A place in Devon with a history you can trace through the records: its entry in the 1086 Domesday Book, the archaeological finds and scheduled monuments around it, and the nearest Roman sites and battlefields. Everything below is drawn from the historical record.
In 1086, Exeter was held by Baldwin the sheriff.
When William the Conqueror's commissioners surveyed Exeter in 1086, they recorded 19 manors held by Baldwin the sheriff, Colwin (the reeve), King William, Exeter (St Peter), bishop of, Bishop Geoffrey of Coutances, Drogo (son of Mauger), Tavistock (St Mary & St Rumon), abbey of, Battle (St Martin), abbey of, Count Robert of Mortain, Iudhael of Totnes, William the goat, Walter of Douai, Richard son of Turolf, Ralph of Pomeroy, Roald Dubbed, Theobald son of Berner, Alfred the Breton, Osbern of Sacey and Godebold (the bowman). Before the Conquest, in the time of King Edward, the land was held by Queen Edith, King Edward, Exeter (St Peter), bishop of, Tavistock (St Mary & St Rumon), abbey of, Exeter (St Olaf), church of and Esger (the constable).
The settlement was assessed at 0.02 hides for tax. There was land for 12 ploughs. The manors were valued at 13.259999999999998 pounds in 1086.
The Domesday Book was the great survey of England ordered by William the Conqueror in 1085 and completed in 1086, the oldest surviving public record in the country. How the survey worked →
Exeter was one of the settlements recorded in Devon in the 1086 survey. Devon in the Domesday survey →
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Exeter's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
914 recorded finds have been logged within about 5 miles of Exeter, reported by members of the public and entered in the national record of archaeological finds. They span these periods:
The bedrock beneath Exeter is Permian Rocks (Undifferentiated) (Permian).
Aubrey's full report for this location includes every Domesday manor, the complete record of medieval lordship, archaeological context, and the story of how this settlement evolved from 1086 to the present day.