Exteter city walls
| Exeter city walls | |
| Devon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Athelstan's tower, at part of the city walls | |
| Type: | City wall |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX920925 |
| Location: | 50°43’21"N, 3°31’53"W |
| City: | Exeter |
| History | |
| Built 13th-14th century | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Exeter City Council |
Exeter's city walls are the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and Mediæval defensive walls around Exeter in Devon – a city known to those various ages as Isca Dumnoniorum, Escanceaster and Excester. They survive as a circuit approximately one and half miles long, of which 72% is still visible; some parts up to 8 feet high. The walls are a scheduled monument.[1]
History
Originally built by the Romans circa 200 AD, there were four gateways, which were dismantled in the 18th and 19th centuries.[2] The walls were repaired and rebuilt during the Anglo-Saxon, mediæval and Civil War periods and the city was besieged at least twice. Several turrets and bastions in the wall are of uncertain date.[1]
William of Malmesbury attributed the walls' construction to Æthelstan, though they certainly had Roman origins. However, the Anglo-Saxon period did see significant repair and strengthening of the walls, as did the mediæval period. As a result, the surviving walls today contain a mixture of work from many periods.[1]
Outside links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 National Heritage List 1003858: Roman, Anglo Saxon and mediæval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls (Scheduled ancient monument entry)
- ↑ "Roman wall concerns halt major gas pipe works in Exeter" (in en-GB). 2024-08-14. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y3v70v25jo.