Exeter

Rougemont Castle ruins

Exeter is a city in South West England on the River Exe, from which it takes its name. It is the county town of Devon. Just over 100,000 people live there. In the city are a ruined castle, much of the old Roman city wall, and Exeter Cathedral.

History

Exeter was built by the Romans, who called it Isca Dumnoniorum (Isca of the Dumnonii, the local British tribe). After the Romans left and the Anglo-Saxons moved into the area in the seventh century, the name changed to Exeter. In the 1060s, Exeter was a centre of resistance to the Norman conquest.

In 1050, the Bishop of Crediton moved to Exeter; from then until 1876 the bishops were the heads of the Church of England in the whole of Devon and Cornwall. Now, only Devon is within the Exeter diocese.

Today

Today it is home to the Meteorological Office, which forecasts the country's weather.