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120-649: The universal obligation to military service in the Shire levy or Posse comitatus was long established in England and its legal basis was updated by two acts of 1557 covering musters ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 3) and the maintenance of horses and armour ( 4 & 5 Ph. & M. c. 2). The county militia was now placed under the Lord Lieutenant , assisted by the Deputy Lieutenants and Justices of

240-559: 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

360-514: 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

480-771: A number of occasions when the appearance of hostile fleets caused alarm. For example, on 15 July 1667 the Dutch fleet anchored in Plymouth Sound and all the militia of Devon and Cornwall were assembled. When the Duke of Monmouth landed in Dorset to launch his Rebellion in 1685, the Lord Lieutenant of neighbouring Devon was the Duke of Albemarle . Albemarle was known to emphasise the training of his militia, which consisted of six regiments of infantry and one of cavalry;

600-673: A small number of officers were commissioned, the infantry militia dwindled away: by the outbreak of World War II 3rd Bn Devonshires had no officers listed. The Militia was formally disbanded in April 1953. The first pairs of Colours issued to the Devonshire Militia battalions in 1758 consisted of the Union flag for the King's Colour, and one bearing the Duke of Bedford's coat of arms for

720-593: 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

840-451: 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

960-406: 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

1080-515: 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

1200-515: 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

1320-561: 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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1440-618: The Cair Pensa vel Coyt , listed among 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,

1560-477: 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

1680-677: The Crimea , the Militia were called out. The 1st Devon Militia was embodied on 18 December and served in Wales and Ireland before returning to England in June 1856 to be disembodied. From 1858 the regiment regularly held its annual peacetime training, the recruits and non-commissioned officers having previously assembled for basic training. In November 1867 the permanent staff of the regiment were called out to help deal with bread riots in Exeter, and during

1800-582: The Deputy lieutenants for the loss of his command, and refused to give up the regimental arms and accoutrements in his care until 1764. The militiamen's peacetime obligation was for 28 days' annual training. This was widely neglected, but the Devonshire regiments do appear to have completed their training each year. After the outbreak of the War of American Independence in 1775 a controversial Act of Parliament

1920-635: 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

2040-490: The Devonshire Regiment of two battalions and the two Devon Militia regiments becoming the 3rd and 4th battalions. This caused some confusion: the 1833 order of precedence had been confirmed for infantry militia units in 1855, which meant that 1st Devons ranked as No 41, the 2nd Devons as No 25. The 2nd or South Devons therefore became the 3rd Battalion, Devonshire Regiment by virtue of their higher precedence, and

2160-453: The Dumnonii and was listed as one of their four cities ( ‹See Tfd› 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

2280-437: 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

2400-651: The Fenian scare in 1867 the regiment posted guards over the military stores at Exeter. That year the Militia Reserve Act came into force, whereby in exchange for a bounty the militiamen could sign up for service with the Regulars in time of war. The Militia Reserve was called out in the summer of 1878 during the international crisis preceding the Congress of Berlin , the men of the 1st Devons being attached to

2520-799: The First English Civil War , most of the county Trained Bands played little part in the fighting. An attempt by the Royalists to call out the posse comitatus of Devonshire in 1642 was a failure (compared with their success in raising the Trained Bands in neighbouring Cornwall ) and it was quickly dispersed by Parliamentarian forces. The following year the Devonshire Trained Bands loyal to Parliament refused to invade Cornwall. Once Parliament had established full control in 1648 it passed legislation to reorganise

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2640-694: 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

2760-545: The Militia Act 1852 , enacted during a period of international tension. As before, units were raised and administered on a county basis, and filled by voluntary enlistment (although conscription by means of the Militia Ballot might be used if the counties failed to meet their quotas). Training was for 56 days on enlistment, then for 21–28 days per year, during which the men received full army pay. The permanent staff

2880-678: The Norman kings , notably at the Battle of the Standard (1138). The force was reorganised under the Assizes of Arms of 1181 and 1252 , and again by King Edward I 's Statute of Winchester of 1285. Shire levies were especially important for England during the Hundred Years' War , when the escalation in warfare with France increased the need for soldiers: "the king was able to rely on

3000-740: The Royal Marines , in the case of men from Devon and Cornwall). The regiment served in the Portsmouth garrison and the Brighton brigade before returning to the West Country in late 1806. Another recruitment drive for men to transfer to the Line regiments was accompanied by balloting to bring the Militia up to strength, together with recruits obtained 'by beat of drum' (as in the Line) and from

3120-468: The Seven Years' War a series of Militia Acts from 1757 re-established county militia regiments, the men being conscripted by means of parish ballots (paid substitutes were permitted) to serve for three years. Front-line Devonshire was given a quota of 1600 men to raise. There was a property qualification for officers, who were commissioned by the Lord Lieutenant. The size of the militia was increased as

3240-475: The Somerset Militia were also present at Axminster and performed poorly; some may even have deserted and joined the rebel duke). Albemarle only had orders to shadow the rebels, not to bring on a major action. He fell back to secure the west and his force's presence prevented Monmouth from accessing recruits and supplies from that direction. He then followed the rebels, re-occupying towns and garrisoning

3360-811: The 'Localisation of the Forces' scheme introduced by the Cardwell Reforms of 1872, Militia infantry regiments were grouped into county brigades with their local Regular and Volunteer battalions. For the 1st and 2nd Devons this was Brigade No 34 (County of Devon) in Western District alongside the 11th Foot and the Devonshire Volunteers] The Militia were now controlled by the War Office rather than their county Lord Lieutenant, and officers' commissions were signed by

3480-606: 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

3600-515: The 17 'maritime' counties most vulnerable to invasion, and in 1584 the Devonshire Trained Bands fielded more men than any other county: assessed at 1200 'shot' (men with firearms), 800 bowmen, and 1000 'corslets' (armoured men), the county actually provided more than was required in each category, a total of 3178 men. In the Armada year of 1588 the three Devonshire Divisions (each of two or three large companies, totalling 3661 men) were instructed to join

3720-507: The 1st Battalion 11th Foot at Devonport . From 1871 the Militia were permitted to camp for their annual training, and the following year the 1st Devons carried out its first camp since 1813, and the following year took part in division-scale manoeuvres at Roborough Down. However, the unpopularity of camps led to a falling-off in recruitment and the Devon Militia regiments were each reduced by two companies in 1876. The 2nd Devon Militia

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3840-669: The 1st Battalion serving with the British Expeditionary Force . The battalion was soon overwhelmed by returning reservists and recruits flocking to enlist, and by the end of September 1914 it was three times its establishment strength. In May 1915 it moved to Devonport where it formed part of the Plymouth Garrison for the rest of the war. Although the Supplementary Reserve (renamed Militia again in 1921) remained in existence after 1919 and

3960-616: The 1st Devons became the 4th Battalion. However, the whole Devonshire Regiment did adopt the old East Devon Militia's cap badge and motto. The 4th Battalion volunteered for garrison service during the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882, but none of the Militia were embodied. The 4th Battalion was also offered for garrison duty during the Panjdeh crisis, but was politely declined. The Devonshire Militia battalions were further reduced in 1890, to an establishment of six companies each. With

4080-843: The 3rd (2nd Devon Militia) Battalion was disbanded, and the 4th (1st Devon Militia) became the 3rd (Reserve) Battalion, Devonshire Regiment on 1 April 1908. Although the Devon RGA (M) was due to transfer to the Special Reserve Royal Field Artillery it was disbanded in March 1909. When World War I broke out on 4 August 1914 the Special Reserve battalion was embodied at Exeter and moved to its war station at Plymouth on 8 August. It returned to Exeter on 28 August to fulfil its role of organising drafts of Special Reservists and returning Regular reservists for

4200-557: The 4th Devon Militia at Exeter under the command of Sir Bourchier Wrey, 7th Baronet . However, the whole of the Supplementary Militia was disembodied in November 1799. Because there was no established order of precedence among Militia regiments, they traditionally drew lots for precedence when brigaded together in camp; this became an annual ballot between the counties. The Devons had their own order of precedence, which

4320-585: The Auxiliary Forces (Militia, Yeomanry and Volunteers) to take their place in the six Army Corps proposed by St John Brodrick as Secretary of State for War . However, little of Brodrick's scheme was carried out. Under the sweeping Haldane Reforms of 1908, the Militia was replaced by the Special Reserve , a semi-professional force whose role was to provide reinforcement drafts for Regular units serving overseas in wartime Under these changes,

4440-649: The British simply moved to what 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

4560-488: 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

4680-536: 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

4800-510: The Devon Militia regiments were assembled for their annual 28 days' training, but to save money only two-thirds of the men were mustered each year. In view of the worsening international situation the Devonshire Militia was embodied for service on 22 December 1792, even though Revolutionary France did not declare war on Britain until 1 February 1793. The duty was much as before, guarding French prisoners at Bristol or Plymouth, with summer training camps or autumn manoeuvres at Roborough. In March 1798

4920-643: 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

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5040-484: The Local Militia. In 1810–12 the regiment moved around Southern England. In 1812 there was an outbreak of Luddite machine-breaking and the regiment spent much of the year constantly on the move round the industrial Midlands before returning to Plymouth in 1813. The war was ended by the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1814 and on 16 June the warrant for disembodying the Devon Militia was signed. Napoleon 's escape from Elba and return to power in France in 1815 meant that

5160-402: 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

5280-558: The Militia had to be called out once more. The regiments began recruiting for volunteers 'by beat of drum' from 25 April and the warrant for embodying the Devonshire Militia was issued on 16 June, with the 1st Devon to be embodied at Exeter on 24 July. By then the decisive Battle of Waterloo had already been fought, but the process of embodiment went on while the Regulars were away in the Army of Occupation in France. The 1st Devons served in Ireland from November to April 1816, when they returned to Plymouth and were disembodied. In 1817 an Act

5400-407: The North Devon Militia was a crowned garter (of the Order of the Garter ) carrying the unit title and enclosing the Union Flag of 1707–1801; by 1812 the outmoded flag was replaced by a crown within the garter. The South Devon Militia used a lion rampant (derived from the coat of arms of the early Earls of Devon ) within a garter inscribed with the regimental title. Shire levy A shire levy

5520-446: The Peace . The entry into force of these Acts in 1558 is seen as the starting date for the organised county militia in England. Although the militia obligation was universal, it was clearly impractical to train and equip every able-bodied man, so after 1572 the practice was to select a proportion of men for the Trained Bands , who were mustered for regular training. The men from the Hundreds of Devonshire were organised in four groups for

5640-423: The Plymouth garrison. From 1811 to 1814 the regiment was in Gosport , and was disembodied on 30 July 1814. It served in the Plymouth garrison again during the 1815–16 embodiment, and then like the rest of the militia became moribund during the Long Peace. The regiment's HQ was at Plymouth and its service history was similar to the East Devons. It served with the other Devon regiments at Plymouth and Roborough during

5760-493: The Queen. A mobilisation scheme began to appear in the Army List from December 1875. This assigned places in an order of battle to Militia units serving with Regular units in an 'Active Army' and a 'Garrison Army'. The 1st and 2nd Devon Militia were both assigned to the Garrison Army in the Plymouth defences. The Childers Reforms of 1881 took Cardwell's reforms further, and the Militia infantry regiments became integral parts of their Regular county regiment. The 11th Foot became

5880-449: The Regimental Colour. The regimental badge of the 1st or East Devon Militia from the date of its formation was a heraldic castle (representing Exeter Castle ) with the motto Semper fidelis (Ever faithful), allegedly to commemorate the defence of the city by the Trained Bands during the English Civil War. This badge was officially authorised by the Lord Lieutenant in 1860, and was adopted by the whole Devonshire Regiment in 1883. The badge of

6000-403: The War of American Independence and again in the French Revolutionary War. However, the South Devon regiment volunteered for service in Ireland and was stationed there during the Rebellion of 1798–99 . During the Napoleonic Wars it mainly served in the southern and western counties, but during the Luddite disturbances of 1812 it was quartered in the Nottingham area. As with the other regiments it

6120-469: 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

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6240-452: The army forming to defend the South Coast of England, while 1650 able-bodied untrained men remained to defend the county. By 1633 the seven companies were each regarded as a regiment and, together with the companies in the main towns, amounted to almost 6750 trained men, one-third armed with pikes and two-thirds with muskets . Although control of the militia was one of the areas of dispute between King Charles I and Parliament that led to

6360-400: The battalions were disembodied and the following year were reorganised into three peacetime regiments. The Exeter and East battalions combined to form a single regiment, the 1st or East Devon Militia , with its headquarters (HQ) at Exeter and the Duke of Bedford as its Colonel. Sir John Prideaux, 6th Baronet , Colonel of the East Devon regiment, took legal action against the Duke of Bedford and

6480-400: The bulk of the Regular Army serving in South Africa during the Second Boer War , the Militia were called out. The 4th Battalion was embodied from 11 May 1900 to 16 July 1901, serving in the garrison of the Channel Isles. The Devon Artillery Militia was also embodied from 1 May to 17 October 1900. After the Boer War, the future of the Militia was called into question. There were moves to reform

6600-399: 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,

6720-577: The cities of Exeter and Plymouth also had a regiment each. Albemarle mustered the regiments at Exeter and then marched towards Dorset even before orders arrived from London to do so. Confronting the rebels at Axminster , his cavalry probed forwards. Macaulay asserted that the Devonshire men were ready to go over to Monmouth, and this caused Albemarle to retreat, which turned into a rout, the countryside strewn with abandoned weapons and uniforms. Macaulay has been followed uncritically by many authors, but modern historians find no evidence of this rout (although

6840-423: 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

6960-456: 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,

7080-435: 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

7200-449: 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

7320-447: 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

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7440-415: 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

7560-477: 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

7680-429: The city was held by the Saxons , who had arrived in Exeter after defeating 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

7800-411: 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

7920-436: 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

8040-453: The correct height were made up by exchanges with the two infantry regiments. The new regiment established its HQ at Devonport. The unit was embodied for full-time duty in home defence from January 1855 to June 1856 during the Crimean War . It volunteered for overseas service but was not accepted. Under the mobilisation scheme that appeared from 1875, the Devon Artillery's war station was in the Fortifications of Plymouth . The Artillery Militia

8160-407: The defence of the harbours on the north and south coasts of the county, each with a nominated officer in command, supported by 'Assistants' and 'Petty Captains'. By 1577 the Devon Trained Bands were divided into three 'Divisions' (East, North and South), each with two Colonels and a number of Captains . Later in the reign of Elizabeth I the threat of Spanish invasion led to emphasis being placed on

8280-417: 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

8400-475: 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

8520-406: 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

8640-511: 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

8760-430: The first half of the 4th century: more than 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

8880-698: 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

9000-487: The late 2nd century, the ditch and rampart defences around 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

9120-419: 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

9240-474: 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

9360-520: The men who had been disembodied were recalled to the colours. However, a peace treaty having been agreed (the Treaty of Amiens ), the 1st Devon was disembodied on 20 April. The Peace of Amiens did not last long, and the Militia were soon called out again. The warrant to embody the Devon and Exeter Militia was sent to the Lord Lieutenant ( Earl Fortescue ) on 11 March 1803, and the 1st Devon of eight companies

9480-661: The military support of the nobility and of the shire levies." Traditionally, the Scottish shire levies were called out by riders galloping through towns and villages bearing the ' Fiery Cross '. 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

9600-599: The militia in various counties, including an Ordinance to settle the Militia of Devon on 7 June (after which the term 'Trained Band' began to disappear in most counties). Under the Commonwealth and Protectorate the militia received pay when called out, and operated alongside the New Model Army to control the country. After the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 the militia of Devon were called out on

9720-477: 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

9840-571: 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

9960-678: The regiment served at Portsmouth and Weymouth Camp in Dorset . In November 1801 it moved back to Plymouth and it was disembodied 19 April 1802. When the Peace of Amiens broke down the regiment was re-embodied on 31 March 1803 and sent to Plymouth. It remained in the West Country until it joined the East Devons in Portsmouth in 1805, where it stayed for two years. This was followed by service in Bristol and Weymouth, then three more years in

10080-625: The regiments at Roborough were formed into a composite Light Battalion, which trained separately. The Militia also had to find guards for the American prisoners of war lodged in Mill Prison in Plymouth and Stapleton Prison in Bristol . American independence was recognised in November 1782, so the East Devons were ordered to march to Exeter and disembodied on 24 March 1783. From 1784 to 1793

10200-461: The regiments were progressively reduced so that by 1835 each had only the adjutant, sergeant-major and six sergeants, while the long-serving men were pensioned off. In 1847 the permanent staff and pensioners of the 1st Devons were called out to assist special constables to put down food riots in Exeter. The regiment's HQ was at Barnstaple . Its service history was similar to the East Devons: it

10320-504: The reign of William III, notably in 1697, when the eight infantry regiments and four troops of horse in Devonshire (Six 'county' regiments and three troops, together with the Exeter and Plymouth regiments and the independent Dartmouth Company of Horse) mustered 6163 men under the command of the Earl of Stamford as Lord Lieutenant. But after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 the militia was allowed to dwindle. Under threat of French invasion during

10440-529: The remaining Britons from the city. (It is uncertain, though, whether they had lived in 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

10560-432: The small ports to prevent foreign aid reaching them. After the Battle of Sedgemoor the Devon Militia were active in rounding up fugitive rebels. Despite their service against Monmouth, James II stood the militia down within days of the rebellion's defeat, intending to use the local militia taxes to pay for his expanding Regular Army , which he felt he could rely upon, unlike the locally commanded militia. The Devon Militia

10680-604: 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

10800-524: The standing militia regiments were reinforced by men from the newly raised Supplementary Militia, the remainder forming new regiments (such as the 4th Devon Militia formed at Exeter). However, in November 1799 the Militia was partially disembodied, together with the whole of the Supplementary Militia; the hope was that the men dismissed would join the Regular Army. In March 1801 the regiment was involved in suppressing bread riots and looting in Plymouth and

10920-427: 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

11040-607: The summer of 1779 at Coxheath Camp near Maidstone in Kent , which was the army's largest training camp, where the Militia were exercised as part of a division alongside Regular troops while providing a reserve in case of French invasion of South East England. In the summer of 1780 the regiment was camped at Playden Heights in Sussex , while the summers of 1781 and 1782 were spent in Devon at Roborough Camp near Plymouth, where all three Devon regiments were gathered. The Light Companies of

11160-695: 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

11280-583: The war continued. Once again, the maritime counties were to the fore: the first issue of arms to the Devon Militia was made on 5 December 1758, and they were embodied on 23 June 1759. Two, later four (Exeter, North, East and South), battalions were formed in Devon under the command of the Duke of Bedford as Lord Lieutenant. They served in the West Country for the whole of their service; the duties included guarding French prisoners of war and assisting Revenue Officers in suppressing smuggling. In December 1762

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

11520-517: 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

11640-460: Was attacked and briefly captured by Danish Vikings . Alfred 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

11760-487: Was a means of military recruitment in medieval England and Scotland . As opposed to a levy of noble families , a shire levy was effected within a geographical administrative area (a shire ), entailing the mobilisation of able-bodied men between the ages of 16 and 60 for military duty under command of their Sheriff . The English shire levy was descended from the Anglo-Saxon Fyrd , and continued under

11880-519: 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

12000-467: 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

12120-401: 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

12240-500: 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

12360-400: Was demolished to make way for 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

12480-564: Was disembodied in August 1814 and re-embodied during the Waterloo campaign from 17 July 1815 to 8 February 1816. As the French invasion threat grew in 1797 the Militia was doubled in size: each county was given an additional quota of men to raise for the Supplementary Militia. In Devonshire some of these were distributed among the existing regiments while the others were formed in March 1798 into

12600-659: Was embodied from 31 May 1854 to 10 June 1856 during the Crimean War. Unlike the other Devon units, the regiment was also embodied from 9 November 1857 to 14 May 1858 during the Indian mutiny . Thereafter the regiment carried out its annual training regularly. The North Devon Militia was converted into the Devon Artillery Militia in May 1853. Most of the officers transferred to the new corps, together with volunteers of sufficient physique; deficiencies in men of

12720-579: Was embodied in May 1778 for service during War of American Independence, all of which was carried out in the southern counties of England, as was its service in the French Revolutionary War. In 1794 it was in Kent, then spent several years at Plymouth and at Roborough Camp. When the Militia was partially disembodied in 1799 the regiment provided a large contingent to the Regulars, but the colonel, Earl Fortescue , resigned in protest. Afterwards

12840-602: 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

12960-746: 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

13080-640: Was increased. Under the Act, Militia units could be embodied by Royal Proclamation for full-time home defence service in three circumstances: Under the Act, the militia establishment for Devon was fixed at two regiments of infantry and one of artillery; the North Devon regiment was converted to artillery and its HQ moved to Plymouth, while the South Devons became the 2nd Devon Militia. War having broken out with Russia in 1854 and an expeditionary force sent to

13200-503: Was ordered not to muster for training in 1687, and was not embodied when William of Orange made his landing in the West Country in 1688 (the Glorious Revolution ). In July 1690 the French fleet anchored off Teignmouth after the Battle of Beachy Head , and sent a landing party to raid the town. The Devon Militia mustered, but the raiding party had re-embarked. The Devon Militia continued to be mustered for training during

13320-530: 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

13440-419: Was passed that allowed the annual training of the Militia to be dispensed with, so although officers continued to be commissioned into the regiment and the ballot was regularly held, the selected men were rarely mustered for drill. The Devon regiments assembled for 28 days' drill in 1820, and for 21 days the following year. Training was held again in 1825 and 1831, but not again before 1852. The permanent staffs of

13560-596: Was passed to 'Enable His Majesty to call out and assemble the Militia in all cases of Rebellion in any part of the Dominion belonging to the Crown of Great Britain'. In the event the militia was called out in its traditional role when Britain was threatened with invasion by the Americans' allies, France and Spain. The regiment was embodied at Exeter on 20 April 1778 and served in the West Country and Southern England. It spent

13680-409: Was practically complete by 5 April.It marched to Plymouth Dock, where the garrison include all three Devon Militia regiments. The duties once again included guarding French prisoners and working on fortifications. In June the Supplementary Militia was also embodied, and the 1st Devon Militia was increased to 10 companies. In 1805 there was a drive to induce militiamen to volunteer for the Regular Army (or

13800-585: Was reorganised into 11 territorial divisions of garrison artillery on 1 April 1882, the regiments formally becoming 'brigades' of the Royal Artillery . The Devon unit became the 3rd Brigade, Western Division, RA . It was embodied on 9 March 1885 when an international crisis arose over the Panjdeh incident while much of the Regular Army was simultaneously engaged on the Nile Expedition , but it

13920-470: Was several times re-asserted. Then in 1833 all the individual Militia regiments were balloted for a permanent order of precedence and the Devon regiments were assigned the following numbers: Normally this only affected matters such as positions on the parade ground, but it would have ramifications for the Devonshire regiments later in the century. The Militia of the United Kingdom was reformed by

14040-677: Was stood down on 30 September 1885. The garrison artillery divisions were reduced to just three from 1 July 1889, and county titles were adopted once more, with the Plymouth unit becoming The Devon Artillery (Western Division, RA) . The RA abandoned its divisional structure in 1902 and the Militia Artillery became part of the Royal Garrison Artillery , the Devonport unit becoming the Devon RGA (Militia) . Under

14160-554: 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

14280-460: 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

14400-658: 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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