Scheduled Monuments›England›Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls

Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls

England

List entry 1003858

Nation

England

The designation

Reference

List entry 1003858

Authority

Historic England (NHLE)

Status

Scheduled Monument

Scheduled area

0.16 hectares

Grid reference

SX 92213 92911, SX 91635 92540, SX 91872 92200, SX 92201 92414, SX 92298 92706, SX 91956 92903, SX 91835 92781, SX 92027 92202, SX 92268 92563

Boundary

Scheduled area

Overview

History & significance

Exeter City Walls is a complex defensive structure that evolved across multiple periods, beginning with Roman fortifications established in the first century AD and substantially rebuilt and extended during the medieval period. The walls incorporate Roman stonework in their lower courses, particularly visible on the east side, alongside significant medieval additions and reconstructions dating from the twelfth century onwards. The circuit originally enclosed the Roman fortress and later the Anglo-Saxon and medieval town, standing amongst the most complete urban defensive systems surviving in England. The walls remain largely upstanding today, forming a substantial testimony to Exeter's strategic importance as a defended settlement from the Roman occupation through the medieval period.

Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1003858. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls?

Exeter City Walls is a complex defensive structure that evolved across multiple periods, beginning with Roman fortifications established in the first century AD and substantially rebuilt and extended during the medieval period. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1003858.

Who is responsible for protecting Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls?

Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1003858.

What other scheduled monuments are near Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including St Loye's Chapel and cross, Rifford Road (2.4 km), Little John's Cross (2.5 km), Ide Bridge (2.9 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview

An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.

Monuments

The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.

Battlefields

The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.

Roman Britain

The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.

Domesday

The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.

Civil War

The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.

Geology

The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.

LiDAR

Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.

Local Names

What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.

Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.

Legal

The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.

Spotlight

A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.

Target Zones

For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.

Timeline

The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.

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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

St Loye's Chapel and cross, Rifford Road

Linear round barrow cemetery at Castle Park, Alphington

3.5 km

Earthwork enclosure 220yds (200m) NE of Church Path Hill Plantation

4 km

Enclosures NE of Peamore Cottage

4.3 km

Clyst St Mary Bridge and causeway

5.1 km

Roman signal station 450m north of Marshall Farm

5.3 km

The ground beneath

The bedrock under Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls

Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls stands on Permian Rocks (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Permian. The rock here is sandstone and conglomerate, interbedded.

The wider landscape

Around Roman, Anglo Saxon and medieval defences called collectively Exeter City Walls

ExeterRoman town · ~0.2 miles

Domesday entry for Exeter, Devon →

All Scheduled Monuments