114-555: Stoke Hill is a large hill rising to the north of Exeter in Devon , England. It is significant as the site of both an Iron Age hill fort and a later Roman signal station. The hill fort is situated slightly below and northeast of the Roman signal station, putting it in a better position to have sight of a number of other hill forts simultaneously. It is at an elevation of approximately 145 metres (476 ft) above sea level. The signal station
228-429: 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
342-550: 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
456-505: 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
570-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
684-586: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
798-647: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
912-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
1026-580: 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
1140-482: 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
1254-451: 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
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#17328527324781368-420: Is at the highest point of the hill, 159 metres (522 ft) above sea level. Stoke Hill is also the name of a northern suburb of Exeter, at grid reference SX934943 . 50°44′52″N 3°31′37″W / 50.7478°N 3.5269°W / 50.7478; -3.5269 This Devon location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article relating to archaeology in
1482-667: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
1596-406: 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
1710-505: 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
1824-598: 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
1938-510: 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
2052-503: 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. Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] ) is a Celtic language of the Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh
2166-802: Is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
2280-505: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
2394-704: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
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#17328527324782508-551: 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
2622-494: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
2736-461: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
2850-578: 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
2964-470: 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
3078-612: 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
3192-473: 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
3306-437: 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
3420-525: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
3534-669: 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
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3648-727: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
3762-618: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
3876-573: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
3990-596: 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
4104-589: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
4218-522: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
4332-576: 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
4446-481: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
4560-483: 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
4674-529: 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
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4788-622: 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
4902-529: 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
5016-539: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
5130-556: 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
5244-528: The United Kingdom 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
5358-489: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
5472-673: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
5586-584: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
5700-445: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
5814-426: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
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#17328527324785928-429: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
6042-469: 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
6156-399: 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,
6270-408: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
6384-423: 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
6498-456: 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,
6612-435: 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
6726-449: 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
6840-447: 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
6954-415: 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
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#17328527324787068-411: 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
7182-477: 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
7296-411: 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
7410-436: 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
7524-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
7638-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
7752-408: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
7866-417: 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
7980-475: 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
8094-406: 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
8208-456: 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
8322-732: 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
8436-485: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
8550-463: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
8664-469: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
8778-451: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
8892-587: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
9006-496: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
9120-546: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
9234-419: 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
9348-474: 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
9462-610: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
9576-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
9690-429: 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
9804-420: 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
9918-464: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
10032-534: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
10146-562: 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
10260-436: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
10374-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
10488-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
10602-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
10716-479: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
10830-577: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
10944-584: 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
11058-427: 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
11172-669: 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
11286-518: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
11400-498: 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
11514-512: 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
11628-519: 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
11742-460: 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
11856-401: 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
11970-539: 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
12084-608: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
12198-581: 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
12312-706: 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
12426-524: 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
12540-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
12654-505: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
12768-599: 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
12882-456: 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
12996-541: 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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