffered no casualties in the process. To commemorate the friendship that had formed between the 307 Squadron and Exeter,
5217-423: The citizens enjoyed access to sophisticated aqueduct systems which brought pure drinking water into the city from springs in the neighbouring parish of St Sidwell's. For part of their length, these aqueducts were conveyed through a remarkable network of tunnels, or underground passages, which survive largely intact and which may still be visited today. Exeter and Bristol hosted the first recorded Common Council in
5328-423: The citizens of London and Winchester . A second charter of Henry II gave them freedom of passage on the River Severn . The first charter was confirmed in 1194 by King Richard I . The privileges of the borough were greatly extended by the charter of King John (1200), which gave freedom from toll throughout the kingdom and from pleading outside the borough. In 1216, King Henry III , aged only ten years,
5439-673: The city unitary authority status was scrapped by the 2010 coalition government . The modern name of Exeter is a development of the Old English Escanceaster , from the anglicised form of the river now known as the Exe and the Old English suffix -ceaster (as in Dorchester and Gloucester ), used to mark important fortresses or fortified towns (from Latin castrum , meaning fortress, or castra , military camp). (Similarly,
5550-538: The city as part of her dowry on her marriage to Æthelred the Unready the previous year. Two years after the Norman conquest of England , Exeter rebelled against King William . Gytha Thorkelsdóttir , the mother of the slain King Harold , was living in the city at the time, and William promptly marched west and initiated a siege . After 18 days, William accepted the city's honourable surrender, swearing an oath not to harm
5661-553: The city centre shopping facilities, events and meetings with friends. In May 2008 there was an attempted terrorist attack on the Giraffe cafe in Princesshay, but the bomber was the only one injured. On 12 October 2012, John Lewis opened its first high-street home store on Sidwell Street, with an area of 65,000 ft, it was the biggest John Lewis store to open that year. It took on 300 staff. A £30 million improvement scheme for
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#17328560595415772-556: The city centre was rebuilt and is now a centre for education, business and tourism in Devon and Cornwall. It is home to two of the constituent campuses of the University of Exeter : Streatham and St Luke's . The administrative area of Exeter has the status of a non-metropolitan district under the administration of the County Council. It is the county town of Devon and home to the headquarters of Devon County Council . A plan to grant
5883-569: The city centre were rebuilt in the 1950s, with little attempt to preserve or restore historic buildings. The street plan was altered in an attempt to improve traffic circulation, and former landmarks like St Lawrence, the College of the Vicars Choral, and Bedford circus disappeared. The modern architecture stands in sharp contrast to the red sandstone of buildings that survived the Blitz. One notable exception
5994-411: The city continuously since the Roman period or returned from the countryside when Alfred strengthened its defences. ) According to William of Malmesbury , they were sent beyond the River Tamar , which was fixed as the boundary of Devon. (This may, however, have served as a territorial boundary within the former kingdom of Dumnonia as well. ) Other references suggest that the British simply moved to what
6105-412: The city is Gloucester Cathedral , which is the burial place of King Edward II and Walter de Lacy ; it features in scenes from the Harry Potter films. Other features of interest include the museum and school of art and science, the former county jail (on the site of a Saxon and Norman castle), the Shire Hall (now headquarters of the County Council ) and the Whitefield memorial church. A park in
6216-450: The city is a civil parish with a town council, forming a third tier of local government; the remainder of the city is an unparished area . Gloucester was an ancient borough , being treated as a borough from Saxon times and being granted its first known borough charter by Henry II in 1155. In 1483 the town of Gloucester was given the right to appoint its own magistrates, making it a county corporate , administratively independent from
6327-477: The city or increase its ancient tribute . However, William quickly arranged for the building of Rougemont Castle to strengthen Norman control over the area. Properties owned by Saxon landlords were transferred into Norman hands and, on the death of Bishop Leofric in 1072, the Norman Osbern FitzOsbern was appointed his successor. In 1136, early in the Anarchy , Rougemont Castle was held against King Stephen by Baldwin de Redvers . Redvers submitted only after
6438-411: The city's Cornish name Karesk and its Welsh name Caerwysg both mean " caer or fortress on the Exe".) The name "Exe" is a separate development of the Brittonic name—meaning "water" or, more exactly, "full of fish" (cf. Welsh pysg , pl. "fish") —that also appears in the English Axe and Esk and the Welsh Usk ( Wysg ). Exeter began as settlements on a dry ridge ending in
6549-436: The city's East Gate. One line went to St David's station via New North Road, the Obelisk (where the Clock Tower now stands) and St David's Hill. The second line went out along Heavitree Road to Livery Dole and the third went to Mount Pleasant along Sidwell Street. There was a depot off New North Road. A new bridge across the Exe was opened on 29 March 1905, replacing the former Georgian bridge. Made of cast iron and steel with
6660-530: The city. Parliaments were held there until 1406 under Henry IV of England . The Parliament Rooms at the Cathedral remain as testimony to this important time. Gloucester was incorporated by King Richard III in 1483, the town being made a county in itself. The City's charter was confirmed in 1489 and 1510, and other charters of incorporation were received by Gloucester from Queen Elizabeth I and King James I . Princess Mary visited Gloucester in September 1525 accompanied by her ladies and gentlewomen. She
6771-417: The civil storage site. It was transferred from the Air Ministry to the Ministry of Power in 1959, closed in the 1990s and disposed of in the later 2000s. Gloucester's most important citizens include Robert Raikes (founder of the Sunday School movement) who is still commemorated by the name of Robert Raikes' House in Southgate Street. Its most infamous citizen was Fred West . In July 2007 , Gloucester
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#17328560595416882-417: The detonation of the bomb. On 2 March the council permitted affected residents to return to their homes while noting that many might be "uninhabitable at this stage". The University of Exeter reported that some 300 students (of the 1,400 evacuated) had yet to return. Exeter has the 6th highest number of rough sleepers on a single night of all local authorities in England (as of the autumn of 2020), marking
6993-475: The early 18th century. She remarked on the "vast trade" and "incredible quantity" in Exeter, recording that "it turns the most money in a week of anything in England", between £10,000 and £15,000. Early in the Industrial Revolution , Exeter's industry developed on the basis of locally available agricultural products and, since the city's location on a fast-flowing river gave it ready access to water power , an early industrial site developed on drained marshland to
7104-400: The fall of nearby Bristol encouraged the reinforcement of the existing town defences. The siege of Gloucester commenced in 1643 in which the besieged parliamentarians emerged victorious. The Royalist's plan of bombardment and tunnelling to the east gate failed due to the inadequacy of the Royalist artillery and the besieged sniping and conducting artillery fire on the Royalist encampment. By
7215-406: The fire. In July 2017 the restoration plans were officially unveiled, with the rebuild expected to be completed in 18 months and a scheduled reopening of the hotel in 2019. 18 Cathedral Yard was repaired by November 2018, but there was a second round of bids for the work to complete repairs to The Well House, and to rebuild the Royal Clarence Hotel as a 74-bedroom hotel. However, in late 2021 it
7326-408: The first Lord Mayor of Exeter on 1 May 2002 when Letters Patent were awarded to the city during a visit by the Queen. The Lord Mayor is elected each year from amongst the 39 Exeter city councillors and is non-political for the term of office. Policing in Exeter is provided by the Devon and Cornwall Constabulary who have their headquarters at Middlemoor in the east of the city. The fire service
7437-570: The flood defences was approved in March 2015. The plans involve the removal of check weirs and a deeper, "meandering stream" in the centre of the drainage channels to improve flow. The plans followed a study by the Environment Agency that revealed weaknesses in the current defences. A community currency for the city, the Exeter Pound , was introduced in 2015 and dissolved in 2018. A serious fire broke out in buildings in central Exeter on 28 October 2016. The Royal Clarence Hotel , 18 Cathedral Yard and The Well House Tavern were severely damaged in
7548-406: The lifting of the Siege of Gloucester in 1643, during which the city held out against Royalist forces during the First English Civil War . Gloucester is one of the few cities in England with two coats of arms. The first consists of three chevrons surrounded by ten roundels. The chevrons come from the arms of the Clare family , who were earls of Gloucester from the 12th to the 14th centuries, while
7659-419: The line to Heavitree was extended. On 17 March 1917, a tram went out of control going down Fore Street, hit a horse-drawn wagon, then overturned on Exe Bridge; one female passenger was killed. By the 1920s there were problems with congestion caused by the trams, a need for expensive track renewal work and the slow speed of the trams in Exeter's narrow streets. After much discussion, the council decided to replace
7770-474: The local firm Beach Bros were trapped for nine hours. 2,500 properties were flooded. Later the same year on 3 December the river levels rose again, flooding 1,200 properties. These floods led to the construction of new flood defences for Exeter. Work began in 1965, took 12 years to complete and cost £8 million. The defences included three flood relief channels , and were complemented by the construction of two new concrete bridges (built in 1969 and 1972) to replace
7881-489: The mid-17th century, only the gatehouse and keep of Gloucester Castle remained, the latter of which was being used as a gaol until it was deemed unsuitable and demolished in the late 1780s. By 1791, the new gaol was completed leaving no trace of the former castle. In the 19th century, the city grew with new buildings including Wellington Parade and the Grade II listed Picton House (c. 1825). The 1896 Gloucester smallpox epidemic affected some 2000 residents. During
7992-485: The motto Fides Invicta Triumphat ("unconquered faith triumphs", in reference to the royalist siege withstood by the city in 1643). The second coat, termed the "Tudor coat", was granted in 1538. It features the roses of York and Lancaster, the boar's head of Richard III, a ceremonial sword and cap, and two horseshoes surrounded by nails, to represent Gloucester's historical association with ironworking. Although grants made by Commonwealth heralds were nullified after
8103-542: The name Gloucestershire was too difficult to spell. A sculpture in the city centre celebrates Gloucester's aviation history and its involvement in the jet engine . From the city's Roman name, Glevum , Anglo-Saxon migrants after 410, with their fledgling feudal structure, the Kingdom of Wessex , replaced the area's Romano-Celtic society and changed the city's name to Caerloyw ( IPA: [kaɨrˈlɔɨʊ, kairˈlɔiʊ] ), Gloucester's name in modern Welsh , while recognising
8214-573: The nearby St Oswald's Priory, Gloucester founded in the 880s or 890s, Llanthony Secunda Priory, founded 1136 as a retreat for a community of Welsh monks (now near the western bypass), the Franciscan Greyfriars community founded in 1231 (near Eastgate Shopping Centre ), and the Dominican Blackfriars community founded in 1239 (Ladybellegate Street). It also has some very early churches including St Mary de Lode Church, Gloucester near
8325-516: The new walls. Remains of the Roman city can still be seen: Withdrawal of all Roman forces and many societal leaders in about the year 410 may have allowed leading families of the Dobunni tribe to regain power within the now Roman-influenced, interconnected and intermixed Celtic Brythonic local people. This intermix is reflected by the fact a large minority of basic words and available synonyms in Welsh have
8436-474: The old Exe Bridge which had obstructed the flow of the river and made the flooding worse. A high-profile, random murder of a child occurred in the city in 1997, which today remains one of the UK's highest-profile unsolved murders. 14-year-old Kate Bushell , a pupil at what is now West Exe School , had her throat cut by an unidentified attacker while walking her dog along Exwick Lane, Exwick, on 15 November 1997. Despite
8547-420: The old fortress were replaced by a bank and wall enclosing a much larger area, some 92 acres (37 hectares). Although most of the visible structure is older, the course of the Roman wall was used for Exeter's subsequent city walls. Thus about 70% of the Roman wall remains, and most of its route can be traced on foot. The Devonian Isca seems to have been most prosperous in the first half of the 4th century: more than
8658-532: The original grand entrance into the yard – Broadgate. This created the cathedral close . The postal address Cathedral Close refers only to the properties adjoining the north-eastern side of the grassed area around the cathedral. The north-western side of the Cathedral Green, including the Royal Clarence Hotel , is known as Cathedral Yard . In the centre of the green is a statue of Richard Hooker ,
8769-562: The police insisting the killer must be local and repeatedly appealing for locals to come forward with information on Crimewatch , the attacker has never been identified. Police believe Bushell's murder is possibly linked to the murder of dogwalker Lyn Bryant in Cornwall only one year later in 1998. Police have DNA evidence in the Bryant case and there remains a £10,000 reward for information in both cases. The Princesshay shopping centre adjoining
8880-538: The population of the Gloucester Urban Area as 169,061, absorbing areas such as Brockworth and Churchdown . The city is located on the eastern bank of the River Severn , sheltered by the Cotswolds to the east, while the Forest of Dean and the Malvern Hills rise to the west and north, respectively. Gloucester is a port, linked via the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal which runs from Gloucester's docks to
8991-477: The presence of the Roman fort. Caerloyw is a compound of caer , meaning 'fort, stronghold, castle', and loyw , a lenition of gloyw as it would have been pronounced by many speakers, meaning 'bright, shiny, glowy'. A variant of the term -cester/chester/caster instead of the Welsh caer was eventually adopted. The name Gloucester thus means roughly "bright fort". Mediaeval orthographies include Caer Glow , Gleawecastre and Gleucestre . This etymology
9102-503: The roundels come from the arms of the Bishop of Worcester , whose bishopric historically encompassed Gloucester. This coat is the older of the two, though it is usually termed the "Commonwealth coat", as it was not officially granted to the city until 1652, during the Commonwealth period. The crest and supporters (lions bearing broadswords and trowels) were also adopted at this time, along with
9213-402: The site of the legionary principia an imposing central forum was laid out surrounded by colonnades and flanked on three sides by part-timbered ranges of shops. Closing off the south of the forum was the 100m x 40m Basilica . Many fine homes with mosaic floors were built in the town. At its height, Glevum may have had a population of as many as 10,000 people. The entire area around Glevum
9324-597: The south of the city contains a spa, a chalybeate spring having been discovered in 1814. Economically, the city is dominated by the service industries and has strong financial, research, distribution and light industrial sectors. Historically, it was prominent in the aerospace industry. In 1926, the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company at Brockworth changed its name to the Gloster Aircraft Company because international customers claimed that
9435-584: The squadron presented the city with a Polish flag on 15 November 1942 (the first British city to have had that honour) outside Exeter Cathedral . Since 2012, a Polish flag is raised over the city's Guildhall on 15 November; the day is now known as '307 Squadron Day' in Exeter. On 15 November 2017, a plaque in memory of the squadron was unveiled in the St James Chapel of Exeter Cathedral by the Polish Ambassador Arkady Rzegocki. Large areas of
9546-475: The suburbs of Exeter, burnt down two of the city gates and attempted to undermine the city walls, but were eventually forced to abandon the siege after they had been worsted in a series of bloody battles with the king's army. A number of rebels were executed in the immediate aftermath of the siege. The Livery Dole almshouses and chapel at Heavitree were founded in March 1591 and finished in 1594. When John Hooker
9657-522: The surrounding county of Gloucestershire . When the Diocese of Gloucester was founded in 1541, the town was given the right to call itself a city . The city was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 . When elected county councils were established in 1889, Gloucester was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it
9768-460: The time of Queen Mary in 1555. In 1580, Gloucester was awarded the status of a port by Queen Elizabeth I. The 16th and 17th centuries saw the foundation of two of Gloucester's grammar schools: the Crypt School in 1539 and Sir Thomas Rich's School in 1666. Both still flourish as grammar schools today, along with Ribston Hall and Denmark Road High School . During the English Civil War ,
9879-676: The town were falsely accused by the Dominican monks of murdering a child, Harold of Gloucester , in an attempt to establish a cult similar to that of William of Norwich , which failed entirely. Nevertheless, the accusations were recycled around the time of the Edict of Expulsion . In January 1275, Eleanor of Provence expelled Jews from all of the towns within her dower lands, and the Jews of Gloucester were ordered to move to Bristol but finding an especially difficult situation there, relocated to Hereford . In
9990-610: The tram service with double-decker buses and the last tram ran on 19 August 1931. The only remaining Exeter tram in service is car 19, now at the Seaton Tramway . Exeter was bombed by the German Luftwaffe during the Second World War when a total of 18 raids between 1940 and 1942 flattened much of the city centre. Between April 1941 and April 1943, Exeter was defended from enemy bombers by the No. 307 Polish Night Fighter Squadron , nicknamed
10101-498: The west of the city, at Exe Island . However, when steam power replaced water in the 19th century, Exeter was too far from sources of coal (or iron) to develop further. As a result, the city declined in relative importance and was spared the rapid 19th-century development that changed many historic European cities. Extensive canal redevelopments during this period further expanded Exeter's economy, with "vessels of 15 to 16 tons burthen [bringing] up goods and merchandise from Topsham to
10212-512: Was The House That Moved , which is one of Europe's oldest private residences, which was due for demolition for a new relief road, but was saved after the intervention of the Ministry of Works, and was moved to a new location. On 27 October 1960, following very heavy rain, the Exe overflowed and flooded large areas of Exeter including Exwick, St Thomas and Alphington. The water rose as high as 2 metres above ground level in places and 150 employees of
10323-519: Was allocated for the purpose of reducing rough sleeping for the 2020–2021 period. The government's Next Steps Accommodation Programme also provided Exeter City Council with £440,000 to help reduce the number of rough sleepers on Exeter's streets. The council has also focussed its efforts on reducing rough sleeping in the long term, with a "£3 million Capital programme bid [for] the creation of 31 units of new long term move-on accommodation with dedicated support to be delivered before 31 March 2021". Exeter
10434-460: Was announced that the hotel scheme was "significantly unviable", and the Royal Clarence site would be converted into twenty-three luxury apartments with the ground floor acting as a leisure and hospitality space. The plans were officially granted permission on 11 October 2022. The work, involving the demolition and reconstruction of the remaining fabric, will last just under eighteen months and
10545-401: Was appointed to the city payroll in 1561, he created the Court of Orphans as a municipal government for families broken by the premature death of their major economic source. He also was made the Common Council as the legal owner of any estate left to the orphan children of Exeter, until they have reached the age of 21 to be partially paid back. The orphan tax was used to fund the construction of
10656-539: Was captured by the Cornish Royalist Army led by Prince Maurice. Thereafter, the city remained firmly under the king's control until near the end of the war, being one of the final Royalist cities to fall into Parliamentarian hands. The surrender of Exeter was negotiated in April 1646 at Poltimore House by Thomas Fairfax . During this period, Exeter was an economically powerful city, with a strong trade of wool . This
10767-612: Was crowned with a gilded iron ring in the Chapter House of Gloucester Cathedral . During his reign, Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany his cousin was briefly imprisoned at Gloucester Castle as state prisoner from 1222 to 1223, and from 1237 to 1238, in addition to sometime during the reign of King John. Gloucester's significance in the Middle Ages is underlined by the fact that it had a number of monastic establishments, including St Peter's Abbey founded in 679 (later Gloucester Cathedral ),
10878-562: Was demolished in 1971/2 and disposed of in 1976. The second depot was an Air Force Reserve Depot with four 4,000-ton semi-buried tanks constructed in 1941/42 by Shell, Shell-Mex and BP at the Monk Meadow Dock on the Canal. Originally, delivery was by road, rail and barge and pipeline. It was also connected to the docks and to the Shell Mex and BP installation for rail and road loading facilities and
10989-528: Was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal command of Vespasian . Exeter became a religious centre in the Middle Ages . Exeter Cathedral , founded in the mid 11th century, became Anglican in the 16th-century English Reformation . Exeter became an affluent centre for the wool trade , although by the First World War the city was in decline. After the Second World War , much of
11100-706: Was exiled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and subsequently established a community on the banks of the Squamscott River , he named the region Exeter after its Devonian counterpart. During the American Revolution it became the capital of New Hampshire . Exeter was secured for Parliament at the beginning of the English Civil War, and its defences very much strengthened, but in September 1643 it
11211-574: Was first suggested by the Austrian philologist, Alfred Holder, in 1896. An alternative etymology has been proposed, which argues that the first element of the place-name is related to a Welsh word signifying 'valiant', rendering 'Gloucester' to mean 'fortress of the valiant'. Glevum was established around AD 48 at an important crossing of the River Severn and near to the Fosse Way , the early front line after
11322-506: Was founded by the Romans and became an important city and colony in AD 97, under Emperor Nerva as Colonia Glevum Nervensis . It was granted its first charter in 1155 by Henry II . In 1216, Henry III , aged only nine years, was crowned with a gilded iron ring in the Chapter House of Gloucester Cathedral. Gloucester's significance in the Middle Ages is underlined by the fact that it had
11433-455: Was hit badly by a flood that struck Gloucestershire and its surrounding areas. Hundreds of homes were flooded, but the event was most memorable because of its wider impact – about 40,000 people were without power for 24 hours, and the entire city (plus surrounding areas) was without piped water for 17 days. In 2009, Gloucester Day was revived as an annual day of celebration of Gloucester's history and culture. The day originally dates from
11544-494: Was intensely Romanised in the second and third centuries with a higher than normal distribution of villas. At the end of the third century or the start of the fourth, major changes were made to the city's second-century wall. It was replaced in two stages by a stronger and higher one of stone resting on massive reused stone blocks. In the second stage, the blocks rested on deep timber foundation piles. Stone external towers were added; two parallel wide ditches were also cut in front of
11655-469: Was made a county borough , independent from Gloucestershire County Council. Gloucester Guildhall at 23 Eastgate Street was built in 1892 and served as the city's administrative headquarters until 1986, when the council moved to North Warehouse at Gloucester Docks . On 1 April 1974, the modern district of Gloucester was formed under the Local Government Act 1972 , covering the same area as
11766-501: Was met by the Mayor, John Rawlins , at Quedgeley . Her father Henry VIII and his then Queen, Anne Boleyn , visited in July 1535. They used Gloucester as a base for hunting trips to Painswick , Coberley , and Miserden . They left Gloucester for Leonard Stanley , on their way to Berkeley Castle . Gloucester was the site of the execution by burning of John Hooper , Bishop of Gloucester, in
11877-474: Was no longer feigning any pretence as a kingdom and became part of Mercia . Mercia, allied by matrimony and sharing a desire to counter the Danish onslaught as had conquered swathes of the wider island at large, submitted to Alfred the Great 's Kingdom of Wessex in about 877–883. A 20th-century writer intuitively adds that Roman stem Gleu- Glev- was, doubtless, pronounced without any final consonant. Claudia Castra
11988-524: Was partly due to the surrounding area which was "more fertile and better inhabited than that passed over the preceding day" according to Count Lorenzo Magalotti who visited the city when he was 26 years old. Magalotti writes of over thirty thousand people being employed in the county of Devon as part of the wool and cloth industries, merchandise that was sold to "the West Indies, Spain, France and Italy". Celia Fiennes also visited Exeter during this period, in
12099-599: Was the Bristol and Exeter Railway that opened a station at St Davids on the western edge in 1844. The South Devon Railway Company extended the line westwards to Plymouth , opening their own smaller station at St Thomas , above Cowick Street. A more central railway station, that at Queen Street , was opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1860 when it opened its alternative route to London. Butchers Lloyd Maunder moved to their present base in 1915, to gain better access to
12210-409: Was the only town in the south-west to have three market days per week. There are also records of seven annual fairs, the earliest of which dates from 1130, and all of which continued until at least the early 16th century. Prior to the expulsion of the Jews of England in 1290, Exeter was home to England's most westerly Jewish community. During the high medieval period, both the cathedral clergy and
12321-586: Was the southwest terminus of the Fosse Way (Route 15 of the Antonine Itinerary ) and served as the base of the 5 000- man Second Augustan Legion ( Legio II Augusta ) at some time led by Vespasian, later Roman Emperor, for the next 20 years before they moved to Caerleon in Wales , which was also known as Isca . To distinguish the two, the Romans also referred to Exeter as Isca Dumnoniorum , "Watertown of
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