Exeter Cathedral — Exeter Book Riddles

Your quest begins in front of the majestic Exeter Cathedral, a Gothic edifice primarily built between 1270 and 1350. It is here, in the cathedral library, that the Exeter Book is preserved, a gift from Bishop Leofric in 1072 and listed as a UNESCO Memory of the World heritage item. Its 96 Old English riddles are your guiding thread. Observe the west façade, completed around 1350, and note the precision of the astronomical clock installed in 1376, one of England's oldest. The nave, which reaches a height of 25 m over a total length of 126 m, testifies to the ambition of the medieval builders of this historic site in Exeter.

Continue to Rougemont Castle, a Scheduled Ancient Monument founded by William the Conqueror in 1068, with its 15 m high motte. This Norman castle, a pivot of Exeter's defense, housed a Norman Great Hall dating from 1170, restored in 1347. Its 1.8 km long curtain walls protected the medieval city. The site served as a municipal prison until 1887 and was a place of execution for criminals for 800 years, a grim reminder of the tumultuous history of South West England. The spirit of William the Conqueror, the castle's founder, still permeates these grounds.

The route then takes you to Exeter Guildhall, a 15th-century timber-framed building, rebuilt after a fire in 1766 and featuring an Elizabethan façade. The seat of the Merchants' Guild since 1465, it was used as a courthouse. This monument, 18 m long and with two floors including a vaulted cellar, miraculously escaped the 1942 bombings during the Blitz, protected by its recessed position. Its survival is a testament to Exeter's resilience and heritage, whose motto is "Semper Fidelis," Always Faithful, adopted in 1667.

As you explore the history of this South West England city, you discover St Martin's Church, a 14th-century parish church with its Perpendicular Gothic tower from 1340. Mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a Saxon church, it was restored after the 1942 bombings, and its contemporary stained glass windows cast new light on its ancient past. Nearby, the Exeter Underground Passages, built around 1350 by monks from St Nicholas Abbey to supply drinking water, reveal a feat of medieval engineering. These 1 km tunnels under High Street, 1 m wide and 1.2 m high, have been open to the public since 1971.

Your journey concludes with a final riddle near the Custom House, a neoclassical warehouse built in 1681 by Richard Carver in the Palladian style and Grade I listed since 1953. Exeter's port was active until the 17th century before silting reduced it. Its 20 m wide stone façade on the Exeter Canal quay, facing the River Exe, is a reminder of the city's commercial wealth. By tracing these locations, you connect the threads of Exeter's past, from the 10th-century riddles to the vestiges of the 1942 bombings, and carry with you the persistence of its heritage through the ages.