Defence & Warfare

The city’s defences distinguished Exeter from its less important neighbours - a symbol of authority, wealth and prestige, as well as security. The city wall, which still survives in large part today, was only one element of a system of defence which also included a rampart behind the wall, a large protective ditch in front of it, and gates.

The present circuit of defences was built by the Romans and stood for centuries after they left. It was re-used to protect the late Saxon burh from the time of Alfred the Great, and were strengthened before the Norman Conquest, when the city held out against William the Conqueror.

Throughout the Middle Ages and the Tudor period the defences were repeatedly improved and repaired: towers were added and gates strengthened, and decayed lengths of walls rebuilt.

The whole system was greatly modernised and elaborated in the Civil War between Charles I and Parliament (1642-47) when further defences were added outside the city walls.

After the Civil War the defences soon fell into decay. By Georgian times the gates were seen as barriers to a modernised city, and they were swept away between the 1760s and 1819. Nowadays much more survives of the wall than is commonly appreciated: about 70 per cent still stands.