Siege of Exeter (Anarchy)
Who Fought
King Stephen's forces besieged Rougemont Castle, held by Baldwin de Redvers and his garrison.
History & Significance
Exeter is a cathedral city and the county town of Devon in 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 2024, Exeter had a population of 138,399, making it the second largest settlement in Devon after Plymouth. Under local government restructuring plans Exeter will, with the addition of parishes from East Devon, Teignbridge and Mid Devon, become a unitary authority from 2028.
The history of Exeter began with the civilian settlement associated with the Roman fort of Isca Dumnoniorum c. AD 55. The city was held by Saxons against Viking attacks and then conquered by the Normans. Exeter Cathedral was founded in the mid 11th century and the city became a religious centre during the Middle Ages. In the early modern period, Exeter became an affluent centre for the wool trade. Experiencing only limited industrialisation, by the First World War the city was in relative economic decline. After the Second World War, much of the city centre was rebuilt.
Exeter is one of the largest and fastest growing cities in South West England, and a centre for education, business, and domestic tourism.
It is home to two of the constituent campuses of the University of Exeter: Streatham and St Luke's. The city is connected internationally by Exeter Airport; to the rest of the United Kingdom by Exeter St David's railway station; and by road by the M5 motorway, whose south-west exit is just south of the city.
The city retains significant examples of medieval, Tudor, and Georgian architecture.
The name of Exeter derives from 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). 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 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 from the Hellenistic kingdoms suggest the existence of a settlement trading with the Mediterranean as early as 250 BC.
The Romans established a 42-acre (17 ha) fort (Castrum) named Isca c. AD 55. The fort served as the southwest terminus of the Fosse Way (part of the Antonine Itinerary) and base for the 5,000-man Second Augustan Legion. An unplanned community (vicus) of natives and the soldiers' families grew up around it, which served as the tribal capital of the Dumnonii. When the fortress was abandoned c. AD 75, its grounds were converted to civilian use: its very large bathhouse was replaced by a forum and a basilica, and a smaller-scale bath was erected to the southeast.
The ground they fought on
The site of Siege of Exeter (Anarchy) lies on Permian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.
During the siege, King Stephen constructed an earthen fortification at the site now known, erroneously, as Danes Castle, demonstrating the effort he was prepared to invest in reducing the holdout. Baldwin de Redvers and his garrison endured for three months before the complete exhaustion of both their water supply and their considerable stocks of wine compelled them to submit to the king.
Frequently Asked Questions
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