Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 8, ELE-FOR

E X E
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E X E
Exeter. The beautiful throne for the bilhop was conftru&ed
—'V-—'' about 1466, and is faid to be the grandeft of the kind
in Britain. The great north tower was completed in
1485, which contains a bell, that weighs 12,500 pounds j
and exceeds the great Tom of Lincoln by 2500 pounds.
This city has had divers charters granted, or con¬
firmed by molt of our kings •, but it was made a mayor
town in the reign of King John, and a county of itfelf
by King Henry VIII. It is governed by a mayor, 24
aldermen, four bailiffs, a recorder, chamberlain, (heritf,
town-clerk, &c. They have a fword-bearer, and four
ftewards, four ferjeants at mace wearing gowns, and
ftalf-bearers in liveries with filver badges. It had an¬
ciently a mint j and in the reigns of King William III.
and Queen Anne, many pieces of filver money were
coined here, which have the letter E under the bull.
Here are 12 or 13 incorporate city companies. All
pleas and civil caufes are tried by the mayor, recorder,
aldermen, and common council j but criminal caufes,
and thofe relating to the peace, are determined by eight
aldermen, who are juftices of the peace. Here are four
principal ftreets, all entering in the middle of the city,
which is therefore called Carfox, from the old Norman
word Quatre voix, i. e. the four ways. Near it is a
conduit, lately removed from the centre to the fide of
the principal ftreet, v'hich was firft erefted by Wil¬
liam Duke, mayor of the city, in the reign of Ed¬
ward IV. and there are others well fupplied with wa¬
ter brought in pipes from the neighbourhood. There
is an old caftle in the north-eaft part of the city, call¬
ed Rougemont, from the red foil it {lands on ; from
thence there is a pleafant profpeft from the w-alls.
It is fuppofed to have been built by the Weft Saxon
kings, and that they refided here, as did afterwards
the earls and dukes of Cornwall. This caftle w?s re¬
markably ilrong both by nature and art. The gate
which originally led into it, was walled up by order
of William the Conqueror, in token of his having re¬
duced it to his obedience after a very obftinate refift-
ance } and clofe by it an inferior gate was made in the
wall in which ftate they both remain. The outward
ftone facing is kept in tolerable repair j but the infide
being but earth, is gradually crumbled down. Here
yet remains the ancient chapel, built in 1260, and
kept in good repair, where prayers are read, and a
fermon preached in feflxons weeks. The city itfelf
is healthy, and pleafantly fituated on the fides of a
hill, having other hills to its N. W. and S. by which
it is (heltered from the force of ftorms. The bank
which fuftained the ditch that in a great part furround-
ed the caftle, is planted and gravelled, and accommo¬
dated with feats, it being the place of refort for walk¬
ing for the inhabitants ; and the ditch between it and
the caftle being filled up, is now thickly planted with
elms, which form a delightful grove. The old palace
is now entirely demoliihed, and an elegant feflions
houfe erefted, where the affixes, quarter-feffions, and
county courts are held. In the city and fuburbs are
prifons both for debtors and raalefadlors 5 a workhoufe,
alms houfes, and charity fchools j an hofpital for the
fick and lame poor of the city and county, upon the
model of the infirmaries of London and Weftminfter 5
and two free grammar-fchools. It has markets on
Wednefdays and Fridays *, and four fairs in the year.
Great trade is carried on here in ferges, perpetuanas,
long ells, and other woollen goods, in which it is com¬
puted that at lea ft 6oo,OOol. a year is traded for: yet '
no markets were eroded here for wool, yarn, and ker-
feys, till the 30th of Henry VIII. Before that time
the merchants drove a confiderable trade to Spain and
France : they were incorporated in the reign of Queen
Mary I. by the name of “ The Governor, Confuls, and
Society of Merchant-adventurers, trading to France.”
Here is alfo a weekly ferge market, the greateft in
England, next to the Brigg market at Leeds in York-
ffiire. It is faid that fome weeks as many lergts have
been fold here as amount to 80,cool, or ioo,oool. •, for
befides the vaft quantities of their woollen goods {hip¬
ped for Portugal, Spain, and Italy, the Dutch give
large commiffions for buying up ferges, perpetuanas,
&c. for Holland and Germany It is particularly re¬
marked of this city, that it is almoft as full of gentry as
of tradefmen ; and that more of its mayors, and bailiffs
have defeended from, or given rife to good families, than
in any other city of its bignefs in the kingdom : for the
great trade and flourilhing ftate of this city tempted
gentlemen to fettle their fons in it, contrary to the prac¬
tice of many of the inland as well as northern counties,
where, according to the vain and ruinous notion of the
Normans, trade was defpifed by the gentry, as fit for
only mechanics and the vulgar. This city w as under
the jurifdiftion of the Romans, whofe coins have been
frequently dug up in and about it. After they left
England, the Saxons drove the Britons out of it into
Cornwall, and encompaffed it with a ditch, befides bul¬
warks. The Danes attacked and fpoiled it in 875 ; and
afterwards in revenge of the general maffacre of the
Danes by the Englilh, Sweyn one of their kings, came
hither with a great force, put the men to the {word, ra-
viftied the vromen,maffaered the children, burnt the city,
and defaced the w alls. A long time after this, juft as it
was reviving, William the Conqueror befieged and took
it ; and it was again befieged in the reigns of King
Stephen and Edward IV. In the reign of Henry VII.
it w as again befieged by Perkin Warbeck, and batter¬
ed furioufly : but the citizens forced him to raife the
fiege ; which fb pleafed the king, that he came hither,
and prefented a cap of maintena xe to the city, and
gave the very fword from his fide to be borne always
before the mayor. In the reign of Edward VI. in
July 1 544, it was fmartly cannonaded by the rebels of
Cornwall and Devon, who almoft ftarved it by break¬
ing down its bridges, cutting off its water, and {lop¬
ping up all paffages •, but it held out till the lord John
Ruffel came with a force and raifed the fiege on the
6th of Auguft, which w as then appointed as an anni
verfary day of thankfgiving by the city, and is ftill ob-
ferved as fuch. King Charles I.’s queen, to whom this
city gave {belter in the civil wars, was here delivered
of Henrietta, afterwards duchefs of Orleans; whofe
pitffure is in its guildhall, as are alfo General Monk’s
and George I.’s, &c. In the fouth-eaft quarter of the
city was a houfe called Bedford houfe, wherein the above
queen was delivered of the princefs. This having lately
been taken down, an elegant circus is built on the
fpot, with a theatre adjoining it; and for the con-
veniency of the inhabitants, a paffage has been made
through the town wall to Southern Hay, cr which
green {lands the county hofpital, already fpoke. of,
befides a confiderable number of new buildings. There
3 B 2 are
Exeter.